The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Southeast Wisconsin has announced plans to launch a new Ways to Work program in Milwaukee to assist families who have poor credit ratings in obtaining low-cost loans to purchase or repair a pre-owned vehicle.
Ways to Work, a national community lending organization headquartered in Milwaukee, caters specifically to low-to-moderate income families needing a dependable vehicle to meet job demands as well as transport their children.
“With as many as one in six Americans living in poverty and the ranks of the unemployed and underemployed growing every day, families are fighting to hold onto their jobs and maintain a decent quality of life,” said Jennifer de Montmollin, chief program officer, economic empowerment, at the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin. “Ways to Work provides access to affordable loans for reliable transportation that can help individuals keep both their work-life and job-life stable.”
Ways to Work provides an affordable alternative to families whose credit does not allow them to secure a traditional loan or whose options are limited to loans with high interest rates.
The program, which currently operates at 44 locations in 22 states, also offers services related to financial education, credit repair coaching and individual advising to further support families in becoming financially self-sufficient.
Financial support for the Milwaukee program has been contributed by the Walmart Foundation, the Caterpillar Foundation, Guaranty Bank, Helen Bader Foundation, State Farm Insurance Foundation, and United Way of Greater Milwaukee.
The YWCA Southeast Wisconsin’s Ways to Work program will kick off with an open house on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at YWCA Southeastern Wisconsin’s offices, located at 1915 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. in Milwaukee.
For more information, visit www.ywcasew.org.
