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February 6, 2009
An unexpected offer
Free Loan Association is looking for applicants.
MICHELLE DODEK
It might sound like something out of bizzaro-world, but there is a Jewish organization that doesn't really want your money. In fact, what they want is to get the money that they hold out to people. As amazing as this sounds, the Hebrew Free Loan Association (HFLA) is looking for Jewish people who need its money. Following the idea of "giving a hand up instead of a hand out," the HFLA changes people's lives with interest-free loans.
The reason Jews give interest- free loans is from a commandment in the Torah. "If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them." This mitzvah is contained in the reading on Shabbat Mishpatim, which falls this year on Feb. 21.
Because of the Torah portion's significance to the HFLA, board members will once again be going out into the community to "re-brand" Shabbat Mishpatim as HFLA Shabbat. This is an attempt to spread the word about the good that interest-free loans do.
"We're the biggest secret in the community. I can give you a laundry list of positive things our loans have done over the past years," said treasurer of the HFLA board of directors Murray Livergant. Livergant mentioned people buying things like computers and cars to enable them to work, or students using loans to finish school so they can start their lives. Loans are also there for people who are not able to get loans from a conventional lender and simply need some money to get them through a tough time.
Although logic would dictate that there would be more applicants than ever with the current economic downturn, Livergant said that right now is the slowest period in 10 or 12 years. He stressed the willingness to lend money, as its raison d'être and that people may not think they are candidates, but they may be. Three target groups that he would like to see applying are young people who are just starting out in their careers, those living middle-class lives operating on a tight budget who may have unexpected expenditures and people who have lost their jobs.
In the past, Livergant recalled, loans have been used for things such as financing summer camp or a bar/bat mitzvah for a child, taking a course to begin a new profession or small businesses needing to increase inventory. There was once a young man who returned from Israel and needed money to bring his wife and newborn here, recalled Livergant. Many new immigrants have used HFLA loans to begin their lives here, including a number of musicians who needed to buy instruments. For many of these people, these loans meant continuing with a happy, productive life.
Linda Tenenbaum, secretary of the board of directors of HFLA, recalled a case where a man applied for money after having been kidnapped in Columbia. He had to sign all of his assets away in order to be released and decided to come to Canada to start a new life. Some are amazing stories of dramatic lives but most loans go to normal people living their daily grind.
To really help regular people, repayment of the loan is set up on a schedule that is mutually agreed upon. The fact that there is no interest means that the first payment begins to eliminate the loan itself. This has proven a successful model. HFLA accountant Bruce Mos-covich proudly noted that the default rate on the loans is extremely low. Those who can't manage to make their payments can renegotiate their terms, or may have to fall back on their guarantors. Guarantors are people willing to accept the responsibility of paying back the loan if need be, but Moscovich said it is rare to have guarantors step in. The successful repayment rate is an indicator of the way in which the people receiving loans are able to use the money to help themselves.
Applying is very straight forward. Other than finding two reliable guarantors, applicants fill out a one-page form (available online). An interview with a board member follows, to discuss the application and then, within a maximum of two weeks, the board decides in a confidential meeting whether to grant the loan.
The board is made up of volunteers, to keep the overhead low and see that the money goes to those who need it. There are, of course, administration costs so, in order to continue its good work, HFLA is looking for "friends" for support with an annual $36 fee. For more information on how to apply for a loan or to become a friend, call 604-263-7652 or visit www.hfla.ca.
Michelle Dodek is a Vancouver freelance writer whose full-time job is caring for her two small children.
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