Last modified Wed., January 23, 2008 - 04:12 PM
Originally created Thursday, January 24, 2008

NMCRS offers new financial aid program to help service members

By Kaylee LaRocque, Editor

NAS Jax Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) Director Dave Faraldo explains how the society can assist military members and their families with financial issues to a group of Sailors at the command financial specialist training at the Fleet and Family Support Center Jan. 15. The NMCRS has started offering short term loans up to $300 through the Quick Assist Loan program. Photo by Kaylee LaRocque

The Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) is now offering a new program that will benefit Sailors and Marines in need of financial help.

The new initiative, called the Quick Assist Loan (QAL) Program allows active duty Sailors and Marines to obtain a short-term loan up to $300 to help with financial emergencies. The money can be used for basic living expenses, medical or dental expenses, vehicle/transportation expenses or family emergencies.

"We've rolled out this new program this week to coincide with the NMCRS' 104th birthday. The idea behind the QAL program is to afford service members the opportunity to come and get a zero percent interest free short-term loan to help them when something unexpected comes up between paydays. This loan should be quick and easy," explained NAS Jax NMCRS Director Dave Faraldo.

To obtain the loan, service members just fill out the application which can be downloaded at www.nmcrs.org under the QAL icon, and take it and a copy of their leave and earnings statement and their military ID card to the NMCRS office. "It really is that easy. We are trusting that the applicants will use the money for emergency situations. They also determine how fast they can pay it off through an automatic allotment for up to 10 months," added Faraldo. "Sailors and Marines can obtain up to two loans per year as long as they don't have an outstanding loan with us. If they come in asking for a third loan, we will ask them to go through budget counseling to find out why they can't live paycheck to paycheck."

The new program has been in a testing phase for the past year at several different NMCRS offices. "The society realizes that there are service members out there that simply need a small amount of money between paydays to tide them over. With the payday lending businesses up and running, we realized the need for this type of service," said Faraldo. "We have pushed very hard to put a limit on payday loan percentage rates to keep our service members from getting caught in the payday loan trap. Our position is that there is a three-prong approach to solving these problems - education which means making sure everyone is aware the perils of taking out a high interest loan; effective legislation that protects our people from being ripped off; and having an alternative place to go. We've basically answered all three of those by starting this new program."

"We've noticed that the average payday loans are running between $300 and $400. We would have liked