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Valerie Porlier-Smith seemed a little perplexed at the Community Action Partnership financial workshop Monday afternoon.

Valerie Porlier-Smith is good with people, art and poetry. It’s the left-brain stuff she struggles with — like budgeting, prioritizing and money management.

“Once money is in my hands, it kind of acts like water through my hands,” she said.

Wornel Mitchell and Laticia Irvin have dreams of owning a house together one day. But it takes budgeting their money, a skill they would like to learn.

“That’s the main thing, budgeting our money right,” Mr. Mitchell said. “Especially if we could save enough to get a home one of these days.”

They were all part of a group of more than 30 people that attended the Big Dream series workshop at Community Action Partnership (CAP) Monday evening. The four-session workshop, in collaboration with U.S. Bank, is designed to help low-income families manage their money better.

Rachel McCoy, CAP director of development and communication, said the workshop fits into the big picture of her organization. “The ultimate goal is to help families and individuals reach economic stability,” Mrs. McCoy said.

Representative from U.S. Bank are on hand during the series to provide information on repairing credit, home-buying basics, budgeting and other financial tools. Attendees who complete all four sessions will receive $25 to open an account at U.S. Bank.

This is the first workshop series sponsored by U.S. Bank in conjunction with CAP, said Mark Cochran, U.S. Bank region president for Northwest Missouri and southwest Iowa and one of the workshop presenters. He said the hope is that if this is a success, it will become a continuing project. “Hopefully we can answer some questions for people,” he said.

The next workshop is Nov. 3. The last two workshop will take place on Feb. 9 and March 16, 2009. All workshops are free and are held at CAP offices on 817 Monterey St. Child care and evening meals are provided.

For more information or to register, call Mrs. McCoy at 233-8281, ext. 110 or e-mail her at rmccoy@endpov.com.

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.