Lending a hand: Microloan program for homeless should be expanded

The Community Empower-ment Fund, a collaborative effort by three campus organizations, has found success in reaching out to Chapel Hill’s homeless.

This microloan program, which gives participating homeless people $300 to pursue skill workshops, should be expanded and should also include outreach for applicants who aren’t approved for loans.

Those who apply should all be granted access to the resources made available in the program, specifically by pairing homeless participants with student advisers regardless of whether they receive one of the loans.

Borrowers were first selected over the summer through the CEF’s pilot program . The borrowers, in addition to receiving loans from an undergraduate research grant, opened savings accounts and got paired up with student volunteers who have served as their loan officers .

In accepting the loans, the participants have to attend financial literacy trainings and weekly meetings where they connect with their loan officers and other participants and also make repayments on their loans.

The one component of the program that forces it to be selective is the loan itself.

While research grant money should not be handed out in the form of a loan to anyone who applies for it, there are ways the CEF can help those who are not approved.

Instead of turning applicants away altogether, the program could use its volunteers to expand its finance workshops or it could pair participants with student advisers, but without the microloan component.

Even though these volunteer advisers would not be checking up on a participant’s loan, they could still assist them in opening savings accounts and applying for jobs.

We are glad to see that UNC students are working hard to curb homelessness in Chapel Hill and hope to see the Community Empowerment Fund expand to assist those who do not qualify for its microloan.