HAN member Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System’s (FMOLHS) Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL) Regional Medical Center, along with Catholic Charities Diocese of Baton Rouge and MetroMorphosis, created The Faith Fund, a community-owned, financial institution micro-loan investment fund. FMOLHS saw that some of its staff were struggling financially and some became caught in a long-term cycle of debt caused by compounding payday loans and fees to predatory lenders. In Louisiana, borrowers paid $205 million in fees for only $4.1 million in transactions.
The Fund helps individuals and families better manage their money, escape predatory lending, and achieve financial stability by offering an alternative to predatory lenders. The partners were able to expand the Fund’s services to the broader community through a storefront in a lower-income community, thanks to a Franciscan Ministry Fund grant.
FMOLHS also started PayActiv to allow employees to receive their wage payments at the time work is completed, rather than at the end of the pay period.
See also: HAN member CommonSpirit Health provides placed-based investing funds to Texas Community Capital, a community lending intermediary providing funding to Community Loan Centers (CLCs), which in turn provide affordable payday loan options. Since inception TCC has lent out over $25 million to Texans needing to access credit which has saved borrowers more than $18 million compared to payday and auto title loans. Read more about CSH’s Community Investment Program in the HAN case study.