John can’t stop crying. He’s at the end of his rope.
The two separate cancers that’ve been killing him for months are bad enough. But then the landlord kicked John out of his apartment because he couldn’t afford both rent and treatment.
John is homeless, alone, broke, and dying.
And now Community Financial Credit Union is calling him. Again. Probably demanding payment on all his overdue loans. Again.
He dries his eyes with one shaking hand, answers reluctantly with the other.
“Hi John, this is Lori from CFCU.”
John braces for more bad news, more judgement, more despair.
But then Lori shocks him.
“John, I’ve got good news. We’re pausing your loan payments to us for 6 months. No payments. No interest. We’re gonna connect you to a financial counselor to help you get back on your feet and into another apartment. And we’ve got a free gas card so you don’t have to worry about getting to treatment.”
Lori explains that CFCU has joined Life Over Debt, a national alliance of credit unions offering meaningful financial relief for members like him who’ve been devastated by the second-leading cause of death in America, and the most expensive disease many of us will ever face.
And he’s one of the first CFCU members to be served by their new Cancer Care Agent program.
“This is amazing,” John stammers, “but why . . . why are you doing this for me?”
To which Lori replies, “Because when you’re fighting for your life, you need your money more than we do.”
John’s tears return. But these are of joy and hope. And they don’t stop for a very long time.
This is adapted from the story of a real member helped by CFCU’s Cancer Care team. There are hundreds of thousands of members like John across the country. Let’s help them, together. Find out how at LifeOverDebt.com.
