Description

Hard-pressed families struggling to pay their mortgage and juggle other bills may miss a student loan payment and damage their credit. Mortgage lenders reviewing applications for refinancing or loan modifications would push back until student loan arrearages were cleared up. Parents who co-signed their children’s student loans, or who were themselves student loan borrowers, were in the same boat with that unforgivable debt threatening the roof over their heads.

As a result, Urban Edge began working with students, former students, and parents to help them consolidate their student loans, refinance, lower repayments, remove defaults, or decrease the burden of high-interest rates. Based on the outcomes achieved after one year of the program, and the feedback received from the people it has served, over 80% of participants were counseled on their student loan debt through various repayment solutions.

In 2020, Urban Edge counseled 30 borrowers on alleviating student loan debt.