Financial problems, especially those involving medical debt, have a way of snowballing into serious crises if left unresolved for too long. Most Louisiana residents would want to access any and all resources available to help them secure debt relief if they were faced with a problem financial situation. The pastor of a mega-church in another state said he understands that, and that’s why he set out to do something about it to help those in need.
The pastor said his family knows what it’s like to have piles of unpaid medical bills because when he was young, he was involved in a serious car accident. He survived his injuries after lying in a coma for some time but his parents faced financial hardships due to medical expenses. The family’s church raised money to help them pay their debt. As a grown man, the pastor said he wanted to do something similar, so he joined efforts with an organization that buys medical debt then forgives it; donations to RIP Medical Debt equate to $1 per $100 debt forgiveness. The pastor’s church donated $100,000, which converted to more than $10 million of medical debt forgiven for local veterans and others.
The 34-year old preacher said he simply wanted to honor the tradition of the church of his youth and encourage others to help people facing financial crises due to medical debt. While it would be nice if every person trying to overcome serious financial problems had a church or other community group to lean on for assistance. The reality is it doesn’t always work that way.
However, just because there may not be a fund-raising group nearby does not necessarily mean there are no debt relief options available. In fact, the average Louisiana resident often has several possible ways to pay off debt and restore financial stability. The good news is there are experienced support networks who can help someone facing financial crisis explore their options and determine which might be the most viable in a particular situation.
Source: foxnews.com, “Texas church helps forgive $10 million in medical debt for veterans, local families“, Caleb Parke, Accessed on April 17, 2018
