“I came to Sonshine from the emergency shelter.
I wanted a better life for myself. I liked the program at Sonshine because it enabled me to learn life skills and stay out of domestic violence. I was willing to be pro-active and I chose to take advantage of everything that was offered.
I attended the Financial Literacy workshops at Sonshine and learned about handling money, credit, banking. I decided to explore the idea of opening my own business. I wanted to create something that sustained me financially .
I have been doing bead work all my life. It is therapeutic for me. Now I have my own company and I create unique beaded items. I collaborate with a local business and for every sale I make, I donate $5 to a domestic violence emergency shelter. When I will move out of Sonshine, my donations will go to Sonshine.
When you leave an abusive home, you don’t have financial stability. Having financial stability gives you self-esteem, confidence, and gives you back all the things that were taken away from you.
I think that having the financial literacy program has been very valuable to me because I have learnt to take control of my finances. It gave me back the power that was taken away.”
Thanks to First Calgary Financial, we can continue offering the Financial Literacy program in 2017.
