Success Stories
Brandy and Randy Hancock
With three kids and two jobs, not having a reliable car wasn't even an option for Brandy and Randy Hancock. Because of credit issues related to medical bills, they couldn't get an affordable loan on a decent car, and kept buying inexpensive clunkers to see them through.
"We used to wait to use our tax refund to buy a car each year, and ended up spending $3,000 and more every year just to have transportation," said Randy. "Those cars sometimes didn't even last a whole year." After hearing about More Than Wheels from a friend, they both entered the program and were able to use one of the temporary transportation Bridge cars to see them through the nine months they were in the program.
"The financial fitness classes showed us how we could budget our money--we didn't even realize we could save so much," said Brandy. Now that they have graduated from the More Than Wheels program, they have an almost new 2011 Hyundai Sonata that will last them for many, many years to come.
"We no longer have to walk our kids to school in the snow, or rely on taxis to get our groceries. We are so grateful for all that More Than Wheels has helped us, and we would urge anyone to do the hard work, because it is so worth it in the end!"
Julian "Howie" Rivera
Hard Challenges, Better Choices and Second Chances
Julian “Howie” Rivera—first graduate of More Than Wheels/UTEC pilot program (Watch Video)
At age 14, Julian “Howie” Rivera was at one of several crossroads he faced throughout his teens that would determine the road to his future. Distraught at the untimely death of his father, Howie was hanging-out on the street and making what he now knows were some bad choices. He might have kept going down the wrong path if not for the street counselors from United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) in Lowell, Massachusetts who showed him that the opportunities they offered at their center were better choices for him. He became involved in basketball and a variety of activities at the Teen Center and found guidance in the mentoring offered by the UTEC counselors. Once connected with UTEC’s work force development program, Howie was a natural choice to take part in the pilot program between UTEC and More Than Wheels designed to give at-risk youth the financial skills and education they needed to acquire reliable transportation.
“I was able to get a good job, but had to take two buses each way just to get here,” said Howie, who works for Lobster Anywhere as an Order Fulfillment Specialist. He added that the bus schedule either meant getting to work 90-minutes early or 30-minutes late. The bus didn’t even run on the recent Columbus Day holiday, and Howie had to get a ride from his boss. He was lucky to have such an understanding employer.
Transportation is a huge barrier preventing people from getting a job or keeping the jobs they have. Where there is limited public transportation, or schedules that don’t mesh with the job requirements employees are often let go for being late. Lack of reliable transportation also means not being able to look for jobs a little farther away that may offer better salaries and benefits. The partnership between More Than Wheels and UTEC is a huge boost to the potential opportunities available to other at-risk youth like Howie.
“Having a car makes getting to work so much easier, especially in bad weather,” said Howie. “I can also see more of my family and friends, and get to visit my great-grandfather more.”
Howie feels confident about managing his finances and saving money each paycheck to pay the loan on his 2000 Toyota Camry. Now at age 18 he can see that the road to his future is on a positive track. His advice to others considering enrolling in More Than Wheels—“Just do it. It may be hard at first, but it is really worth it!”
Heather Price
“Owning a new car is really exciting for me—it’s like Christmas in July,” said Heather Price, after spending the first week with her new 2011 Toyota Yaris. “We just went to see fireworks last week. We couldn’t have walked there; we needed to use the car.”
Heather is a single Mom with two young children, Jennie age 8 and Logan age 2. She says that the best thing about having a new car is that it is dependable and very good on gas. “I don’t have to worry about it breaking down or anything like that,” Heather said. “When you have two kids you need a car.” Before getting her car, Heather couldn’t get her daughter back and forth to medical appointments or to activities.
“It made it very hard to live without a car, and it was hard on the kids. Jenny was in Girl Scouts and I couldn’t get her to her meetings without a car. Now I can, and it makes getting groceries a lot easier, too.”
Heather first learned about More Than Wheels from a friend who had gone through the program. “The fact I could get a brand new car with good financing, and improve my credit was a great.” She learned how to pull her credit report, and felt very confident about working with creditors using the tools provided to her in the Financial Fitness classes. “I couldn’t have done this on my own,” Heather said. “And I really liked the classes. I liked the people, and it was fun to be there. The instructor was great, and very friendly.”
Getting a really good interest rate on the car loan has made all the difference to Heather. She also found it very appealing that a local bank holds the loan. “Because it’s actually a bank I know and it’s right down the street, it means a lot to me. You don’t want to send money to someplace you don’t know. It’s a trust factor…and I love that they’re in the local area. ”
“Another thing I’m really excited about is that now I can anchor in my two-year-old’s car seat into the car safely—something I couldn’t do with the old car,” she said. Now that she has the car, she is making plans to go places with her kids that she wouldn’t have been able to get to before--not just medical appointmets and after-school activities, but family fun things like vactions and the beach, too!
Eric Melo
Eric Melo is a caring young father whose cheerful attitude and graceful grin give no hint of the many challenges he has overcome. Beginning with misuse of a credit card after high school graduation, up to having his old car stolen and destroyed less than 18 months ago, Eric finally decided it was time to make some changes.
“I had my first credit card right out of high school,” Eric said. “The amount of credit I was given was too high for someone right out of school, but I didn’t complain. I got myself into trouble,” Eric explained. “A year later, I was $2,000 in debt and I was only nineteen.” He continued to make some bad choices, with bad debt following him for several years. “I moved to Arizona and had some hardships there,” Eric said. “There were a few bad checks, a few bad loans, and those things really get to you. I couldn’t even get a credit card any more—didn’t have one for five years.”
“Credit, at the end of the day, is important,” said Eric. “You need good credit to buy a house, buy a car, to buy anything—the more harm you do to your credit, the more you harm yourself.”
Eric decided to make changes in the way he handled his finances when he came back from Arizona. He contacted More Than Wheels and he began to work towards paying down his debts and repairing his credit. Eric had an old car at the time which was stolen from in front of his house. The used car had no alarm system which made it an easy target for thieves. It was discovered with its engine completely destroyed. The repairs cost him $1,000 dollars that he paid because having a car was a necessity. Eric did not let this deter him from continuing with the program, which he completed six months later.
“It’s like a burden taken off your shoulders,” Eric said as he explained the feeling of achievement in finally owning his new car. His pride shows as he looks at the new 2011 Chevy Elantra parked outside his home in East Boston. He recalled some advice given to him by his client consultant; “You have to walk before you can run.” “It’s true,” Eric said. “You want all the nice things, but those things take time. You want something that’s nice, but it’s more important to have a car that you can count on to get you where you need to go.”
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Did You Know?
Since 2001, More Than Wheels has helped nearly 1,500 families finance more than $15 million in loans so they can buy a reliable car and plan for the future.
