Senator Joyce Announces Launch of Free Financial Coaching Services from Attorney General and Midas Collaborative

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enator Brian A. Joyce is pleased to announce a new initiative created by the Attorney General’s HomeCorps program and the Midas Collaborative to assist low and moderate income residents with financial stability and economic recovery. The new grant-funded program, the Financial Confidence Campaign, will be a multiplatform, statewide effort to distribute critical financial information and individual assistance.

“We’ve seen how the HomeCorps program supports families in crisis with the foreclosure prevention and mitigation services they’ve offered,” said Joyce. “Building on these services by also providing free access to financial counseling will ensure the stability of many families and the Commonwealth as a whole.”

This new initiative is the result of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s HomeCorps Crisis Response Innovation Grants and is supported by funding from the nationwide settlement involving the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers and their connection with unlawful foreclosures and loan servicing.

Using the grant funding, Midas will host services which include:

• MassSaves.org:  An interactive website with credible, consumer-benefitting financial education information and tools. Resources are both general and Massachusetts-specific.

• Personal financial counseling, referrals to services, and coaching to underserved residents by phone, email, or video chat applications will address issues with budgeting, credit, foreclosure prevention, and more. The “remote” after-hours communication will assist residents with scheduling and transportation challenges throughout the state.

• Collection of information on local trends, irregularities, and predation in the financial services marketplace to protect consumers and inform service providers, regulators, and policymakers.

This comes at a critical time for Massachusetts residents, as recent reporting shows that 48 percent of the state’s residents have sub-prime credit scores and 27 percent do not have enough cash to survive three months with an interruption in income.

Residents can access these new resources by visiting MassSaves.org or calling (855) 721-7575. Homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage or facing foreclosure should reach out directly to the AG’s HomeCorps hotline at (617) 573-5333.