Project Connect Nashville, Winter Newsletter 2023

WINTER ❄ 2023

Newsletter

Helping the whole person escape the hopelessness of poverty through the transformative love of Jesus Christ.

ProjectConnectNashville.org

J o f y o ! n o s a e S A

Dear PCN Community, I am honored and excited for the opportunity to serve alongside each of you at Project Connect! Having lived in Madison during my middle and high school years, I spent as much time as possible cruising Rivergate Mall and hanging out at Opryland Theme Park. My first job was at McDonald’s on Gallatin Road, near PCN’s Madison site. Nashville is my home, and I love it!

After leaving for college, grad school, and a teaching career, I moved back to Nashville with my family in 2007, at the beginning of the financial crisis. I became increasingly aware of how many Nashvillians struggled to survive, much less thrive, in the changing economic environment. I found myself angry that there are so many people who have grown up, lived, and worked in Nashville and cannot afford to live here. It’s not okay and is part of what inspires my work in the non-profit sector.

For the past six years, I have served as the Program Director at UpRise Nashville, a career and community development organization. Their shortterm, Christ-centered job training program is transformational, and I believe the experience has prepared me well to join the work of Project Connect.

While at UpRise, I saw results-driven programming work, launching 213 Nashvillians into meaningful, higher-paying careers with an average earning increase of $25,413 in the first year of their new career.

I am excited to explore the different ways that Project Connect Nashville’s unique, long-term relational approach will accentuate a more focused workforce preparation program, and I know the steps PCN takes to grow in that direction over the next few years will help our participants thrive.

I look forward to getting to know the entire PCN community: the participants, the staff, the volunteers, the church partners, and the donors. It will take all of us, and more of us, to continue to grow into a community that offers a pathway for fellow Nashvillians to escape the hopelessness of poverty through the transformative love of Jesus Christ.

Gratefully –

Jeff

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

— Romans 15:13

u thankful for? o y e r a t a h W e before his presence with tha nksgiving; “Let us com a joyful noise unto him with psalms.” — Psalm 95 e k a m s u :2 Let

“I’m thankful for my faith and my church family and just knowing that no matter what is happening around me, I know that God is there to take care of me and give me hope.”

-Peggy

“I am thankful for peace in my life and having God in my life. He turned my life over from darkness to the light so that makes me happy and gives me peace.”

-Steve

Every Thanksgiving for the past several years, Faith Presbyterian Church in Goodlettsville has provided our Madison site with a Thanksgiving feast that includes decorations and worship music. We are so thankful for their commitment and support as well as the support of many other area churches! If you are interested in learning more about how your church can get connected at PCN, email Angel@ProjectConnectNashville.org!

“I am thankful for good friends, food, and being here at Project Connect.”

-Jennifer

“I love that PCN is Christ-centered and the fellowship that comes with it...””

Monica

by Angel Pyrz

“I love that PCN is Christ-centered and the fellowship that comes with it,” says Monica. Blessed by the education and atmosphere of PCN, she says that Judy, a volunteer facilitator, has become her Christian mentor. “She shines with such a bright light and is such a beautiful person. I want to be like her,” she said of Judy.

When Monica was released from prison in August of 2022, she found a home at RCI (Recovery Community, Inc.) where a housemate invited her to attend classes at Project Connect Nashville. Since that time, she has taken Faith & Finances, Story of God, Boundaries, Your Story Matters, and she is currently taking New Hope at our Woodbine site.

Monica spent much of her childhood in church, but after being institutionalized at age 16, she was ignored by her former church when she tried to return. That was a hurtful experience, and it made her feel lost. Having struggled with depression and addiction much of her life, that was just her first of several experiences with church hurt. Now, she is so grateful for the community of PCN, saying, “It doesn’t matter where I have been in life or who I’ve been in life. I feel free to be myself.

Photography by Fifth and Broad and Angel Pyrz

Benji, Woodbine’s site manager, recently invited Monica to attend church with him at Proclamation Church. She appreciates that the pastor teaches the word and that no one has said anything to make her uncomfortable. She says, “I am closer to the Lord than I have been in my life,” using her extra time to be with God and rejoice in the things God has given her.

Monica is looking forward to starting her new remote job with the State of Tennessee soon. Rental assistance from PCN has been a huge help to her during a period of unemployment.

She loves school and will resume her education in the spring.

She has 3 classes left to complete her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling at Liberty University. Monica desires to help people caught in addiction, and we look forward to seeing how God uses her in this role!

Help more of your Nashville neighbors like Monica! Give Hope today with a year-end gift to PCN! www.ProjectConnectNashville.org

Volunteer Spotlight

Judy

by Angel Pyrz

“It’s been a stretching experience for me to get out of my comfort zone of what I typically do,” said Judy Hausmann, a volunteer at our Woodbine location, about her time at Project Connect Nashville. She was first introduced to PCN when her church care group provided a Sunday meal in the Spring of 2022.

As a member of Trinity Church of Franklin, a supporting church of ours, Judy began looking for ways that she could get connected. “My heart had been increasingly burdened to find a way to reach out to people,” she said. After sitting in on a couple of the Sunday classes and taking our Poverty 101 and ally equipping classes, the need touched Judy’s heart.

After prayerful consideration, she became an ally for Work Life in the Fall quarter of 2022.

Currently, Judy is co-leading a great group of students through the New Hope class at Woodbine. New Hope helps individuals process past trauma and heartache through the lens of God’s Word. She said, “It’s a blessing to get to know the participants and begin building lasting relationships with them and know God is at work amidst all our hearts.”

Judy is also trained as a Connector, and PCN program participants are enjoying the benefits of her growing confidence as she practices what she has learned. She said, “I can feel awkward and unsure of myself in unfamiliar groups, but being with PCN staff, other volunteers, and program participants has proved to be a good and rewarding experience for me - I love learning with and from them.”

Judy meets individually with a few of the women she has met in the classes she has allied in and facilitated, saying, “It’s a privilege for me to share what God and others have taught me over the years as I have journeyed in being a follower of Christ.”

The community of PCN is grateful for Judy’s faithfulness in building meaningful relationships, listening well, and encouraging everyone around her! We know she has been praying with us for “…the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest” (Matt 9:38), and we are grateful! Judy says, “I encourage others to prayerfully consider what God might be calling you to do - for His kingdom and His glory.”

EDUCATION THAT Faith & Finances

by Bill Smithfield

One of the core Sunday night classes for PCN program participants is Faith & Finances. This is a personal finance class that is built on 2 key themes: Jesus is making all things new, including our relationships and money, and God has chosen to use our money to accomplish His work in the world. As the participants, allies, and facilitator discuss priorities, goals, and choices about money, it becomes clear that relationships are at the center of our personal finances. Sometimes, those relationships are helpful, giving us wisdom, courage, and compassion. Other times, the people around us pressure us to make bad decisions. We can take the bait and prioritize the quick thrill of spending money irresponsibly or reacting in fear, desperately trying to make ends meet. The hope and prayer for this class is that we all become confident that God, our greatest relationship, wants the best for us and shows through Scripture how to make wise decisions about money and all other areas of life. Along the way, most students find personal finances surprisingly interesting and relevant. Some participants discover that they have more financial resources than they thought. We all celebrate each other’s successes and renewed hope.

100% of PCN’s Faith & Finances students create a budget, and connection management meetings can be used for accountability.

Predatory Lending

by Jennifer Smithfield

What do you do if you have an immediate need for cash but have no savings and a bad credit score? Your quickest and easiest option is most likely a payday loan or a car title loan.

Unfortunately, both loan types are the most common examples of predatory lending.1 But what is predatory lending? Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute defines predatory lending as “any lending practice where the borrower is taken advantage of by the lender.”

This type of lending can be identified by loan terms that are abusive, unfair, or both. Predatory lenders tend to target those who are elderly and/or low-income.

Although federal regulations are in place to protect consumers and limit bad behavior in the loan industry, predatory lenders still do what they can to force a victim into defaulting on a loan. Loan defaults can happen due to high interest rates and/or fees, a failure to disclose information, disclosing false information, risk-based pricing, or some combination of these practices.2 Unfortunately, predatory lending doesn’t just stop with one defaulted loan. In fact, borrowers are often trapped in a never-ending cycle of getting loans to pay off loans plus paying the highest interest allowed by law, possibly with late fees added. LendingTree.com concisely describes the vicious cycle entrapping victims of predatory

TRANSFORMS lending: “Predatory lenders often reel consumers in with promises of no credit checks and fast access to cash. They may not be transparent about important aspects of the loan such as hidden fees, high interest rates, and small loan amounts.

These predatory lending practices may also have short repayment terms—two to four weeks. When saddled with high rates and fees, many borrowers struggle to repay the full amount so quickly and take out a second loan to pay back the first.”3 How does predatory lending affect PCN clients? Being in a lowincome demographic makes PCN clients direct targets of predatory lenders. Some clients start their PCN journey while already caught in the cycle of payday and/or car title loans. Trying to build a stable financial life is almost impossible when someone is trying to navigate deceptive business practices, triple-digit interest rates, short repayment terms, etc. Additionally, these practices are also made to look very attractive to those not already caught in the web. Through classes like Faith & Finances, clients learn to navigate the financial world and steward their finances.

Opportunities are also available with partners like BetterFi, a nonprofit offering affordable credit to help clients escape the predatory lending trap.

1 https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/ predatory-lending/#Commonexamplesofpreda torylendingpractices 2 https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/ predatory_lending (Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute/LII) 3 https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/ predatory-lending/#Whatispredatorylending

Learning about Predatory Lending

Lunch & Learn on October 4 On Wednesday, October 4, program participants, volunteers, and staff gathered for our quarterly lunch and learn. The focus was predatory lending, and we were excited to welcome Spike Hosch, the founder and executive director of BetterFi, to lead the session.

Everyone who came was given valuable information as Spike covered several financial topics, including spending & saving goals, budgets, emergency funding, and the importance of knowing the details of your personal finances (past, current, and future). He went into more detail about debt, debt collection, and credit, focusing on predatory lending.

BetterFi is a nonprofit and certified Appalachian Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), whose primary service is offering affordable credit designed to help individuals escape a predatory debt trap. Secondary offerings include free financial coaching and income tax filing. Currently, BetterFi operates primarily in the Chattanooga area, with plans to extend services to Nashville soon. We value this partnership that provides targeted and knowledgeable assistance in the overwhelming and chaotic world of predatory lending, offering a helpful next step after PCN’s program participants have attended Faith & Finances.

Project Connect Nashville PO Box 295 Madison, TN 37116

SHARE HOPE, GIVE TODAY! Open to read stories filled with HOPE and JOY!

So far in 2023

Project Connect Nashville has…

• Provided 376 hours of education • Helped 47 individuals with rental assistance • Shared over 65 community meals Our program participants are earning promotions and raises while realizing a sense of stability in their lives. Give stability with a year-end gift today!

ProjectConnectNashville.org/donate