FY’20 was a productive year at the Maria del Pilar Quintana Family Center. Program Manager, Zulma Liriano took the Center one step forward in regaining its place as a hub for citizenship and naturalization supports in the City of Lawrence. Citizenship Services Lawrence Family Development, Inc. d/b/a Lawrence Prospera has a long history of providing citizenship and naturalization assistance to immigrants living in Lawrence and the surrounding areas. Citizenship preparation classes, originally held at the Lawrence Public Library, have grown into the Citizenship for New Americans’ Program at the Maria del Pilar Quintana Center. During FY’20, the Quintana Center partnered with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition to host two naturalization clinics at the Quintana Center’s Foley Library. Volunteers and immigration attorneys were on hand to assist with completing the Naturalization forms and answer questions. Overall, thirty individuals living in the City of Lawrence received assistance at the two clinics. In addition to the formal clinics, the Quintana Center continued its partnership with Northeast Legal Aid/ Northeast Justice Center (NLA) to provide legal assistance to individuals seeking to complete the naturalization forms. During FY’20, eighteen people received legal assistance at the Quintana Center through the NLA partnership. 834,000 New U.S. Citizens were Naturalized during the last Federal Fiscal Year (FFY19). This was an Eleven-year High in New Oaths Sworn. LAWRENCE PROSPERA FY’2019–2020 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 10 Lawrence Prospera continues to work with the Massachusetts Office of Refugees and Immigrants to provide the Financial Literacy for Newcomers program. The program targets immigrants in and around the City of Lawrence and provides them with information to help them establish trust in the U.S. financial system. During FY’20 over 100 individuals participated in workshops, provided in both English and Spanish, addressing the basics of banking, credit scores and reports, budgeting and buying a home. Immigrants often have a distrust of financial institutions based on experiences in their countries of origin. CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREUA’S FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS SERVING IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
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