The L.A. County Financial Navigators program, operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Center for Financial Empowerment in partnership with Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, announced it is currently providing L.A. residents with free assistance to help them deal with the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trained Financial Navigators will provide assistance by telephone to help L.A. County residents with many common financial issues, including:

– Maximizing income

– Managing debt

– Locating food and housing resources

– Finding special services or resources.

The County of Los Angeles was one of 31 city and county governments selected by the CFE Fund, a national nonprofit organization, to receive funding, training, and technical assistance to launch the new service which will help the residents of L.A. County at no cost.

L.A. County residents can access the L.A. County Financial Navigators program today by simply completing a short online request form at dcba.lacounty.gov/financial-navigators.

The call center is also available to provide assistance in completing the form at (800) 593-8222.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of L.A. County residents struggling to make ends meet,” said Rafael Carbajal, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. “We are proud to deliver the Financial Navigators program to L.A. County residents through our partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. We encourage those in need to reach out and let our Financial Navigators help guide you to find a way through and beyond these challenging times.”

The Financial Navigators program is available to anyone living in Los Angeles County. It can provide services in languages other than English.

During an initial soft-launch period, L.A. County Financial Navigators provided help to 375 L.A. County residents, nearly 60 percent of whom were currently unemployed.

Most participants were seeking information about assistance for renters, searching for jobs, and food resources.

Financial Navigators are not long-term counselors and cannot provide direct financial assistance such as cash or loans.

For more information, visit dcba.lacounty.gov or follow the Center for Financial Empowerment on Twitter: @LACountyCFE.