LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The City of Louisville will now provide financial counseling to residents free of charge through its newly launched financial empowerment center.

What You Need To Know

  • Free financial counseling is now available for Louisville residents

  • The city and Louisville Urban League partnered to make this happen

  • Appointments can be made online or by phone

  • Debt management, credit help, and finding a bank are some of what councilors can help with

At the empowerment center, professionally trained financial counselors will help people manage their finances, manage their credit, and increase their savings.

The Louisville Urban League and the city have partnered to make this possible. 

“We know that there are folks out there now that aren’t able to go to a traditional bank. We want those folks,” said Sadiqa Reynolds, President and CEO of the Louisville Urban League.

The League has trained a team of three Certified Financial Empowerment Counselors. Funding for the project, in part, came from a national nonprofit called Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund.

“I think it’s important for people to know this is about you, so if you need two weeks or two months, whatever the need is, that’s what we are going to help with,” Reynolds said.

The center will be based out of the Urban League’s office at 1535 W. Broadway. Virtual sessions will also be offered.

Several partnering organizations are also offering spaces to meet with councilors, one of those being the Louisville Pride Foundation. 

“Anything we can do to help level the playing field and give people a step up is going to make a big difference,” Mike Slaton, executive director of the Louisville Pride Foundation said. 

Slaton highlights the importance of having a place where the LGBTQ community can go to better their financial situation. 

“Especially if you are a person of color and you’re LGBTQ or you have other intersexual identities, you have a lot of barriers to participation and to access and to accessing the services and things that are out there,” Slaton said.

For the Urban League, this is the newest tool in their arsenal of resources dedicated to serving those in need.

“The work is connected together so someone who’s starting today with trying to increase their credit score, two years from now, a year from now, really could be buying a house,” Reynolds said. 

Louisville now joins over 30 other cities in making a hefty commitment toward empowering its citizens through financial success.

More information about this program can be found here. You can sign up for the empowerment center online here or by phone at (502) 585-4622 (Ext. 6).