AROUND TOWN ViNIMICM371:1•1111011k 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 TUC nET1711/11T irimau porlAin OVA