Program offers savings accounts

Name of program: Neighborhood Assets.

What it does: Provides savings accounts for “unbankables,” people turned down by other banks because of bad credit or financial troubles.

Who runs it: Spokane Neighborhood Action Program, Numerica Credit Union and Washington State Employees Credit Union.

How it works: Neighborhood Assets offers financial counseling and money-management classes.

The program also offers provisional credit union memberships for people who have been denied a bank account, including a savings account, and a reconciliation process for earning back full membership.

With this account, clients can use direct deposit, get free money orders or cash checks.

Other check-cashing services charge 3 percent to 15 percent of the check value.

Neighborhood Assets also has a savings incentive program for lower-income people: Save $5 a month for 10 months, and the program will match that amount.

Participants have access to a computer for online banking and online bill paying.

Whom it helps: Low-income and homeless people and those who are denied bank accounts

How to get help: Bring a valid ID to SNAP’s downtown office at 212 S. Wall St., Mondays and Thursdays, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., or call 456-7174 to make an appointment.

Typical/memorable client: With financial counseling, one woman saved money while paying back bills that had damaged her credit history.

“She went from being unbankable to being a homeowner in two years,” said Terri Stoflet, financial services program manager for Neighborhood Assets. “It was our first success story.”