Athens nonprofit The Ark is working to get the word out about the effort to combat predatory lending.

The Ark’s Common Wealth Athens program provides family financial planning for low-income families in Clarke, Oconee, Madison, and Oglethorpe counties. Stephanie Cockfield is financial education director at the organization; she says one priority is getting families out of high interest pawns.

“So, if you are considered a pawn rather than a loan, then you can get around that cap,” according to Cockfield. “Unfortunately, with a lot of the title pawns that are in the Athens area and all over Georgia really, we could see interest rates as high as 150% to 400% APR.”

Cockfield says those terms can lead to a seemingly never-ending cycle of debt for borrowers.

“I’ve worked with clients that wi

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