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IDA Helped Single Mother Get Off Welfare

At one point, Erica was living in subsidized housing in Boston with her two young sons. The majority of their meals consisted of dry, packaged goods lacking in nutrition. Looking to better her situation, she enrolled in an Individual Development Account program and has since moved out of subsidized housing, earned her Master’s degree and become a social worker.

“I’m not on welfare anymore,” she said. “I can buy things for my kids. We can even take a vacation. We wouldn’t have imagined this 10 years ago.”

She credits her improved situation to the IDA program at the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation, one of CFED’s partners. IDAs are matched savings accounts to help low- to moderate-income people afford to buy a home, go to college or start a business. For every dollar that she saved, the IDA matched her with four more.

“The IDA program taught me about budgeting and dealing with finances in a healthy way. I also learned that I could actually save,” she said.

While Erica pursued her graduate degree, she supported her family on a part-time $7,000 salary but still managed to save $50 a month in her IDA.

Without the IDA, Erica may not have been able to go back to school to get a better job for herself and a better home for her children. Now, she continues to save and has high hopes for her sons’ education and bright futures.

“I feel so much better about my kids’ chances in life,” she said. “I’m better able to provide what they need to thrive.”