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FUTURE WORK (Jan. 2026 – Onward) Development of New Financial Empowerment Programming The long-term vision of the Financial Empowerment Blueprint centers around the establishment of new financial empowerment programs. However, this long-term vision of financial empowerment would occur only after the establishment and success of foundational income- building programs and financial counseling, as outlined in the two earlier phases. Future financial empowerment work includes the expansion of services at the Financial Empowerment Center and research and collaboration on a long-term neighborhood vision, including homeownership programs and increased small business and entrepreneurial support. Expansion of a Financial Empowerment Services Over time, the City can expand partners referring clients to the Financial Empowerment Center to support priorities based on continuing resident feedback and review of issues residents are currently facing. The City will also look to expand services beyond one-on-one financial counseling at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. These services have yet to be procured and will require future research and collaboration to enact. Some of these expanded financial services may include: • Youth: Deeper supports on financial education, budgeting and asset-building • Worker: Income and debt management, asset-building and financial planning for retirement • Asset Builder: Support the development of asset building products and processes, technical assistance for leveraging assets and the expansion of asset builder portfolios • Senior: Income and asset protection services, elder financial protection program, estate planning Research and Collaboration on a Long-Term Neighborhood Vision for Homeownership The City is currently investigating potential homeownership programs to pursue, pending the success of preceding financial empowerment initiatives. A proposed version of this long-term vision includes a three-phase program: • Phase 1: Gap financing for low-income residents in Kennedy Park and LaSalle Park neighborhoods to increase homeownership rates and household equity positions • Phase 2: Home repair program, similar to past City home repair programs, but specifically targeted toward repairing Kennedy Park and LaSalle Park neighborhood roofs and updating HVAC systems • Phase 3: Development of single-family infill housing in Kennedy Park and LaSalle Park neighborhoods’ numerous vacant lots An initial exploratory benefit-cost analysis of this three-phase homeownership program returned promising results: the City’s projected investment in Kennedy Park and LaSalle Park would likely result in proportional returns for neighborhood residents. While it is acknowledged neighborhoods require more than homeownership programs to thrive, identifying homeownership as the backbone of flourishing neighborhoods that creates the most salient opportunity to build and transfer generational wealth, an essential strategy to address the racial wealth divide in South Bend. With deeper, more granular investigation into such a community development project, we hope to continue finding significant promise in this type of investment while finding ways to optimize benefits for area residents. FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT BLUEPRINT 35