Are you ready to Heal? Are you ready to Build? Do you want to Save?
Cornerstone CDC’s first economic empowerment program serving the West End/Visitation Park
In partnership with the St. Louis Community Credit Union
About in the Black fellows
Cornerstone CDC recognizes poverty as a form of trauma and is disrupting historical approaches associated with financial trauma by addressing it the pain in a coaching setting. The “In the Black” Fellows program is a 9-month matching savings fellowship program that invites West End/Visitation Park residents to build their savings while healing their relationship with money together in intimate community.
Why is it called “in the Black”? Where does the name come from?
Most people are more familiar with the phrase, “in the red,” which means more money is owed than is made, but “in the black” means the business or venture is profitable and successful. Because we are a pro-Black organization, there is also a play on words as we intentionally target Black folks in the West End, which is currently a predominantly Black space and we do it with the intention to heal from money trauma and create abundance for Black people...hence, In the Black.
why Should I participate?
Participants in the program are eligible to receive a 5:1 match on what they save through the nine months. You also will receive financial coaching and be offered the opportunity build healthy money management and growth practices with your fellow peers.
who is eligible?
Although anyone can apply, we are most interested* in residents who:
Live or work in the West End/Visitation Park neighborhood
Identify as Black and/or African-American
Identify as a woman
Rent
Have a lived, personal experience with poverty at one point in their life
*All are eligible, but we are giving preference to those who meet our targeted criteria. For example, owning a home or identifying as a man will not disqualify you, but you may not have preference over a woman who is a renter.
Update (as of 9/27/24):
The Healing Path Begins
June marks the beginning of the healing-centered sessions between Fellows and Haven of Light licensed professionals! These healing-centered sessions are led by Licensed Professional Counselor Lena Chapman. Furthermore, these sessions are navigated through a book that is focused on dissecting racial trauma, called “Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience” by Sheila Wise Rowe.
With the use of this book, Fellows are able to deeply explore their racial trauma, whilst simultaneously connecting this to their financial trauma or behaviors. Through group discussions and facilitated conversations, Fellows are able to break down complex intertwined emotions and unique experiences, processing their insights together as a community. Additionally, these intimate spaces allow Fellows to relate to one another’s experiences, finding the commonality within their trauma.
Fellows are also offered the option to request one-on-one sessions with a licensed professional from Haven of Light if they feel they need additional support in processing their emotions.
SLCCU financial literacy classes continues
Fellows have also continued SLCCU’s financial literacy classes, diving deeper into money management. Within these sessions, Fellows continue to explore topics such as credit score, budgeting, debt, and investing.
Evaluating our impact
In order to track our program’s impact on Fellows, we have created an evaluation plan and an assessment, using already published tools from Heo et al. in the Journal of Financial Therapy. This assessment focuses on the overall financial wellbeing of our Fellows, including questions dealing with their psychological state, physiological, sense of empowerment, and social relationships, in respect to their financial state.
Fellows will complete this assessment multiple times throughout the program. In doing so, we are able to measure their initial state before healing sessions begin, their state during the healing sessions, and their state after the healing sessions have ended. With this technique, we are able to measure the sustainability and impact of our program in during different stages.
Thus far, Fellows have only completed the initial assessment; view some of our initial findings below!
coming soon
story harvesting
As our Fellows continue participating in these healing-centered sessions, we aim to further explore how they are processing these experiences. With the use of story harvesting, we’d like to better understand our Fellows and their stories, being told in the way they see fit. Fellows will have the opportunity to make their voice heard and bring awareness to issues relating to both financial and racial trauma. Through this process, we hope to not only amplify the voices of our Fellows but also create a deeper collective understanding of the challenges they face, empowering them to lead the way in healing and change for themselves and their communities.
Evaluations
Now having access to our initial baseline data, Fellows will soon complete a second assessment, granting us the opportunity to see the impact of our program. With the second upcoming assessment, we will be able to compare Fellow’s initial state in the program to their state during the peak of the program. Our next assessment is scheduled to release on November 26th, 2024.
