Meeting the demand: Banks work overtime to cash Hardship checks

TSÉBIGHÁHOODZÁNÍ

The sound of money counters quickly and accurately counting large sums of money inside Wells Fargo banks is shuffling across Diné Bikéyah.

Bank managers greet customers as they walk in, often holding the coveted white envelopes with a $2,000 ARPA Hardship Assistance check and a letter inside.

The letters, which likely go unread, from the president’s office explain where the money came from to issue checks to each qualified adult and child.

“Da’ ałąąnísh i’ílééh?” people in line would ask one another.

“Aoo’! We’re going to Flagstaff!” said a woman in Tónaneesdizí.

“Nidaga’ heííh, shí adooh shich’įna’íyéedah,” some replied.

Some older women would deposit half of their hardship money into a grandchild’s account.

“She can use it however she wants to,” said another woman in Tónaneesdizí.

The ARPA Hardship Assistance checks for Diné under 60 are showing up in mailboxes, and the banks are prepared.

“We have customers from all over,” said Ron Yazzie, branch manager for Wells Fargo in Tsébigháhoodzání. “Some of them are traveling in.

“We helped a lot of our elders who were given checks first,” he said. “Now, we’re assisting more (people) for the $2,000 checks.”

Yazzie said many of his employees work overtime to accommodate customers from New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.

“They’re traveling in because a lot of the community members, their locations are not familiar with the checks, so they’re coming here,” Yazzie said.

Araceli Hinojosa, the regional banking district manager for Wells Fargo’s North Mountain District, said it’s quite a celebration inside the banks right now.

She said her staff genuinely have a love for the communities they serve.

“And they (her staff) want to be part of helping them succeed financially,” she said. “And they go out of their way to do that.”

Kes Seweingyawma, branch manager for Wells Fargo in Tónaneesdizí, said customers often bustle about at the Tuba City branch around noontime, but her team’s handling it well.

“We’re really focused on getting customers their money,” she said.

Getting cash

To meet the demands of their customers, Wells Fargo in the Four Corners region is getting cash from two undisclosed – for security purposes – vault locations.

“There are two vaults that deliver our cash,” Hinojosa said. “We use both of them and we have communication.”

Hinojosa said she and her team had to convey to the locations why the Wells Fargo branches within the Four Corners needed to have enough cash for exchange.

“We had to explain (why) because not every area in the U.S. is going through big check-issuing like we are,” Hinojosa said. “So, we wanted to make sure they understood what’s happening and why it’s happening to ensure we have enough cash (so) everybody’s taken care of.”

This includes servicing small businesses because the coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for entrepreneurs to keep their doors open, retain employees, and rebuild through Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund, said Hinojosa.

The fund supports community development financial institutions and nonprofit organizations that serve diverse small businesses.

“We have quite a few businesses (in the Navajo Nation), and they’ve been really impacted by the economy … and are having a hard time recovering,” Hinojosa explained.

“Wells Fargo has really helped out with the (program) where $420 million went back into small businesses,” she said, “and that’s a priority for us.”

Thank yous

While the stimulus may help boost the Navajo economy, it is helping Diné families grapple with the blow inflicted by COVID-19.

“I have received thank-you letters and thank-you cards,” President Jonathan Nez said. “Our people have gone through so much.”

Nez said some people living off the Navajo Nation returned home to take care of their families.

“Which also meant they didn’t have a steady income because their job was off the Nation,” Nez explained. “They came back but felt it’s very important to help their families and communities.

“Some who worked off the Navajo Nation had lot of bills, and this was a relief to help them through these difficult times,” he said. “Others who chose to stay on the Navajo Nation needed other items.”

Nez said he is encouraging those who received a hardship check to spend their hardship money wisely and to spend it in the Nation.

“Prepare for the uncertainty before us because we’re not out of this pandemic yet,” Nez added. “Be prepared in case we go through another surge. We’re still amid a public health emergency. Plan for the future with these dollars.”

Crystalyne Curley, spokeswoman for the president’s office, said 150,000 hardship checks were processed and mailed Tuesday, March 15.

The controller’s office will mail out 40,000 more checks by the end of the week.

“If that goal is met, then there will be a little over 110,000 more checks left to process and mail,” Curley told the Navajo Times on Wednesday morning.

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