DAI leaders from Richardson, Garland and North Dallas engaged Democratic primary challengers in Congressional District 32, and Republican candidates for Senate District 2 and House Districts 114 and 102 . Leaders secured pledges around local control of payday lending ordinances and restoration of state funding to public schools and workforce development.

When Angela Basse, a youth coordinator and leader with St. Charles Borromeo Catholic, was a pre-teen she saw firsthand the toxic effects of payday lending on family life. "At the time they were made to look simple," she said, but "we missed out on book fairs in schools, field trips at school, because we didn't have the income. Because we knew that we were having to pay back loans."

She was joined by other leaders of VOICE in support of legislation that would curb the worst effects of the payday lending industry in the state including caps on interest rates and limits to the number of times a loan can be rolled over.

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As part of a two-pronged approach to restrict payday lenders, the North Texas IAF succeeded in persuading the Council to pass zoning restrictions which would separate payday and auto-title lenders from banks, credit unions and more traditional financial institutions, while also requiring them to seek a specific-use permit from the council. The purpose of this would be to prevent high concentrations of payday lenders in low-income (or any) neighborhoods and would apply to new businesses.

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Over 150 leaders from Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith assembled with three candidates for US Congressional District 5 including Republican incumbent Vance McAllister, Dr. Ralph Abraham and Mayor Jamie Mayo. Leaders succeeded in leveraging bipartisan agreement to work with the organization to:

- Expand Medicaid in Louisiana;

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Undeterred by the Louisiana legislature's reluctance to pass payday lending reform this year, Together Louisiana leaders turned their attention to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, taking over a hearing on mobile banking and pointing out the need for intervention on payday lending.

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