Operation HOPE to Provide Virtual Financial Recovery Support to Individuals and Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Operation HOPE today announced that it has activated HOPE Inside Disaster for individuals and small businesses to receive free virtual financial recovery support in response to the nationwide economic impact of the new coronavirus, COVID-19. For more than 19 years, HOPE Inside Disaster has been the centralized arm of Operation HOPE’s national disaster and preparedness division, and one of the nation’s first lines of response for financial recovery to support individuals facing the reality of job loss, business interruption, credit issues, and debt.

HOPE Inside Disaster’s free virtual financial services for those impacted by COVID-19 include:

• Credit education and coaching
• Financial disaster budget planning for individuals and families
• Money management education and coaching
• Assistance with financial disaster recovery creditor and mortgage debt deferment
• Guidance and assistance referrals in the following areas:
  - Food
  - Clothing
  - Shelter
  - FEMA assistance

To access these services, impacted individuals and small businesses are encouraged to call the HOPE Inside Disaster hotline at 1-888-388-HOPE (4673) or visit the HOPE Inside Disaster website to be connected with a financial disaster recovery specialist who will assess their situation and provide personalized coaching and assistance.

“The mandated business closures and social distancing measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 are already severely impacting U.S. employment and are having a catastrophic effect on the small business community and its employees. The dedicated team of counselors at HOPE Inside Disaster are prepared to help individuals and small businesses across the country navigate this crisis,” said John Hope Bryant, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Operation HOPE. “Over the past 19 years, our team has helped more than 1.3 million disaster survivors with financial recovery services, and we are fully deploying our resources for those affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19.”

Created following 9/11, HOPE Inside Disaster, powered by HOPE Coalition America (HCA) and Operation HOPE, is one of the leading financial emergency preparedness and recovery services in the U.S. Through partnerships with the American Red Cross, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and industry leaders, HOPE teams deploy in response to federally declared disasters to serve as a financial advocate for affected homeowners, renters, and small business owners. HOPE financial wellbeing coaches help impacted individuals and small businesses mitigate credit issues, develop emergency budget counseling, communicate with creditors, obtain Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, prevent foreclosure, and prepare for the future.

Organizations that wish to provide financial or in-kind support to HOPE Inside Disaster may contact Mary Ehrsam, President of HOPE Partnerships, at 646-496-7449 or [e-mail].

To learn more about HOPE Inside Disaster, visit https://www.hopeinsidecovid19.org/recovery

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through our community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. Project 5117 is our multi-year four-pronged approach to combating economic inequality that aims to improve financial literacy, increase business role models and business internships for youth in underserved communities, and stabilize the American dream by boosting FICO scores. Operation HOPE recently received its fourth consecutive 4-star charity rating for fiscal management and commitment to transparency and accountability by the prestigious non-profit evaluator, Charity Navigator.

For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow Operation HOPE on Twitter and Facebook @operationhope