Story in Brief
The fiscal health of homebuyers, renters and property managers were impacted with job closings that resulted with consumers not able to pay rent and mortgages. The UGA Extension Family and Consumer Sciences agent in Chatham County intensified her educational outreach to help clientele navigate healthier housing and family finance wellness solutions with the emergence of COVID-19. The agent partnered with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to provide a webinar about the “Bank On” free bank account for unbanked consumers. This was an opportunity to provide a safe delivery of stimulus and unemployment checks to consumers through direct bank deposit. The agent provided resources for property owners through renters’ requests to complete corrective actions while working with housing code enforcement and health departments. Two dozen community partners worked with UGA Extension to provide timely COVID -19 resources developed by the statewide network of UGA Extension personnel. One community partner wrote, “Our agency is so thankful to have FACS Extension in Chatham County providing publications and newsletters that we can reproduce for our clients, especially during the pandemic. Thank-you.”