Executive Summary

Tzedek DC safeguards the legal rights and financial health of DC residents with lower incomes facing predatory lending and abusive debt collection, with the goal of closing racial wealth gaps. Our strategic approach combines three synergistic programs: (i) free legal and financial counseling services; (ii) advocacy for systemic change; and (iii) bilingual community education and outreach.

Our FREE LEGAL AND FINANCIAL COUNSELING SERVICES assist vulnerable residents with debt- and consumer-related legal issues arising from many sources, including credit card debt, identity theft, financial abuse, medical bills, consumer housing matters, student and auto loans, and problems with consumer products. Our services enable residents to avert crippling default judgments; negotiate feasible repayment plans; understand and build credit; and recover from economic crimes before such problems overwhelm victims’ lives.

Our coalition-based ADVOCACY FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE seeks to make DC laws and practices, including fines and fees, more equitable in order to protect current incomes and enable future asset-building. Our advocacy is expanding opportunity by making it easier for all residents to attain housing, loans, jobs, and driver’s and occupational licenses from the DC government—all foundational elements of economic citizenship and stability.

Our COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH spreads preventative and practical education regarding debt problems, credit management, proliferating scams and frauds, and free legal services. Our partnerships with 49 community-based organizations are the heart of this work, centered on our Spanish-language Sin Deudas, Sin Dudas and accompanying English-language No Debts, No Doubts programs focused on supporting DC’s Latino and Black communities.

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