Program areas at CESI
This program assists clients in managing their personal finances through the provision of debt management Services, credit counseling, Education and training, and budget planning. Cesi offers assistance over the phone, online, and in person. Certified credit counselor's discuss various options with clients regarding financial decisions. They assess individuals' personal financial situations and assist them in developing a budget in order to improve their overall credit. During the fiscal year ending june 30, 2022 approximately 12,266 financially distressed individuals received credit counseling and free educational resource materials.
Community Education outreach- cesi supports the advancement of financial literacy Education within local and state communities through a strong community outreach program. Outreach efforts include group Education programs, usually in partnership with local community agencies or educational institutions. The second part of the cesi outreach effort is in the form of free individual financial counseling at the cesi center with an accredited cesi counselor. During the year ended june 30, 2022, cesi conducted 58 classes assisting approximately 729 individuals. Cesi offers numerous financial educational resources, which are easily accessed by all consumers and not just cesi customers. These resources are designed to help consumers better manage their finances and to achieve the goal of becoming debt free.in addition, consumers may participate in cesi's free online courses through cesi comprehensive guide to personal finance, which provides a comprehensive financial literacy curriculam that offers self-paced instructional sessions. This program assists consumers with the necessary skills to improve their financial management practices that include debt management, minimizing credit card spending, and developing a budget. Cesi also offers a variety of educational resources that include personal financial calculators, a bi-monthly e-newsletter, educational blogs on on-line community message boards, as well as various e-learning resources such as video webcasts.
The hud housing program offers a wide variety of housing counseling Services to potential homebuyers, renters and current homeowners. These Services include Education through group sessions and on-on-one counseling. The areas of focus are pre-purchase Education and counseling, rental counseling, foreclosure prevention counseling, and reverse mortgage counseling. Cesi provided housing stability counseling program with assistance to 1,207 homeowers and renters by reaching out to loan servicers, landlords, emergency rental assistance funders, and local/state housing assistance funding programs. Clients were also assisted with budgeting needs and credit review and recommendations as warranted.
Bankruptcy counseling- cesi offers bankruptcy counseling for individuals in need of either pre-filing credit counseling or post-filing debtor Education. Before an individual files for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy, a credit counseling certificate from an executive office for united states trustees ( eoust) approved agency is required. Cesi provides the required counseling for our clients in order to obtain the certificate. This can be done both online and by phone. After completing the credit counseling and filing for bankruptcy, individuals are required to complete a debtor Education course by an eoust approved provider. This course is offered both online and by phone. Both pre-credit counseling and post-credit counseling are performed by certified counselors.cesi also provides support of the carolina community impact, Inc's programs.