Women tell US senator of troubles with payday lending

WARREN — Two area women who found themselves in the “rat hole” of payday-lending debt and found help from area agencies described their ordeal to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and others today.

Christina Sarno borrowed just $200 from a payday lender to avoid homelessness after she had her first child, but she quickly realized she could not pay back the principal or the interest.

“After receiving constant calls and having the store manager show up at my house to try to collect the money I owed, I gave up. At this point I had developed a lot of interest on the loan and owed more than I could possibly pay back on my income,” she said during a meeting at the Warren YWCA.

Latita Parnell told Brown she was trying to avoid being homeless when she borrowed $700 from a payday lender. The only way out for her was filing bankruptcy, she said. With the help of housing and other services from the Wings at the YWCA, a housing facility for women and children, Parnell now has a job and is working toward leaving the YWCA and getting her own home.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com