Lifting Women Out of Poverty Changes Entire Ecosystems, Families, and Generations
Jul 20, 2023
By: Dana Shepple
July 20, 2023
In May, @womxnofwealth co-founders, AdaPia d'Errico and Jennifer Azar Burnham-Grubbs completed a 4-part Financial Literacy series for women at the Downtown Women’s Center of Los Angeles. They connected with many women who are cared for by the incredible team at the DWC to change the trajectory of their lives.
The Downtown Women's Center is working to create a Los Angeles where every woman is housed and works with women to build a path to personal stability. DWC's mission is to end homelessness for women in L.A. through housing, wellness, employment, and advocacy.
The series went beyond building financial literacy and set the foundation with sharing skills and stories about building confidence and self-worth. True healing begins by turning inward. AdaPia and Jennifer shared tools to lead a healthy and well-balanced life as they discussed taking care of their physical and mental health needs first, and then further discussed how important it is to find balance in these areas when it comes to finding and keeping a job.
As women are getting back on their feet, earning an income and rebuilding their lies, they can create a firm foundation with the basics of personal finance such as creating a budget, a personal income plan, building an emergency fund, learning how to manage credit - both in the use of debt and improving credit scores, and finding ways to increase their income over time.
Other topics that were discussed included but were not limited to; how to find a job through creating or updating their resume, practicing interview skills, building a network and searching for job training programs, and starting a business. Notably, several participants said they wanted to start their own non-profit to help others, which is a testament to the human spirit and the gratitude and generosity of these women, who have found a safe place to regroup, rebuild, and come out stronger than ever.
WOW understands the impact that can be made by connecting with women at any and every socio-economic level to help them realize their full potential and worth! WOW exists to move all women from financial literacy, to fluency, and to mastery. When we lift women up, those women in turn lift other women up! We create a virtuous cycle of wealth and worth, raising our Abundance IQ, and making a tremendous impact on families, communities and society.
The L.A. Times released an article with stats around single homeless women in L.A. County and “this report confirms what we already know: If we provide women with access to safe housing, hygiene, healthcare and opportunities for economic stability, we can break the cycle of poverty and pave the way for a more equitable future." Financial education is a needed form of personal and economic empowerment that lifts women out of poverty and changes entire ecosystems, families, and generations.
“The Womxn of Wealth sharing on Financial Literacy for our participants was powerful and timely. Our participants were able to gain so much self-revelation and confidence when it comes to knowing how to handle and grow the money they worked for. Jennifer and AdaPia shared from their own personal life experiences that related to our listeners in some shape or form about lessons learned in what to do when you make your money, or how to put some money aside for yourself first, and paying for everything in cash. Over the four sessions our participants left more knowledgeable and grateful for the time spent with these entrepreneurial women who empowered their audience that they all too could make great financial decisions and grow their own wealth one day at a time.” - Jacqueline Foreman, DWC Interim Workforce Development Supervisor.
Small Actions X Lots of People = BIG CHANGE.
Our donors are changing the world by equipping women with financial literacy, fluency, and mastery.
