During the fall of 2019 and the following spring we conducted community conversations and focus groups with over 100 low-to-moderate income New Haven residents. We asked them about their experiences with different forms of debt. Based on these conversations, we developed a comprehensive debt survey.

Unlike many other surveys about debt, our survey includes questions about debt types that are experienced mostly by lower income people. It includes questions about more conventional types of debt, such as mortgages, credit cards, and student loans as well as less conventional types of debt such as pawn shop, rent-to-own store and installment loan debt. It also includes questions about non-loan debts such as arrears on all kinds of obligations such as medical bills, rent, utilities, taxes, legal financial obligations, municipal fines and fees.  The survey also asks participants about their general health and perceived financial well-being. We also include questions about the impact of COVID-19 and of the economic crisis on the financial lives of our participants.

We administered the survey in New Haven in the summer of 2020. The survey was conducted online or via phone with 405 participants. Our goal was to understand the experiences of low-to-moderate people, to which end we recruited participants through local non-profits and other social service providers, the public housing authority, advocacy groups, and targeted social media ads.

During the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021, we will conduct multiple in-depth interviews with a smaller group of 40 participants from this original sample. These follow ups will allow us to track in real time how the public health and economic crises are impacting our participants’ debt and financial lives.