Financial Opportunity Center
What is the Financial Opportunity Center + Housing Hub?
The Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) + Housing Hub, located at 806 E. High St. in downtown Charlottesville, is a welcoming, friendly place where lower-income Charlottesville residents can come get hands-on assistance in:
- Climbing the financial ladder
- Improving your housing situation
- Building a brighter future for you and your family!
Core services available at the FOC include Employment Assistance, One-on-One Financial Coaching, Income Supports, Housing Navigation, and Eviction Prevention assistance.
There are more than 100 FOCs across the country, working under the umbrella of LISC, a national community development organization. FOCs provide their services in an integrated way to help clients reach their goals. FOC clients receiving combined services are 50% more likely to get a well-paying job than clients only receiving employment services. Combined services also double clients’ long-term job retention rate.
The overarching purpose of the Charlottesville Financial Opportunity Center + Housing Hub is to dramatically improve ease of access to financial and housing stability resources for residents of our region, and to foster greater system and resource coordination.
Housing Stability and Eviction Prevention
The Financial Opportunity Center offers housing stability case management and counseling for those at risk of eviction. Our comprehensive services encourage long-term housing stability, including financial and rental counseling, court navigation, tenants’ rights and fair housing information, and resource referrals. We do not offer financial assistance at this time.
The Housing Stability program collaborates closely with legal aid, property managers, service providers, and other stakeholders to push for systems-level change and ensure that when evictions do happen, they are rare, brief, and humane.
If you are a resident of Albermarle County or the City of Charlottesville and are at risk of eviction, contact Housing Stability Case Manager Elizabeth Stark at 434-825-0302 or email estark@piedmonthousing.org for help.
FOC Orientation Sessions
Orientation sessions for the FOC will be held each Friday.
Virtual orientations will be held via Zoom on the second Thursday at 5:30 PM. Upcoming virtual session dates: 6/12, 8/14, 10/9, 12/11. Click the link below to sign up for one of our upcoming Zoom sessions:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscO2rrTMiHtcTW0Sb0_ew3wUQCF5frx5z#/registration
In-person orientation sessions in-person orientations will be held the second Friday of the month at 12:00 PM at the Financial Opportunity Center at 806 E. High Street in Charlottesville. No registration is required – please feel free to drop in! Upcoming in-person session dates: 5/9, 7/11, 9/12, 11/14.
Hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
Contact: Shymora Cooper, FOC Manager, at (434) 422-5483 or scooper@piedmonthousing.org