Baton Rouge Family Saves Themselves from Drowning in Debt with Opportunity Knocks

Unscripted show empowers the historically disadvantaged to ‘unrig the system’

For too long, many Americans have been tossed aside by the traditional financial services system. They’re made to feel ashamed that they’ve gotten themselves into a poor financial position.

But these people are not alone. In reality, 78% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a recent survey by Payroll.org.

Louis Barajas, Patrice Washington, and Jean Chatzky stars of Opportunity Knocks

Bobbye and Wesley of Baton Rouge, one of the families featured in the show, were no different until they became one of the six families featured in Season 2 of Opportunity Knocks, the award-winning unscripted television show on PBS. With the guidance of Patrice Washington, Pelican State Credit Union’s Lisa Lee and area nonprofits, Bobbye and Wesley learn how to get back on track and leverage their new-found financial empowerment.

Pelican State Credit Union and others contributed to Bobbye and Wesley’s success in finding financial stability.

Bobbye is a stay-at-home mom, and Wesley works in retail management. As the sole provider, Wesley’s paycheck was not enough to cover their bills, and they were in the position of having to choose between paying their mortgage and feeding themselves and their three kids. They had no additional resources to pay for the unexpected expenses, like a new tire for Wesley’s car, until they opened the door when opportunity knocked.

The Opportunity Initiative

Viewers can follow Bobbye and Wesley and the five other families featured on Opportunity Knocks. The show is part of The Opportunity Initiative – the largest economic mobility initiative in U.S. history. The show features The Opportunity Finder, a digital platform that collates more than 17,000 nonprofits, Community Development Financial Institutions and not-for-profit credit unions for anyone to use. Additionally, The Opportunity Coach provides viewers with financial health assessments and outcome measurements.

Opportunity Knocks serves as outreach for The Opportunity Initiative and is working to ‘unrig the system’ that has left many people disadvantaged for generations. The families featured in the show are paired with well-known financial experts to work together to identify and solve their issues using The Opportunity Finder.

Pelican State Credit Union, a not-for-profit, CDFI-certified credit union, hosted the Baton Rouge Season 2 celebration and was the featured financial institution to assist Bobbye and Wesley. Baton Rouge Career Center and The Louisiana Center for Restorative Dentistry were also featured in the show.

Opportunity Knocks airs locally on LPB on Sundays at 1 p.m., on PBS and PBS Passport, and www.OpportunityKnocks.net.

Funding for The Opportunity Initiative has been generously provided by the National Council for Financial Opportunities, Balance, Callahan and Associates and The Wells Fargo Foundation.

Opportunity Knocks won the prestigious Silver Telly Award for Best Reality Television Program in its first season. It was streamed tens of thousands of times and aired by PBS stations nationwide. It also earned a Silver Anthem Award, which honors the purpose- and mission-driven work of people, companies and organizations worldwide, for Episode 104. Additionally, the Opportunity Finder won a Gold dotComm Award for best website element.