New Hope for a Borrower in Rural California

“I was going through a very tough and challenging time. The Economic Justice Fund gave me the ray of hope I needed.”
DIANE

Diane’s parents taught her to be fiercely independent. For years she has raised livestock, and now, at the age of 73, she still lives in the rural Northern California farmhouse that she and members of her family built with their own hands, pouring concrete for the foundation, assembling the structure, wiring the home, and putting on the roof. Over the years, she and her husband opened their home to eight foster children, including four with autism.

Diane had never looked for a handout in her life. But her perseverance was sorely tested when her husband’s health began to fail a few years ago.

Her husband—whom she married when she was 17—underwent seven surgeries for cancer and heart problems and suffered three strokes. Despite having Medicare and expanded health care coverage, the couple faced high out-of-pocket costs for his medical treatment. As a result, Diane was forced to sell off most of their cattle, a primary source of their income. Her only remaining income was her Social Security benefits, which couldn’t cover all the medical bills.

Diane’s financial predicament worsened at the start of the pandemic when the stock market crash devastated her 401(k) retirement plan. In addition, the doctor treating her husband’s cancer eventually refused to provide care when Diane could no longer pay the medical bills. She finally hit bottom when an $800 electric bill arrived. “I had nothing,” she says. “I had no money to pay the bills.”

After being turned down for a personal loan by several lenders, Diane took out a predatory title loan on her truck. The loan had an egregious interest rate and hidden fees, and if she missed payments, the lender could confiscate the truck—the only vehicle she had to transport her livestock.

Diane refused to stop fighting for her husband of 56 years and their family farm, and she applied for a personal loan from the Economic Justice Fund. EJF’s loan officer evaluated her application carefully and felt confident she could make her payments if the loan was structured fairly and affordably. After working closely with Diane, EJF offered her a loan with a low, fixed-interest rate and a longer term that would reduce the amount she would have to pay each month.

With the funds from her EJF loan, Diane was able to pay off her medical and electric bills as well as the title loan on her truck. And, justifying the EJF loan officer’s faith in her, she has made every loan payment on time.

Diane’s husband is 81 years old now and back home at the family farm, and Diane considers herself truly blessed.