Client Profiles: Hector

Many low income families can break the devastating cycle of poverty by first getting stable. A family that comes to ECDA may enter at any step of their journey, but the typical path starts with stability and continues as they grow assets, resulting in whole family transformations.

In 2014, Boyle Heights resident Hector Jaime came to ECDA seeking immediate assistance for rent and food. He had just suffered a lay-off, his wife was unemployed and he was taking care of his two grandchildren who had been abandoned by their mother. 

ECDA’s case management team connected him to an emergency relief program that assists families with urgent needs. The Jaime family was granted twelve months of rent to get them through their troubling times. Our team assisted with other basic needs and enrolled the family into calfresh food assistance and utility bill discount program. 

ECDA began right away assisting Hector in building his resume, practicing interviewing skills and he landed employment as a security guard for a hospital. ECDA also assisted his wife in enrolling into a CNA certificate program and provided their grandchildren tutoring assistance to ensure academic success. 

Then, ECDA’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program helped the Jaime family file three years of tax returns, claiming over $11,000 in refunds and credits which allowed the family to begin building their assets, something they never thought could apart of their story.  

“ECDA not only got us back on our feet financially during our employment crisis, but they also helped us in obtaining skills and realizing our family’s potential. ECDA’s financial services and community network gave us tremendous relief and made our family stronger. I am now working and growing and saving for my grandchildren’s future.”