By Igor Yorke
I’m a proud small business owner of a coffee shop in Spokane with my wife, Iryna. We arrived in Spokane in 2015 after fleeing a brutal war in our home country of Ukraine. Our shop, Cedar Coffee, is a dream come true. Once refugees and now citizens, we have a thriving small business that has allowed us to find success in Spokane and be able to raise donations for our home country in these trying days.
But we were not always in such a position, particularly when we were first starting out. Thankfully, one of the resources we were able to access was SNAP, a local community development financial institution, which provided us capital and training. That is why I’m excited that Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Equitable Access to Credit Act passed by the Legislature this year. This legislation created a new fund for providing resources to people like me who are pursuing their dream and creating jobs, but…
