HERO is a Community Development-Certified Financial Counseling Program
The $9.3 billion Self-Help family of credit unions has contracted with CU Strategic Planning for its HERO Community Development Certified Financial Counseling program.
HERO provides training, testing and certification to allow credit union staff to better serve consumers, safely increase lending beyond A and B borrowers to serve more and boost profitability, and cultivate effective partnerships with cooperatives and community organizations to achieve broader community revitalization.
“Every staff member at Self-Help will learn steps to take to help members and identify members who are in trouble,” CU Strategic Planning Founder Jamie Strayer explained, “which can include transferring them to the counseling department or skilled loan officers for refinancing predatory loans, transferring them to collections for workout solutions to avoid foreclosures and repossessions.”
“Investing in people is part of our mission, and an investment in staff strengthens our ability to make a difference in the broader community,” Melitta Wright, Self-Help director of operations training, said. “The HERO program empowers our staff to identify opportunities to help our members overcome financial barriers and stress and to know when to offer specific asset- and credit-building products.” Self-Help has more than 62 branches nationwide to assist members.
“As we champion a strong organizational culture that fosters learning and development, we feel the HERO Certified Financial Counseling training program is an ideal fit,” Wright added.
“We’re so humbled that Self-Help has invited CU Strategic Planning into its credit union to help them improve members’ financial stability,” Strayer said. “We truly believe in the power of credit unions to lift up communities that have been historically underserved. Our team is looking forward to working with the team to expand the credit union’s reach to more hard-working consumers who need a hand up and unlocking opportunities for Self-Help.”