For more than 40 years, Transitions has been helping people with developmental disabilities live in the community. Located in St. Albert, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, the organization supports people through a wide range of life skills programs — from cooking classes to workshops on healthy relationships and independent living.
When it came to teaching financial literacy, however, program facilitator Brian Manning knew it could be challenging to find resources that were both accessible and engaging. That’s when he discovered Money Matters for People with Diverse Abilities, a free program from ABC Life Literacy Canada.
Money Matters is a free introductory financial literacy program that has helped more than 100,000 adults across the country since 2011. The program is flexible and easy to deliver: host organizations choose when and where workshops take place, and all materials are shipped directly to them free of charge. Workbooks are designed to be approachable, discussion-based and written at a grade six to eight reading level.
“I was so delighted to find course material that was off the shelf,” says Manning. “For people with disabilities, there are lots of resources for some topics, but for others, you’re really starting from scratch. The Money Matters workbooks were very helpful and easy to adapt.”
There are three program streams—Money Matters Core, Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples and Money Matters for People with Diverse Abilities—each designed to meet the specific needs of different learner groups. Money Matters for People with Diverse Abilities includes seven adaptable modules, including Money Safety, Understanding Your Paycheque, and Needs, Wants and Spending Plans, helping learners with various intellectual and physical abilities build confidence with money.
A practical, flexible approach
Transitions supports about 80 people who live independently with help from the provincial government’s Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program. Classes are offered free of charge to those who are signed up to Transitions’ programming, giving learners a comfortable and familiar environment to build essential life skills.
Manning has run three Money Matters workshops this year, and they’ve been among the most popular offerings at Transitions.
“They’ve been very well received,” he says. “Participants really enjoy getting the workbooks to take home, and their support staff and guardians have all given us great feedback.”
Manning takes a hands-on approach when teaching the program. Participants receive the Money Matters workbooks ahead of time so they can review and fill them out at their own pace. In class, he uses the workbook as a guide to discuss real-world examples and invite learners to share challenges, reinforcing the key lessons through conversation.
Expanding financial safety
While teaching the Money Matters curriculum, Manning also saw an opportunity to customize the program and add his own content on money safety and fraud prevention — an increasingly important issue for the people Transitions supports.
“Some of our folks have been victims of scams, so I added sessions about protecting your money,” he explains. “We covered things like door-to-door sales, people asking for money on the street and online or telephone scams. It’s a big concern for our community.”
Building confidence and independence
Since all of Transitions’ clients live independently, and many of them work part-time in retail or service roles, learning to manage their money is a vital skill.
“The budgeting lessons around needs versus wants were especially valuable,” says Manning. “These are basic concepts, but everyone—not just people with disabilities—benefits from learning them.”
Through the Money Matters program, learners at Transitions are gaining confidence and practical financial skills that help them make informed decisions, avoid fraud and feel more in control of their finances.
“The curriculum is very good and quite appropriate for developmental disabilities,” Manning adds. “It’s engaging, easy to understand and genuinely helpful. Everyone needs this stuff.”
To learn more about Money Matters, host a free workshop or download free financial literacy resources, visit abcmoneymatters.ca.
