Strong Families

United Way is focused on Strong Families so that individuals and families have resources to achieve financial stability as well as access to counseling, debt management, education, job training, and housing.

To achieve our goals, United Way provides funding to programs such as credit counseling and budgeting, transitional housing, abuse prevention, literacy and computer training, and other services at outstanding local non-profit organizations.  Click the Partner Agencies link below to see a complete listing of recipient organizations in this area.

In addition, United Way partners with local providers to offer further resources to families.  The Financial Stability Partnership is an example of our work in enhancing low-income families' bottom line.

Vital Signs: Barriers to Success for Individuals and Families

Learning Financial Responsibility Healps Families Become Stable  

After retiring from the Navy in 2000, Greg and his family transferred to Oklahoma City for a new job. “We were relatively debt free at the time, but through buying a house, keeping our old house, getting new appliances and some other generally bad living beyond our means, we ended up with a significant amount of credit card debt,” Greg explains.  

“We did a debt consolidation through our credit union, but it didn’t require us to get rid of any credit cards so we fell into the trap of running up the debt again.”

Greg and his family refinanced a second mortgage, at 125% of the value of the house, but still didn’t change their spending habits. “It was around that time that we visited Consumer Credit Counseling Services,” Greg explains. “We were having trouble paying bills and ready to go into foreclosure on our house in Texas.”

After visiting Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Greg and his family cut back on their lifestyle. They fixed up their house in Texas, which renters had destroyed, and put it on the market. Doing well at work, Greg received numerous bonuses which combined with the sale of their house helped pay down and in some cases paid off credit card debt.

Over time, the bad credit history has been removed from their credit records and Greg and his family are in a good financial position. Through the Consumer Credit Counseling Services program Greg and his family learned how to become financially stable and make good spending decisions while still living a comfortable lifestyle.