This month we’re shining the spotlight on Ms. Ethel Gene Awanya, mother of four and grandmother of twelve. Ethel began her credit-building journey with Working Credit in March of 2023, and in just under 12 months, she has raised her credit score by 221 points!
Ethel learned about Working Credit through the Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot program. The program provides unconditional $500 monthly cash payments to 3,250 low-to-moderate-income families in Cook County for a two-year period. “I was unemployed for six months; they laid the whole line off. Once COVID hit, everybody got hit!” Ms. Awanya recalls.
When Ethel first met with her counselor, Derison, she was inspired by the process. “He was excellent, kind, and patient. He stuck with me. We made a list of everything I needed to do to have an excellent credit score. We met every 3-4 months and checked off each item one by one. The most important thing Derison taught me was how to create and submit dispute letters. There wasn’t a whole lot on my credit report, but I just didn’t have the information I needed to handle it by myself before coming to Working Credit.”
As of today, Ethel’s FICO credit score is up 221 points, and she plans to buy the house that she’s currently renting. When she first visited the house as a potential renter, she was prepared, “It’s a beautiful two-bedroom house. I came dressed up; I had my briefcase, I had run my own credit report, I had my money order, I had it all together, she remembers.” However, because her credit score was so low, the landlords were reluctant to rent to her. She asked them to give her a try, and they did. Now, because of her improved credit score, she has been approved for a mortgage and is negotiating with the same landlords about purchasing the home she’s currently living in. “I’m a fighter; I’m determined,” Ms. Awanya says of herself.
Ethel says that she was a housewife for many years, but she also ran a few businesses from home, one of them being a Christian daycare center where she cooked for the kids and then sent food home to their families. She says she appreciates the independence of today’s women, and when asked about Women’s History Month and who she admires most, she said, “My Mother because she stayed with all 10 of her kids no matter what, and she still is around all 10 of her children. She instilled in us those good work ethics and a relationship with God. Also, Michelle Obama, a true trailblazer who stood by her husband as well no matter what, a true leader of women, keeps setting the tone for women’s freedom and rights.”
Congratulations, Ms. Awanya, and Happy Women’s History Month to all!
