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Ruth Marcus discusses loans with Dr. Lon Katz.
Hebrew Free Loan continues to help the Jews of Detroit
the long-time resident and the new immigrant.
SUSAN SALTER
Special to The Jewish News
n the days when Jew-
ish peddlers roamed
the streets of old De-
troit hawking their
wares from pushcarts,
there were few resources for
financial aid. But a peddler
who needed $5 for bits of
thread or pots and pans knew
where to go — the Hebrew
Free Loan Association. He
could obtain the money quick-
ly and pay back the loan,
interest-free, 50 cents a week.
Ninety-five years later,
Hebrew Free Loan (HFL) is
still here, still administering
interest-free loans, still help-
ing Detroit's Jewish communi-
ty help itself.
The tradition of a free loan
association hearkens back to
the Jewish concept of a self-
supporting community. The
decree comes from the Bible
(Exodus XXII, 24): "If thou
loan money to My people thou
shalt not lay upon him in-
terest." Detroit's Hebrew Free
Loan is the third-oldest such
organization in the nation.
A member agency of the
Jewish Welfare Federation,
HFL has over the years ex-
panded its services into a few
major groupings: general pur-
pose, student assistance,
Neighborhood Project, and Im-
migrant Resettlement. Each
area draws funds from a varie-
ty of Federation sources. But
each is based on a set of
eligibility requirements that
screen the truly needy from
those who can gain help from
more traditional venues, like
banks.
Someone who's suddenly
facing excessive medical bills,
who is returning to work after
a layoff but still has outstan-
ding debts, may qualify for a
general purpose loan. How-
ever, a working person who's
overspent his credit card will
be viewed with skepticism by
HFL's governing board.
Hebrew Free Loan is "the last
resort someone needing
money should come to," accor-
ding to Ruth Marcus, ex-
ecutive director.
Also under the general pur-
pose banner are loans for cars
to get to work, paying off legal
fees, and aiding women with
dependent children. HFL even
extends funds for weddings
and bar mitzvahs — not for a
lavish affair, but if having the
money is the difference be-
tween a modest celebration
and none at all. A general
purpose loan can run to $2000
and is repayable over 12
months. "But we can adjust
the repay schedule if need be,"
says Marcus.
Students have long found
HFL a welcome relief when
it's time to pay undergradu-
ate, grad school, technical col-
lege or medical school costs.
The organization administers
money on behalf of the Jewish
Educational Loan Service, a
Jewish Welfare Federation
program, to supply anywhere
from $1,000-$3,000 per year to
students needing to augment
their educational expenses.
One such ex-student, Lon
Katz of Southfield, now an
obstetrics-gynecology resident
at Sinai Hospital, received
loans of $3,000 per year bet-
ween 1982 and 1988. HFL has
allowed him to defer repay-
ment until his residency is
finished. The money "helped
with tuition and moving ex-
penses," says Katz, who at-
tended Wayne State Universi-
ty School of Medicine. "I
wouldn't have been able to
make a deposit on my apart-
ment if not for Hebrew Free
Loan. They came through for
me."
Home buyers have also
benefited from Hebrew Free
Loan. Through an arrange-
ment with the Federation's
Neighborhood Project, HFL
has administered $1.3 million
in the last three years to help
finance 300 homes in South-
field and Oak Park.
"We get a lot of young
Jewish couples just starting
out," says Rhoda Raderman,
director of Neighborhood Pro-
ject. After screening ap-
plicants for eligibility — the
recipients must buy in
designated areas, must intend
to occupy the home
themselves, and must already
have a mortgage — the HFL
board issues a check for up to
$6,000, repayable over seven
years. "Anyone who qualifies
will get the loan," says Rader-
man. "We don't look at in-
come."
For the hundreds of Soviet
immigrants who have arrived
in this area during the last
few years, HFL has been mare
than just another set of paper-
work. The organizaation's im-
migrant resettlement pro-
gram has represented a first
step toward a new life. Ben
Rosenthal, who chairs the
Federation's resettlement
monitoring committee, says
that if a local family agrees to
sponsor an immigrant family,
the newcomers can qualify for
loans of $500 per person for
the first four months.
In addition, the immigrants
under some circumstances
may receive an $800 grant.
This year may see 1,000 im-
migrants receiving HFL
funding.
For Lis Khomutin, Hebrew
Free Loan "made the early
days a lot easier." Khomutin
came here from Leningrad 10
years ago to join her husband,
who had emigrated two years
before her. Now a manicurist
living in Farmington Hills,
Khomutin and her spouse
used HFL to finance the hus-
band's car. They paid back the
$1,000 loan at $80 a month.
But just as important as the
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