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Dr. Gary Bloch, a family physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, has spent years treating patients living on a low income for many illnesses he believes are linked to poverty. In fact, studies have shown that Canadians living in poverty are more likely to suffer from illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental illness, cancer and other chronic conditions than the typical Canadian. 

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.