Taking Care of Business

Program leaders say HOP functions more like a bank than a traditional service group, based on a model of social enterprise.

"We're trying to apply the methods of business management to social work on a very local level, to fill a niche in the community," Worf says.

Stallings says the group tries hard to treat its clients as individuals, worthy of respect.

"We want to avoid the danger of service that is patronizing or authoritarian, that is imposed from the outside and doesn't respect that people can make decisions for themselves," she says. "I feel like HOP maintains the integrity [of viewing] people as people."

The entire loan process--from application to interview to contract--usually takes about 10 days, but can be completed even more quickly to meet the specific needs of clients.

The loans, which do not accumulate interest, are quite flexible. Clients can choose the amount they wish to repay each month, ranging from $20 to $50.

But repayment of loans has been a major problem for HOP in the past. Over the past several years repayment rates have sunk to less than 50 percent. Because the program operates as a revolving loan fund--relying on incoming payments to fund new loans--the loss of payments creates a severe drain on the group's capital.