Financial Empowerment Center Initiative Offers Free Financial Counseling to Orange County Residents

Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, Orange County has become the first local government in Florida to launch a Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), which offers residents free one-on-one financial counseling sessions with certified financial counselors.

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Administered by Orange County’s Community and Family Services Department, the program is a partnership between Orange County Government, Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County, and the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. Designed to assist local residents in building financial stability, it gives them the resources to budget and save, pay down debt and boost their credit scores.

“It puts local government at the center of helping its citizens secure financial stability,” explained Lavon Williams, deputy director, Orange County Community and Family Services. “Since the pandemic, more families than ever are in need of financial counseling to figure out how to rebound and move forward.”

Held in-person as well as virtually, sessions with certified financial counselors focus on budgeting, increasing personal savings, paying down debt, improving credit scores and more. Sessions are currently being held within Orange County’s John Bridges, Hal P. Marston and Pine Hills Community Action Centers, with a planned expansion of services throughout 2025.

“Financial hardship represents a silent suffering for people, and we want our residents to feel like they have the support to set them on the path they want for themselves,” said Williams. “People just need a little bit of help rebuilding their financial perspective.”

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The FEC movement is supported by seed funder Bloomberg Philanthropies, as well as the Wells Fargo Foundation and other generous partners. Piloted in New York City in 2008, FECs across the nation have worked with nearly 173,000 clients who have reduced their personal debts by more than $276 million and increased household savings by nearly $54 million.

Additionally, at the core of the FEC model is the integration of counseling into other social services, such as housing and foreclosure prevention, workforce development, prisoner reentry, benefits access, domestic violence services and more.

“We’re pleased to partner with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to bring this educational opportunity to local residents,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “Financial security is based on planning, saving and money management, and we want to help our neighbors achieve that kind of stability.”

Learn more and sign up for appointments at Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County.