Last Updated on October 22, 2021 by Maggie Sutton
Thanks to Homes for Heroes mortgage specialist, Jillian Burry, who nominated Support The Enlisted Project (STEP) to receive a $5,000 hero grant from the Homes for Heroes Foundation. The grant allowed STEP to help several military families in the San Diego, Southern California area receive the assistance they needed to stay in their home and make progress toward financial self-sufficiency.
STEP Serves Southern California Military Families
The mission of STEP is to build financial self-sufficiency among junior active duty enlisted service members and recently discharged enlisted veterans and their families in Southern California. They provide counseling, financial assistance grants, and other resources for those who face financial crisis.
The main program at STEP is the Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) program. This program provides personalized financial counseling and financial assistance grants to military and veteran families. The EFA program has a 90 percent success rate in moving heroes and their families from financial crisis to financial self-sufficiency. To date, STEP has halted more than 440 evictions and foreclosures, and kept families in their homes.
Each hero and their family works one-on-one with a Social Worker certified in financial management. Together, they evaluate the family’s finances, create a personalized budget, and establish financial goals. STEP Social Workers focus on a hero’s unique strengths, empower them to take charge of their own financial future and guide them toward a lifetime of financial self-sufficiency.
When needed, STEP provides financial assistance grants to help a hero maintain or restore their basic needs such as housing, utilities, transportation, and/or food. Financial assistance is always provided in the form of a grant paid directly to the creditor or lender rather than a loan. This allows the hero and their family to move forward on their financial journey free from the stress of additional debt.
The average client case costs $1,500 to manage at STEP. The costs include the counseling services of approximately $900 per case. Additionally, 53% of STEP clients need a financial assistance grant. The average grant provided by STEP is $1,200 per case.
The Homes for Heroes Foundation
The $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant awarded to STEP went toward helping at least three active duty or veteran service members and their families. It allowed for them to stay in their homes and also provided a guide toward a lifetime of financial self-sufficiency.
Homes for Heroes real estate and mortgage specialists, like Jillian Burry, nominate local charitable hero organizations for a Homes for Heroes Foundation grant. The Homes for Heroes Foundation then provides hero grants to select organizations to help heroes in need of housing or emergency financial assistance.
As part of its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using Homes for Heroes, they are helping heroes in need.
Visit Homes for Heroes to learn more about how you can save money and help fellow heroes in the process. Or, visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation to learn more about how it serves local heroes in need.
