Testimony from Microlending Program

When Terri relocated to Wisconsin last year, she had all of her ducks in a row – she thought. She faced several unexpected personal and financial hurdles upon arriving. Big picture – she was at risk of losing all of her savings and becoming homeless.

After facing unexpected financial hurdles, she was left with nothing. In desperation, Terri took out a car title loan to pay for the security deposit of her new affordable apartment. “That loan didn’t give me the relief I thought I was getting,” Terri said. “It turned out to be the biggest nightmare because they were going to take my car.” She was stuck. The burden of her car title loan was overwhelming, causing her physical and emotional anxiety. Half of her income each month went to the loan and she could barely afford to feed herself.

She connected with St. Vincent de Paul — Madison and received a home visit from two Vincentian members, Dick and Marie. During their time together, a glimmer of hope emerged.

With your help, and our friends at the Bank of Sun Prairie, Terri qualified for St. Vincent de Paul — Madison’s first microloan. She was able to pay off her car title loan and secure a low interest loan with the Bank. Terri’s monthly payment dropped from $437 per month at 305% interest to $74 per month at 5% interest. Your generosity meant that Terri could afford to stay in her new apartment rather than become homeless. Thank you for preventing homelessness!

Further, she connected with two of our Vincentian home visitors, Dick and Marie, who offered compassion and a listening ear to Terri during this stressful time in her life. This person-to-person service is essential to how we help our neighbors in need. As Dick said, “In a lot of cases the help we see is emotional relief on the part of the people to know that there’s someone there listening to them.”