A Bronx woman is bouncing back after a few tough years of serious financial debt.
Alisa Pratt says the end of her relationship left her in a bad place financially as a graduate student and full-time employee.
She wound up paying nearly $4,000 of loans a month.
“It got to the point where I thought I was going to be homeless and move into the shelter,” says Pratt.
For help, she turned to the Bronx Court House, where she found out about a non-profit called
Upsolve, that helps low-income families file for bankruptcy online, free of charge.
Rohan Pavuluri is the co-founder of Upsolve. He says filing for bankruptcy typically cost around $2,000 in lawyer fees. Upsolve's goal, he says, is to help families and individuals get back on their feet.
"Relieve their debt, improve their credit, increase their access to banking and housing," says Pavuluri.
Pratt says after two months of working with Upsolve her bankruptcy was resolved, freeing her to continue working on her degrees and passions, like coaching a local step team and lending her voice to raising awareness on gun violence.
“It's just a big gratitude, I'm like 'yes,’” says Pratt.
Her community efforts recently got her recognized by the New York City charity, “Robin Hood” at their Heroes Breakfast.