Chelsea – a diverse, working-class industrial city adjacent to Boston – wouldn't have made my list of places to see in the Boston area (and I did have a list, as it was my first-ever visit there), but I'm glad it snuck into my itinerary. Peering down from the bus window onto crowded bus stops, old buildings and corner markets, I could sense the many ups and downs people had lived through in the community, and was eager to learn how the credit union stepped in to help.

Once the group was settled into Metro CU's building, the welcoming staff shared details about CONNECT, the financial opportunity center it created by partnering with four other local organizations: Bunker Hill Community College, Career Source, Metro Housing Boston and The Neighborhood Developers. Since 2012, CONNECT's five entities have been, according to its website, "helping people achieve sustainable living wage jobs and financial health and well-being by partnering to provide essential skills, knowledge and social capital." With each organization bringing something different to the table, the five partners offer CONNECT clients educational opportunities, employment resources, assistance with housing and money management guidance.

For Metro CU's part, the credit union, which serves about 200,000 members in seven Massachusetts counties, refers members to CONNECT if it appears they may benefit from the program (for example, if the member has poor credit). In particular, Metro CU helps place members into CONNECT's Financial Coaching program, which pairs clients with coaches who work with them to reach financial goals, such as reducing debt, improving credit, finding a better job, saving for a car or home, or building skills for employment. According to stats presented by Metro CU staff during the session, the coaching program really works: On average, 70% of the approximately 300 CONNECT clients served annually saw their net income, credit score or net asset numbers creep up, with 52% of 318 coached clients in 2017 making gains to their income (median gain of $9,286) and 48% of those clients improving their credit scores or establishing credit (median gain of 33 points).

It's one thing to say your credit union promotes financial health by offering things like lower rates and fees or leniency with loan payments, but engaging in a partnership like Metro CU's is something all credit unions should aspire to. It's an incredible example of what credit unions are meant to do: Dig deep into the financial health issues in their communities, find solutions to the problems, take struggling residents by the hand and help guide them onto a more promising path.

Would recreating a program like CONNECT in your own community be a lot of work? Of course. But I'm hoping the session's attendees left feeling inspired to build something similar back home (after all, the purpose of the session, according to CUNA, was to "learn how to make financial health an integral part of your credit union's operations"). For those that do decide to take on the challenge, Metro CU's Charlene Bauer pointed out that no two programs would look exactly alike. "The model can be replicated, but first you have to identify the specific needs of your community," she told attendees.

In my opinion, it's not just those struggling to make ends meet that can use some financial guidance – even the most educated and gainfully employed can. It's becoming more and more difficult for people to live comfortably in many metro areas, even on what most would consider a good income. The cost of tuition, homes and goods keeps rising, but what really gets me are the skyrocketing rents. For example, in 2012, I paid around $1,100 a month for a noisy, one-bedroom, bottom-floor apartment with a cockroach problem in Studio City, Calif. Now, according to apartments.com, a similar unit goes for about $1,700 a month. And it's not just in California – CNBC reported that as of June 2016, the annual rise in U.S. rents was nearly four times the annual inflation rate. If this trend continues, renters are going to need some seriously creative budgeting help.

A big theme at ACUC was marketing, as CUNA announced it would be rolling out the consumer components of its Open Your Eyes program in January 2019 with the goal of hooking average consumers nationwide into the credit union movement. As credit unions formulate their marketing messages going forward, letting consumers know how they're making real financial health improvements through programs such as CONNECT will make the messages much stronger. But first they have to do the work.

Natasha Chilingerian

Natasha Chilingerian is managing editor for CU Times. She can be reached at [email protected].