Outreach in Action

Groceries and bank reform can help ease the grip of financial need

by Jo Mayer

In the parking lot outside Stockbridge Community Outreach today, we gave out 70 “surprise” grocery bags filled with food. “Surprise,” because each week the contents vary based on what the Greater Lansing Food Bank’s truck disgorges.

What’s not surprising is that families need help with procuring enough food for themselves. There is not one individual path to needing help, and the path out of need can be slippery. “Falling into financial need” is an appropriate phrase as it can be much like falling through thin ice—after the first plunge, the ice can continue breaking and keep you in the frigid grip of financial pain. Many systems in our society contribute to that fragility, along with personal mistakes, bad luck, and societal constructs.

Very few times in my life have I been out of money, or nearly out of money, but those times were terrifying. When I was a college student putting myself through school with Social Security money due to my father’s death, I accidentally recorded one monthly bank deposit twice, and soon after began bouncing checks. This was in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years.

I was lucky. I was in my small hometown, living at my mother’s empty house rent-free with my college roommate, and the bank called and offered to meet with me to figure out the problem—and they waived the overdraft fees. I had no job, shared a car, and lived six miles out of town. I found part-time, seasonal work hoeing beets on a nearby farm. The farm lunches were appreciated, but boy was I happy to see the arrival of my next Social Security check—and to get back to college that fall.

During that time, it took many fraught months to find work and catch up on bills. I was fortunate that I didn’t have rent or utilities to pay, I had already paid the security deposit and first month’s rent for my apartment back at college, I had student health insurance, my car insurance was paid for the year, my car didn’t need repairs, and I was healthy. I climbed out of that hole.

Most of Outreach’s clients have not been so lucky. Some come to us after a health crisis has wiped them out physically, emotionally, and financially. Others arrive at our door because their disability is permanent and their monthly checks don’t cover all their basic needs. We have families with a wage earner who is between jobs, a car that is broken down, or they have experienced a fire. Some are starting over after extricating themselves from a harmful relationship. Whatever the reason, they come to Outreach for a helping hand.

In trying to assist individuals and families in need, we’ve learned how some “normal” business and government practices help to keep our clients in the icy waters of financial need. Over the past several months, we have helped many clients with utility payments. Yet normal business practices can work against those who are in crisis mode by imposing added costs. If their propane tank runs completely dry, they will owe an additional fee to refill it. If their electricity is turned off, they must pay an additional fee to turn it back on. If they bounce a check, the bank and the business often impose added fees per bounced check.

The ice keeps breaking.

Some low-income people don’t even have the means of writing a check—they have no bank account. Banks often require a minimum deposit to open an account and charge fees to maintain an account unless a minimum balance is reached.  But recent statewide efforts on the horizon may help. In May of this year, the Governor and the Michigan Open Account Coalition announced a program to encourage low-income people to open bank accounts.

“Not having access to financial resources and tools costs unbanked and underbanked Michiganders an average of $3,000 a year in fees for check cashing, money orders, bill pay services, third-party debit cards, and more,” said Governor Whitmer.

The MI Open Account program works with banks and credit unions to offer accounts with the following terms:

• No overdraft, account activation, closure, dormancy, inactivity, and low balance fees
• Limits on ATM fees (no fees in-network; $3 or less out-of-network)
• A limit on minimum opening deposits ($25 or less)
• A limit on monthly maintenance fees ($5 or less)

Currently, 20 certified institutions offer MI Open Accounts in Michigan, with dozens more working toward certification. For more information on the Michigan Open Account Coalition and a list of participating financial institutions, visit Michigan.gov/DIFSOpenAccount.

Lifting oneself out of difficult financial straits isn’t easy, and financial troubles can compound and pile on. Help with basic needs like food, clothes and hygiene products can provide a ledge to stand on when people need it most.

This column is sponsored by Stockbridge Community Outreach, our local food pantry, crisis, and referral center located in the Stockbridge Activity Center (old middle school) near Cherry & Elm Streets in Stockbridge.  Office hours are 1-3pm, Monday, Wednesday, & Fridays and by appointment. [email protected], 517-851-7285, or find us on Facebook.