As South Valley Services approaches our 25th anniversary, we wanted to reflect on the best ways SVS has been able to help as many victims of domestic abuse as possible and to help eradicate domestic violence in Utah where 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. When previous clients share their success stories with us, we are always delighted by hearing about their personal achievements and want to share these successes with supporters of SVS.
By the time our clients seek services, close to 90 percent of our clients report having zero income, which is the result of financial abuse. Financial abuse occurs when the abuser takes control of the victim’s or family’s finances with methods like strict allowances, forbidding work, or destroying the victim’s credit. This type of abuse leaves survivors financially dependent on their abusers leaving them without the resources to leave. To combat this form of abuse our Financial Empowerment Specialist is running one of our most successful programs, the Financial Empowerment course. The Financial Empowerment course is one that many of our clients find greatly beneficial to their current and future lives. The course covers topics such as what financial abuse looks like, how to budget, basic investing, and more. Mikaylee, our Education and Prevention Director, explains...
“These classes teach about warning signs of financial abuse, financial wellness, budgeting and its importance, basic financial terms, places to go for personal financial information, and covers education on insurance and investing basics, loans, and credit.”
A recent client who stayed at our shelter greatly benefited from receiving help from Laura, as well as within our Financial Empowerment program. After safely leaving our shelter and taking steps to create their new life, they emailed us saying…
“The Financial Empowerment program has helped me find stability, it has helped me get back on my feet and has been an absolute blessing in my life. If it were not for Laura and this program I would not have been able to be self-sufficient and get back on track…The financial empowerment program has been one of the most rewarding programs I have been involved with.”
From the beginning of 2022, we have had over 300 clients attend this virtual course and have helped 158 clients with either credit repair or matched savings assistance.
If you would like to support funding for future courses for our clients, such as this one, and our educational services, please donate today.
