The Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRCT) has been providing services to Aboriginal women in downtown Toronto since 1985. From its start in a basement office affectionately nicknamed “The Pit” to the spacious Victorian house that now serves as a space for Indigenous women and their children, cultural and traditional teachings are at the heart of everything that the NWRCT does. In addition to housing, advocacy, family programs and literacy and basic skills training, the NWRCT holds drum circles, ceremonies, beading circles, and is bringing back language classes.

 

“Many of the women we serve didn’t grow up with their culture, so it’s important and empowering for their identities, to share and learn traditional practices,” said Darlene King, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto’s Education Coordinator. “It’s in our blood, memory and our souls. It’s in our identities and what we do.”

 

Many of the NWRCT’s clients struggle with housing and employment – in 2015, 200 women accessed the centre’s employment support and training services. The NWRCT helps its clients access affordable housing and provides a clothing bank, a housewares bank and a food bank to support clients transitioning out of homelessness. According to King, accessible financial literacy programming like Money Matters is important to help empower the NWRCT’s learners to manage their finances and make effective decisions for their financial future and wellbeing.

 

Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples was adapted to better reflect the needs of Indigenous learners in partnership with the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health in Ottawa and released in Ontario in 2016. The program was released nationally this year and so far 1,976 learners have taken part in one of 141 workshops across the country.

 

Money Matters was created by ABC Life Literacy Canada with support from founding sponsor TD Bank Group and is taught by TD volunteers to adult learners across the country. To learn more about Money Matters and access free learning resources, please visit ABCMoneyMatters.ca.