Cash boost to give financial skills to low-income families

Cash boost to give financial skills to low-income families. Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office executive director Jihad Aliweiwi believes that the $14.5 million committment to Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) announced recently will help provide his clients with a start toward financial independence. Staff photo/BRAD PRITCHARD

Jehad Aliweiwi is optimistic that financial illiteracy will be a thing of the past for the residents of Thorncliffe Park.

Aliweiwi, the executive director of the Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, said a recent announcement about funding for programs aimed at helping low-income families better manage their finances is a "landmark day" for his neighbourhood.

At a press conference held at the office this week, TD Canada Trust president and CEO Tim Hockey unveiled plans to donate $14.5 million toward the charitable organization Social Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI), which helps low-income Canadians achieve financial independence.

"There is a significant need to increase financial literacy in neighbourhoods like Thorncliffe Park," Aliweiwi said. "This will be a good test case to see how this program can succeed here and elsewhere."

The $14.5 million will be spent in two ways. The Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy (CCFL), a division of SEDI, will receive $3.5 million to support the training of staff who help deliver financial literacy programs across the nation.

The remaining $11 million will be used to help community organizations obtain grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. This money will help these agencies integrate financial literacy programs with the services they already offer.

Approximately 25,000 people live in Thorncliffe Park. Aliweiwi said the neighbourhood has one of the highest concentrations of recent immigrants, with a lot of those new Canadians being young families that move here with anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 in savings.

He said these financial literacy initiatives are aimed at helping them make more responsible decisions with their money.

"People will now have the opportunity to enhance and generate their income and wealth," he said. "They will be educated about investing their money wisely in things like RRSPs and GICs. I believe this is the precursor to long-term financial stability and a way to end poverty."

Nekesha Blake, 29, is a married mother of two children and she said becoming financially literate has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on her life.

"I used to only worry about having enough money to pay the bills every month, nothing more," she said. "I didn't even think about saving."

After taking courses offered by SEDI, she said she realized her true financial potential. Not only did she learn how to save enough money to finance her way through school, she was also recently able to buy her first home.

Now a registered nurse, Blake said she will take everything she learned about finances and pass it down to her children.

With the expansion of this financial literary initiative, Peter Nares, executive director of SEDI, said he hopes the program will be accessible to 230,000 people among lower-income groups across Canada within the next five years.

"This will lead the business community and governments to recognize that financial literacy is an essential life skill and to champion this cause," Nares said.