HOPE BRINGS CHANGE

Pamela Wakefield 

Pamela Wakefield is one of the financial coaches for The Collaborative in Raleigh, North Carolina.

She is currently assigned to Ms. Y who is experiencing financial crisis, and desires to improve her financial situation.

Ms. Y came to her first coaching session with coach, Pamela Wakefield, feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Ms. Y is a 74 year-old Hispanic woman who is retired and on a fixed income.  Her expense exceeds her income, and she is in jeopardy of being homeless, because her roommate moved to another state, leaving Ms. Y responsible for the rent and utilities.   In addition to that, Ms. Y is fearful that she will not have a place to live, because her name is not on the lease.

As a coach, I was able to create an environment for Ms. Y that was built on trust, respect, and most of all hope.   Because of that, Ms. Y felt comfortable discussing her financial crisis with me.

I was able to help Ms. Y create a budget and discuss options for reducing her expenses, and advocated for her to talk with the property manager regarding her housing options, as well as, seek affordable housing as an alternative.

At each session, I encouraged Ms. Y to be hopeful that her financial situation will change as she continued to move forward. Hope is defined, as a feeling of expectation, and that something good will happen, or a desire for a certain thing to change. It’s a feeling of trust.

Ms. Y was hopeful and it gave her the energy she needed to put her plan into action.  And as to date, April 5, 2017, Ms. Y feels less stressed, she is more aware of her spending habits and plans to move in June.

I’ve learned that if the coach and the client are both hopeful, change can take place.