PATERSON OFFICE OF FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT (OFE) AND NJCDC RELAUNCH FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTER PROGRAM 

Program offers free public service one-on-one financial counseling.

Paterson, NJ – Tuesday, January 17, 2023, the Paterson Office of Financial Empowerment and the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), in continued partnership with the national Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund), announced today the relaunch of the Paterson Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), offering professional, confidential and free one-on-one financial counseling as a public service to local residents.

The Paterson FEC has trained professional counselors to help individuals and families with low and moderate incomes manage their finances by creating a budget and expense tracking system, paying down debt, increasing savings, establishing or improving credit, and accessing safe and affordable mainstream banking products. The FEC model integrates counseling into other social services, such as housing and foreclosure prevention, workforce development, prisoner reentry, benefits access, affordable and safe banking, small business empowerment, domestic violence services, and more.

The Paterson Financial Empowerment Center has had tremendous success since its launch in 2021. It has helped our residents reduce their debt, build savings, establish and improve credit, connect to safe and affordable bank accounts, and access additional financial support during an uncertain time,” said Mayor Sayegh. “The financial impact of COVID-19 on our community has highlighted how important it is to have free, one-on-one financial counseling available to residents as a public service to help them manage their finances and work toward a stronger financial future.”

Counseling appointments are available online or in person at NJCDC and partnering co-locations throughout the city. Interested residents can make an appointment at https://fecpublic.org/appointment-paterson.

“NJCDC is proud to partner with the City of Paterson to relaunch the Financial Empowerment Center, and in so doing help many hundreds of Paterson residents obtain financial wellness.  We are grateful for the leadership of Mayor Sayegh in bringing this vital initiative to Paterson”

Founding funders of the FEC include the CFE Fund, The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation, Paterson Restoration Corporation, Bank of America Foundation, Columbia Bank Foundation, and PNC Bank Foundation. Community partners, who will work to integrate the FEC into their programs and encourage their clients to make financial counseling appointments, include the New Destiny Family Success Center, Oasis, United Ways of Passaic County, Paterson Alliance, Paterson Habitat for Humanity, the Paterson Housing Authority, the Paterson Free Public Library, and Paterson Public Schools.

The FEC will also provide financial counseling to participants in the Reentry program, which launched in December 2022 in partnership with the NJ Department of Corrections, Office of Community Engagement and Reentry Initiatives, and supported by Mayor Andre Sayegh and the Office of Financial Empowerment. The Paterson Financial Empowerment Center is the first FEC in the State of New Jersey and the thirtieth in the nation to financially empower, connect and create synergy in communities.

“Local leaders know first-hand the connection between family financial stability and community financial stability – and this connection is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “Mayor Sayegh and the City of Paterson are part of a growing national movement to bring free, high-quality financial counseling as a public service to local residents; we are proud to partner with Mayor Sayegh to help residents work towards a stronger financial future.”

First piloted in New York City under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2008, FECs across the country have worked with over 142,000 clients, helping them reduce personal debt by over $211 million and increasing their families’ savings by close to $43 million. In addition, a CFE Fund evaluation showed that this program works even for residents with very low incomes and other complex financial challenges. Paterson is one of over two dozen local governments working on launching a local FEC initiative.

About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund)

The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. The CFE Fund is currently working in over 100 cities, and has disbursed over $59 million to city governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visit http://www.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFEFund.