Last week, the Contra Costa Times published an article about the two SparkPoint Centers that United Way and our partners plan to launch in the cities of Richmond and Bay Point.   Here’s an excert from the article, “Program to help low-income residents plan careers, finances coming to Contra Costa County,” which appeared on December 21:

A program inspired by the United Way to help low-income residents achieve financial independence is coming to Contra Costa County next year.

SparkPoint centers will open in Bay Point and Richmond, joining centers in Oakland and San Mateo, Marin and Napa counties in the Bay Area.

The Bay Point center will open in February, and the Richmond center will have a midsummer rollout, according to Terrance Cheung, chief of staff for county Supervisor John Gioia, of Richmond.

The centers will build on basic social services, such as financial support and child care subsidies, by adding a financial- and career-planning component.

“The only way people can get out of poverty is if they can become financially independent, building assets, having a home,” Cheung said. “A lot of families don’t know how to do that.”

Cheung said Richmond and Bay Point were chosen as office sites because they have some of the county’s highest poverty rates.

About 17.2 percent of Bay Point residents were below the federal poverty line in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, compared with 19.2 percent of residents in Richmond.

SparkPoint’s goal is to help clients improve their credit scores, increase their incomes and build their assets. The program has specific strategies to reach these goals:

• Improving credit scores by designing a budget and reducing debt.

• Increasing incomes by enrolling in career training and connecting with money-saving programs such as free tax preparation and utility discounts.

• Boosting assets through matched savings programs, buying homes and funding a retirement plan.

Counselors ask clients to make a two- or three-year commitment.

Read the full article.