Are you facing an eviction? Are you thinking about retirement? Maybe you’ve always wanted to start saving money but aren’t sure how to start.
One place to start could be Family Service’s free financial and legal fair this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Neighborhood Place community center, 3014 Rivas St.
“It’s very informal,” Kim Arispe, director of Family Service’s Finacial Empowerment Center, said of the annual fair. “[People] don’t really need to necessarily bring anything with them — except maybe some questions.”
Financial counselors from the Empowerment Center and the Financial Planning Association, law students from the St. Mary’s Legal and Social Justice Center and staff from the Bexar County Clerk’s Office will be on hand to assist the community with a wide range of issues, Arispe said, including taxes through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“We tried to pull together different services around finances and legal issues that might be helpful to families,” she said.
Volunteers can help attendees build spending and savings plans to reduce debt, navigate life insurance and retirement or answer questions about evictions and real estate.
Attendees can also visit the Bexar County Clerk’s Mobile Unit to request county records, register a business name or purchase a marriage license.
Staff from the city’s Department of Human Services will also be on hand to connect people to other resources including rent and utility assistance, senior services and more.
When Family Service first started the fair about 10 years ago, the focus was financial counseling, Arispe said. The fair started to expand its offerings last year after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic.
“We’re not taught how to manage money in high school or any of our school days,” she said. “Financial counseling benefits people of all socio-economic levels … [it helps] people learn how to utilize credit effectively and build skills that will help people not only be financially stable, but become financially sustainable so that they’re not living paycheck to paycheck.”
Arispe said the fair is often a gateway for residents to become more informed about financial programs and assistance offered at the Finacial Empowerment Center, which offers free, certified counseling regardless of income.
“Tomorrow is really about people coming out and gathering information about these different programs that can help them,” she said.
