Blog

Before Ava Williams signed up for the MPower Money Coaching program, she was struggling to pay off her OSAP and bank loans, finding it hard to stick to a budget and was worried about saving for the future. When she found out that Toronto Employment and Social Services was offering a new program providing free financial coaching support to help people on low incomes achieve financial goals, she jumped at the opportunity to improve her finances.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s (CAMH), Social Determinants of Health Service recently launched a financial literacy program called Money Wi$e, an initiative that addresses the financial literacy needs of the hospital’s clients. Funded by a TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund grant, the Money Wi$e program empowers clients on their road to recovery by equipping social workers, therapists and other clinicians with what they need to become financial literacy trainers using a train-the-trainer model.

Financial Literacy is a basic need for every Canadian. This November marks the fifth annual Financial Literacy Month (FLM) in Canada.FLM aims to encourage organizations from all sectors to promote financial literacy for Canadians of all ages.

In SEDI’s recent submission to the Ontario government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy consultation, we strongly encouraged the government to take advantage of a new community approach to reducing poverty called Financial Empowerment.