In 2022, Friends of Guest House began an exciting partnership with Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative serving Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax, and Alexandria, Virginia. The Credit Union selected Guest House for a $10,000 reinvestment grant to support our financial education and workforce development programming along with offering Community Accounts to our participants.
All women in the Guest House Residential program participate in our Workforce & Life Development (WLD) program to gain skills and prepare to return to the workforce. The program is divided into four phases that provide new and critical skills/experiences as women work toward reentering the workforce.
Phase 1 – Women engage full-time in WLD classes. Classes are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. The schedule mimics and teaches, the routine required of full-time employment.
Phase 2 – Women can seek employment for up to 20 hours/week in the evening, but continue to take at least 7 classes a week.
Phase 3 – Women can obtain employment for more than 25 hours a week and continue to take classes.
Phase 4 – Supports clients as they enter our Aftercare Program.
We include benchmarks along the way to celebrate woman’s progress as they move through the program. WLD classes are taught by dedicated volunteers and members of other community organizations like Arlington CFCU.
In August 2022, Arlington CFCU piloted Community Accounts for Friends of Guest House participants. These Community Accounts are fee-free and waive the “chex system.” This means that any history, credit, or prior fees owed to other financial institutions are waived. Arlington CFCU provides financial literacy training through the WLD program and encourages them to get everything in line for the future. In the meantime, they can open accounts!
Guest House program participants only need $5 to open a Community Account. These accounts feature:
- No Nonsufficient Fund (NSF) Fees
These fees are typically charged when you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a transaction. - No Stop Payment Fees
Need to cancel a check or recurring debit payment that hasn’t been processed? No problem. - No ATM Fees
- + Earn Money
Get up to 1% cash back on debit card purchases each month. - + Free Financial Counseling
Friends of Guest House can’t thank Arlington CFCU for this amazing opportunity for our women. For more information on Arlington Community FCU’s community initiatives, visit www.arlingtoncu.org/community.
