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WISER women’s program: well-being innovation with support and education for resilience—a homelessness prevention intervention

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WISER women’s program: well-being innovation with support and education for resilience—a homelessness prevention intervention

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1

DSW Capstone Project

WISER Women’s Program

Well-being Innovation with Support and Education for Resilience

Homelessness Prevention Intervention

Brenda Wiewel

University of Southern California

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Topic

Page
Table of Contents

2
Executive Summary

3
Conceptual Framework

9
Problems of Practice and Innovative Solutions

16
Project Structure and Methodology

25
Conclusions, Actions, and Implications

49
Appendix 1: Definitions

54
Appendix 2: Logic Model

56
Appendix 3: Artifact WISER Women’s Group

58
Appendix 4: GANTT Timeline

178
References

182
Acknowledgements

199

3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The author’s Capstone Project, known as WISER (Well-being innovation with support and

education for resilience), consists of a new intervention designed to address the Grand Challenge

of Homelessness by preventing homelessness in later years for low-income adult African American
women. As noted by Fong, Lubben, & Barth (2017), the Grand Challenges in Social Work were
selected because they represented the biggest social problems facing society. Furthermore, there
must be promise that progress could be made in each challenge area through comprehensive efforts
to develop and implement significant innovations (Fong, et.al). The Grand Challenge of
Homelessness has been framed as solvable through expansion of proven approaches along with
strengthened policies and effective service innovations (Larkin, et.al, 2016). From a humanistic
perspective, elimination of homelessness is considered a priority because it impacts all aspects of
human well-being, results in a heavy economic cost, and makes death more likely for those who
experience it (Fenelon, 2017). Advocates for this grand challenge encourage social workers to
include prevention and early intervention when conceptualizing how to make an impact, given the
presence of structural and environmental factors such as wealth inequality, lack of sufficient public
investment in housing assistance, housing development unequal to population needs, and other
variables that have led to increasing housing insecurity and eviction rates for people who are poor
(Desmond, 2016; Gaetz & Dej, 2017; Larkin). Prevention efforts can impact the inflow through
policies, including legal services to prevent eviction, rental subsidies or housing vouchers,
increased wages, and affordable housing development (Larkin). There is ample room for
innovations such as a new approach that impacts self-efficacy and resiliency through support
group-based financial capacity development, as described by the author in this paper. Additional
aspects of well-being, primarily reduced social isolation, strengthening of marginal communities in
response to a changing social environment, and expanded harnessing of financial technology
applications, will contribute added value from this innovation to related social work grand

4
challenges. Without expanded prevention efforts, the problem of homelessness will persist as newly
homeless people continuously fill up the street corners vacated by those lucky enough to access
housing.
WISER is designed to prevent adult African American women from becoming homeless in
their later years, as the numbers of homeless older adults continue to rise (Kushel, 2012).
Researchers have found that the U.S. older adult homeless population is growing, with baby
boomers at higher risk of becoming homeless than previous generations (Kushel; Culhane,
Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013). According to a large study by Brown, et al (2016),
persons who became homeless when 50 years or older comprised close to one-half of the older
homeless subjects and were likely to have experienced crises following the death of a spouse or
retirement after a lifetime of employment and housing. Given that African Americans have
persistently been overrepresented within the ranks of homelessness, are one of the largest
population groups at risk of becoming homeless across the country, and that women’s needs are
often distinct from those of men, an intervention designed specifically for adult African American
women can make an important impact on a vulnerable and often overlooked group.
Although it was recognized as key for the Grand Challenge of Homelessness (Larkin, et,
al.), policy and practice related to prevention has been neglected in favor of dealing with the
immediate emergency of unsheltered persons on the streets of American cities. In Los Angeles, for
example, the initial resources and available evidence-based interventions appear insufficient to fully
address both the crisis of current homelessness and the inflow. As a result, county systems during
the five-year period of 2011-2016, were targeted primarily to the 30% of the population
who were chronically homeless, cost the county the most, and could benefit from permanent
supportive housing approaches (ABT Associates, Inc., 2017). Additional resources were allocated
to rapid rehousing of homeless persons who required less intensity of services and could be
reintegrated quickly (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, 2016b). The current Los Angeles

5
prevention effort is supported in a budget that recently increased the prevention services allocation
from 3 to 6% of the total funds available (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, 2019a). In
addition to prevention services funding, there have been policy-related efforts directed to expansion
of affordable housing stock. These include funding for housing innovation challenges (Smith,
2019) and policies such as tax credits for housing development (Ma, n.d.), linkage fees (City of Los
Angeles, 2019), inclusionary zoning, and rent control (Chiland, 2018). However, none of these
prevention policy or practice strategies directly help low-income African American women facing
the combined impacts of aging, racism, and sexism. This author intends to fill that gap with a
specially designed new intervention.
The research literature related to prevention of homelessness recognizes that federal level
structural interventions have the most potential to impact large numbers of persons at risk, with
various income and resource redistribution policies. However, given the current political climate, it
seems more practical to focus on the evidence for effective service strategies. According to a recent
prevention research overview by Shinn & Cohen (2018), these cluster around how best to stem the
flow into homelessness as well as how to ensure maintenance of housing stability for those at high
risk due to recent episodes or current shaky circumstances. The strongest evidence base (Shinn and
Cohen) has been substantiated for eviction prevention, rental subsidies, and intensive case
management. However, Shinn & Cohen acknowledge that there is ample need for additional
research exploring how best to strengthen the social safety net with locally adapted services that
provide accessibility and meet the full range of individual needs. None of the interventions being
currently applied involve support groups, are strength-based, or designed to build resilience. For
vulnerable women with fixed or limited incomes in local communities of color, it is important to
develop new strategies that can empower them within their environment. The author asserts that
her proposed intervention will provide an accessible, culturally relevant service to fill an obvious

gap. The program will be evaluated for effectiveness and can be adapted in multiple local settings

6
for a wide variety of vulnerable groups. It will strengthen individual resiliency, add knowledge,
and link access to key resources for financial health. The new intervention also addresses some of
the indirect causes of homelessness related to health and community network breakdowns that
result from long-term sustained poverty. It will empower participants and create expanded
community support networks.
The WISER vision is to provide an intentional community of support for low-income
African American women to prevent homelessness through a program where they can build
personal and economic power that uplifts their families and communities; a place where they are
planting seeds of future opportunity for the next generation while strengthening their own
economic condition. The program mission is to offer an innovative women’s group with a
structured curriculum that builds a social and financial foundation for participants who otherwise
may have considerable vulnerability to housing instability in their later years. Program participants
will strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors to prevent loss of housing. In order to
achieve this vision and mission, the author has utilized published research, design thinking
technique, and clinical social work knowledge from her past experience to develop a 24- week
women’s group curriculum. It is contained in a manual, with session goals, activities, and
worksheets, that also provides detailed instructions for creating, operating, and evaluating the
program. The full user manual is provided as the author’s artifact in Appendix 3.
WISER has been operationalized with a structured implementation plan. It starts with a
one-year pilot operated by a non-profit agency with strong faith ties in the African American
community. The pilot will support groups at two sites in South Los Angeles, to test usability and
make rapid cycle improvements. This will be followed by a two-year expansion to build on the
pilot at three sites. The expansion will explore use with women at three different points on the
prevention continuum; those at risk or vulnerable financially due to health or family issues that
impact their income streams, those at imminent risk of housing loss who are receiving publicly

7
funded prevention help, and those who have been re-housed with need to maintain housing status
after a period of homelessness. A formative evaluation will test the process and early results to see
if things are on track with the program expectations. The output and outcome results generated at
this stage will demonstrate if it’s on the right track to accumulate evidence for a possible linkage
between the variables of group participation, self-efficacy, financial status improvement, and
housing stabilization, making the case for an expanded evaluation study to prove the concept. This
process will eventually allow WISER to become an evidence-based intervention for widespread
scaling, dissemination, and utilization.
The full implementation is based on a seven year plan with phases including one year of
exploration (which took place during the author’s progression through her first year of social work
doctorate studies), one year of preparation (currently in progress with the phase-based tasks having
been achieved or still in progress), and a five year implementation (a one year pilot, two year
formative evaluation, and two year summative evaluation to accomplish successive and measured
growth). Accompanying evaluation activities are matched to each phase with the final aim of
building a full evidence base for dissemination. Sustainment will occur after the intervention
evidence base has been built and will include development of a dissemination organization, policy
advocacy around ongoing funding for prevention programs, collaboration with community partners
through coalitions or learning communities, and provision of program model training to assist with
use or adaptation to other special populations.
Social work practice has a strong base in social justice, with the NASW Code of Ethics
(2017) identifying ethical responsibilities to promote the general welfare of society. Advocacy and
program development to help fulfill basic human needs for persons who have been marginalized,
excluded, or treated unfairly is at the base of the profession. The WISER project is centered within
this context in an effort to make a difference on the grand challenge of homelessness. It is
designed to strengthen a vulnerable group to better meet their basic needs, stay housed

8
and experience increased well-being. The author recognizes that the intervention is focused at the
micro level and does not directly address the outer macro context, where woefully
insufficient affordable housing stock along with ongoing wealth inequality continues to impact the
problem. However, building from the ground up may have macro implications that will be
generated over time as women find new ways to own their power and make community-based
impacts on social good through the legacies they leave for future generations.

9
Conceptual Framework

Statement of the Problem

The innovation, known as WISER (Well-being innovation with support and education for

resilience), consists of a newly created women’s prevention program in response to the Grand

Challenge of Ending Homelessness. In a country with such great overall wealth, it is truly
perplexing to encounter so many people sleeping on the streets without permanent shelter. Visitors
often react with shock, horror, or disgust at the third world conditions when they see areas where
homeless people are living in makeshift shelters on refuse-strewn streets. Skid Row in Los Angeles
has been compared unfavorably to a Syrian refugee camp in terms of access to toilets (Holland,
2017). As one of the most wicked problems facing our cities in the 21st century, homeless counts
show growth in numbers for people as they age and for people of color (Henry, et.al, 2018).
Factors connected to persistence of homelessness are wide-ranging and include economic
conditions related to insufficient housing supply, high land costs, and rising rents, along with
individual issues such as social isolation, chronic health management, and behavioral health
conditions, heightened by a lack of appropriate or sufficient government policies to address poverty
(Padgett, Tsemberis & Henwood, 2016). The most recent national homeless assessment report to
Congress from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (Henry, et al, 2018)
found that 552,830 people experienced homelessness in one night throughout the country or 17 per
100,000 people. Of these, roughly 80% were over age 18, 30% were female, and 40% were African
American (Henry, et.al, 2018). In California, 33 in every 10,000 people were homeless during that
same period (Henry, et al.), with 70% of these living on the streets and the rest in temporary
shelter. In the Los Angeles region, close to 85% of 58,936 persons counted on one night were
single individuals not living in family units and almost 10,000 individuals reported losing their
housing within the previous 12 months (LAHSA, 2019a). The unsheltered female homeless
population is particularly vulnerable to past and future violence, with 90% of women on Skid Row

10
reporting experiences of physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes during the most recent survey

(Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, 2016). In the 2018 Los Angeles homeless count (LAHSA,
2018a), 70% of the women counted were single, 64% were unsheltered, 49% had been victims of
domestic violence, 40% were African-American , and 18% were 55 or older. In fact, persons age
62 or older were part of the only subpopulation in the 2018 count whose numbers grew,
representing 22% more persons than in the previous year (LAHSA, 2018b). As a result, there is an
increasing need to find solutions that don’t wait until a person loses everything, especially for the
vulnerable African American women who are single, struggle to survive amidst multiple
challenges, and will face increased risk as they enter their retirement years. Based on recent trends,
the numbers show that women, older people, and African Americans are likely to be
overrepresented in the newly homeless (LAHSA, 2018b). Of concern, certain variables including
older age and black racial status, are associated with higher risk of long-term homelessness (Caton,
et al, 2005; Flaming & Burns, 2015). It is increasingly important to interrupt the pipeline into
homelessness, especially for the people who are most vulnerable.
To understand the context of a housing crunch where incomes and living costs don’t match,
a historical perspective on housing stock in the region is helpful. For example, the California
Housing Partnership (Mazella & Rosenfeld, 2019) has documented that affordable housing
development for Los Angeles has been reduced significantly over the last several years with funds
for state and federal annual housing construction dropping 70% or a total of $496 million from
2008 to 2018. Correspondingly, the same housing outcomes report (Mazella & Rosenfeld, 2019)
calculated that the production and preservation of tax-credit based low income housing
development went down 31% just during the years 2016 to 2018. This can help to explain the
overwhelming gap of 516,946 affordable units, which represents housing that is desperately needed

for the current low-income population (Mazzella & Rosenfeld, 2019). Mazzella and Rosenfeld

(2019) also determined that 79% of extremely low-income households in Los Angeles were paying
10

over 50% of their income on housing, while renters would need to earn $47.52 per hour or three
times the local minimum wage, in order to afford the median rent in the region. It is no wonder that
people are living on the streets in growing numbers each year.
WISER is designed to prevent adult African American women from becoming homeless
in their later years, as the numbers of homeless older adults continue to rise (Kushel,
2012). Researchers have found that baby boomers are at higher risk of becoming homeless than
previous generations (Kushel; Culhane, Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013). According to a
major study by Brown, et al (2016), persons who became homeless when 50 years or older
comprised close to one-half of the older homeless subjects and were likely to have experienced
crises following the death of a spouse or retirement after a lifetime of employment and housing.
Given that African Americans have persistently represented one of the largest population groups at
risk of becoming homeless across the country and that women’s needs are often distinct from those
of men, an intervention designed specifically for adult black women can make an important impact
on a vulnerable and often overlooked group.
Although it was recognized as key for the Grand Challenge of Homelessness (Larkin, et.al,

2016), policy and practice related to prevention has been neglected in favor of dealing with the
immediate emergency of unsheltered persons on the streets of American cities. In Los Angeles, for
example, the initial resources and available evidence-based interventions appear insufficient to fully
address both the crisis of current homelessness and the inflow. As a result, county systems during
the five-year period of 2011-2016, were targeted primarily to the 30% of the population
who were chronically homeless, cost the county the most, and could benefit from permanent
supportive housing (ABT Associates, Inc., 2017). Additional resources were then allocated to
rapid rehousing of non-chronic persons to achieve reintegration quickly with less intensive services
at lower cost (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, 2016b). The current Los Angeles area
prevention effort is supported in a budget that recently increased their allocation from 3 to 6% of
11
the total funds available (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, 2019a). In addition to the
funding for prevention strategies, there have been policy-related efforts directed to expansion of
affordable housing stock. These include funding for housing innovation challenges (Smith, 2019)
and policies such as tax credits for housing development (Ma, n.d.), linkage fees (City of Los
Angeles, 2019), inclusionary zoning, and rent control (Chiland, 2018). However, none of these
prevention policy or practice strategies directly help low-income African American women facing
the combined impacts of aging, racism, and sexism along with financial instability. This author
intends to fill that gap with a specially designed intervention.
The author chose to address prevention of homelessness for African American adult women
prior to their retirement years because this group is faced with added vulnerability based solely on
their race, especially as combined with gender. The shocking reality of the persistent racial wealth
gap, identified in 2016 as 10 to 1 for white to black households (or $171,100 to $17,100) has been
linked by the federal reserve’s latest study to income disparity (Ingraham, 2019). Other reports have
shown that 72% of white households but only 41% of black households owned homes (Fotenot,
Semega, & Kollar; Gaona, 2018). As of 2014, 25% of black families were rated as extremely poor
and had zero or negative net worth, compared to 10% of white families in that category (Amadeo,
2019). Additionally, twice as many black people were unemployed in 2017 than were whites
(Fotenot, Semega, & Kollar; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018; Hanks, Solomon, & Weller, 2018).
When one compares white to black women, black women fare more poorly in every case. For
example, in 2014, white women had a higher median income by $11,000 than black women, 14%
more white women had work-sponsored retirement plans, 14% fewer white women had jobs with
hard physical labor, and 11% fewer white women reported fair or poor health (California Housing
Partnership, 2018; Fontenot et.al; Moore and Ghilarducci, 2018; U.S. Department of Labor, 2018).
Finally, a recent report on poverty for persons over age 65, found that 9% of white men were living
in poverty, 12% of white women, 21% of black men, and 25%
12

black women (Christ & Gronniger, 2018). Thus, access to economic resources and wealth is a
significant challenge for African American women.
The vulnerability for these women to food and housing insecurity associated with poverty,
along with eventual homelessness, may be triggered by a combination of family crises, personal
health or relationship losses, unexpected life events, rent increases, income reductions, and related
factors (McFerrin, 2010; Christ & Gronniger). If black women do seek prevention services, they
could receive legal help to fight eviction or rent subsidies to keep them housed (Los Angeles
County Homeless Initiative, 2019a). In early 2019, the lead agency for the south Los Angeles
region reported that they had enrolled 283 persons during the month of February alone, with 55%
being female, 64% being 45 years or older, and 51% being African American (Coleman, 2019). In
fact, there are currently 57,242 African American women 65 years and older living in Los Angeles
county (Suburban Stats, 2019). Given that 16% of them are living in poverty (Christ & Gronniger,
2018), that would mean at least 9,158 women are potentially vulnerable to housing loss. WISER is
designed to reduce the daily struggle to maintain housing by providing help before they turn 65.
Please see definitions in Appendix 1 for key concepts discussed here, including poverty,
homelessness, housing instability, and food instability.
Literature and Practice Review of Problem and Innovation

The research literature in the field of homelessness has provided guidance for social service
responses across the country. Currently, there is considerable funding and evidence of effectiveness
for a few well-studied interventions to address homelessness. These include housing first,
permanent supportive housing, critical time intervention, and rapid re-housing. The Housing First
model, widely adopted throughout the country, incorporates harm reduction and eliminates
barriers to housing access for a wide range of populations (Stefancic & Tsemberis, 2007; Padgett,
Henwood, & Tsemberis, 2016). Permanent supportive housing assists chronically homeless
individuals with immediate, barrier-free housing and supportive services to address their health
13
diagnoses. (Roj, et. al. 2014, Padgett, Henwood, & Tsemberis). Critical time intervention case
management (Kasprow & Rosenheck, 2007) addresses transitions from institutional care using
intensive support for the most critical time period when someone is moving into and adapting to a
new environment. Rapid re-housing helps with immediate housing via short-term rental subsidies,
along with individually tailored case management services (Burt, 2006). These strategies target
help for those who have already fallen into homelessness.
Given the obstacles to housing development and the numbers of persons who continue to
enter the ranks of homelessness each year, prevention has been increasingly prioritized. A
paradigm for prevention proposed by Culhane, Metraux, & Byrne (2011) describes a prevention
framework with primary (prevents new cases), secondary (responds in early stages), or tertiary
(slows progression) levels. They suggest a model that matches intensity of services to need
through community-based service networks (Culhane, Metraux, & Byrne) Although not tied to the
levels, five types of interventions have been tried and studied. They include permanent housing
subsidies, eviction prevention, institution or hospital transitions with intensive case management,
proactive service screening, and community services (Shinn and Cohen, 2018).
Promisingly, there is evidence in the literature on homelessness that prevention strategies
can have benefit. Key studies (Messeri, O’Flaherty, & Goodman, 2012; Rolston, et.al, 2013) have
demonstrated a reduction in shelter use and program costs for families enrolled in preventive
services to keep them housed. Another study (Evans, Sullivan, & Wallskog, 2016) found that one-
time financial payments were effective as a safety net to guard against the start of a downward
spiral when an unexpected life shock occurred for persons with very low income (especially those
who were already using more than 30% of their regular income to cover housing expenses). Finally,
a comprehensive national study of prevention with veterans (Byrne, Treglia, Culhane, Kuhn, &
Kane, 2016) found that short-term subsidies and support services achieved desired
housing stability outcomes. However, these results must be approached with caution. A 2016
14
review of data from 2010-2012 of similar temporary financial assistance programs represented in the
prior models (Evans, Sullivan, & Wallskog, 2016) found no evidence for long term effectiveness,
noting that inconsistent resource allocations over time tended to negate short-term effects. They
concluded that the money might be better spent providing long term income supports (Evans,
Sullivan, & Wallskog) Thus, additional research is needed to investigate how to ensure
effectiveness over time for newly applied models.
Social Significance

Recent efforts to address prevention in Los Angeles county included a goal of reducing risk
of homelessness for 30,000 persons in five years (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, n.d.).
Based on proven strategies, the funded programs have provided family units and veterans with rental
subsidies, legal services, income growth through education and employment, and case management
to access appropriate community services (Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative,
2017). In addition, there has been a focus on plugging the gap for people transitioning from
hospitals or institutions with a history of homelessness and/or no identified housing (Burt, 2006).
Thus, given the limited playbook of potential interventions that have been developed and studied,
there is often reliance on expensive strategies that utilize payments for clients and attorney services,
along with linkage to existing services that may already be overloaded. Less expensive community
networks or support groups that may strengthen the social fabric and last more effectively over time
have not been tapped. Given the challenges of continued inflow from newly homeless persons,
local policymakers are exploring new concepts and preparing to conduct research that may help
achieve their goals. WISER presents a significant opportunity to apply new methods to solve this
serious social problem with a useful addition to the available homelessness prevention tools.
Conceptual Framework with Logic Model Showing Theory of Change
Theories of women’s psychology have determined that female identity development differs
from that of men, being formed within relationships and not requiring separation for mature
15
individuation. (Baker-Miller, 1987; Gilligan, 1983). Thus, an environment of relationships is well-
suited for women’s learning and growth. WISER is a relational model that also utilizes social
cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986a) and the associated concept of perceived self-efficacy (Bandura,
1986b), which refers to internal mental expectations by an individual of his or her capacity to be
successful when performing an action to achieve a desired outcome. Without this expectation,
Bandura (1986b) predicts that motivation to act is diminished. WISER works to increase self-
efficacy for effective financial management. A case for the impacts of trauma, racism, and
financial literacy education on self-efficacy will be further developed in the section on evidence for
proposed innovation that follows. The theory of change for the innovation holds that 1) If a trained
facilitator, group location, and participants referred from key partners are all available, then the
WISER program can offer the curriculum in an environment featuring supportive female
relationships; 2) If women receive the curriculum, they will gain knowledge, access to key
resources, and reinforcement for positive action steps; 3) If women gain knowledge, access, and
reinforcement, this will increase their self-efficacy to make behavior changes in key life domains;
4) If women engage in behavior changes in key life domains, they will achieve financial goals and
be better prepared to meet basic needs in the present as well as their later years; 5) If enough women
gain self-efficacy and take effective action to meet their basic needs, then the program may have a
broader impact on families, friends, and/or the community as a whole. There are important
assumptions inherent in this program theory, including that 1) negative external factors related to
race and gender have had profound effects on African American women, increasing their
vulnerability to economic challenges and housing instability; 2) trauma-informed principles of care
with staffing that reflects the women who are receiving support and program activities that educate,

promote self efficacy, and change behaviors will reduce negative impacts from a lifetime of racist
16

and traumatic experiences; 3) peer support in a group setting will help women feel connected and
understood as they identify their issues and promote their growth; 4) access to community assets in
the form of experts and programs designed to offer debt reduction, credit repair, advocacy in
complex bureaucracies, structured savings programs, annuities and/or vehicles to save for
emergencies, and a structure for setting and meeting financial goals will help the participants with
economic empowerment, and 5) that a focus on purpose and legacy for future generations will
connect with women’s caretaking values. A complete logic model for this innovation can be found
in Appendix 2.
Problems of Practice and Innovative Solutions

Proposed Innovation and its Effect on the Grand Challenge
WISER is designed to address the Grand Challenge of Homelessness by preventing
homelessness in later years for low-income adult African American women. As noted by Fong,
Lubben, & Barth (2017), the Grand Challenges in Social Work were selected because they
represented the biggest social problems facing society. Furthermore, there must be promise that
progress could be made in each challenge area through comprehensive efforts to develop and
implement significant innovations (Fong, Lubben, & Barth). The Grand Challenge of
Homelessness has been framed as solvable through expansion of proven approaches along with
strengthened policies and effective service innovations (Larkin, et.al, 2016)). From a humanistic
perspective, elimination of homelessness is considered a priority because it harms all aspects of
human well-being, results in a heavy economic cost, and makes death more likely for those who
experience it (Fenelon, 2017). Advocates for this grand challenge encourage social workers to
include prevention and early intervention in the actions required for improvement, given the
presence of structural and environmental factors such as wealth inequality, lack of sufficient public
investment in housing assistance, insufficient housing development, and other variables that have

led to increasing housing insecurity and eviction rates for people who are poor (Desmond, 2016;
17
Gaetz & Dej, 2017; Larkin, et.al, 2016). Prevention efforts can impact the inflow through a range
of policies related to eviction prevention, rental subsidies or housing vouchers, increased wages,
and affordable housing development (Larkin, et.al, 2016). However, there is unquestionably room
for cost-efficient new community services, including an approach that builds self-efficacy, through
a unique combination of targeted social and financial services to improve financial well-being, as
described by the author. Additional aspects of well-being; primarily reduced social isolation,
strengthening of marginal communities in response to a changing social environment, and expanded
harnessing of financial technology applications, will contribute added value from this innovation to
related social work grand challenges. Without expanded prevention efforts, the problem of
homelessness will persist as newly homeless people continuously fill up the street corners vacated
by those lucky enough to find housing.
Views of Stakeholders

Given that Los Angeles (L.A.) county consists of 88 incorporated cities in a 4,084 square
mile area, with 10.2 million residents as of 2016 (LA County.org, 2017) and would be the 7
th
most
populous state, there is a vast set of stakeholders with potentially competing interests who can
complicate development of solutions for problems like homelessness. The general public’s alarm
began to build due to increasingly visible street homelessness in the L.A. county region when
January 2015 homeless count numbers (LAHSA, 2016) showed increases of 12% for a record, at
the time, of 44,000 homeless persons. The number of tents, RVs, and makeshift shelters increased
an astounding 85% that year (Holland & Karlamangla, 2015), even as the numbers were declining
slightly elsewhere in the United States. The primary government entities with responsibility for
public policies and funding include 1) the county of Los Angeles, which has authority over funding
for a large range of public services, 2) the city of Los Angeles, which has authority over planning,
housing development, and emergency shelter programs, and 3) the Los Angeles Homeless Services
Authority (LAHSA), a joint powers agency with authority to operate the regions’ federally funded

18
continuum of care. County Supervisor, Mark Ridley Thomas, an African American who has
effectively advocated for the black community over many years and recognized the disparities in
his district, became an impassioned champion of efforts to end homelessness and spent countless
hours supporting a successful county sales tax campaign to increase funds for outreach and housing
services. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti took a leadership role upon his election, with a
commitment to end homelessness and activation of city offices such as economic opportunity and
planning. What followed was an historic alignment that made achievement of progress to end
homelessness a key local government priority. This alignment was fully supported by local
philanthropy, including the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the Hilton Foundation, and a
coalition of smaller local foundations which united to target funding in the cases where public
dollars were unavailable. The L.A. county health, mental health, social services, child welfare, law
enforcement, and housing authorities all came to the table and began to collaborate more broadly
than in the past. Dr. Mitchell Katz, Director of the Health Agency created a vision of housing as
healthcare and moved funds into housing solutions for persons using the county health facilities.
The other 87 cities in the region were incentivized to begin or expand their own city efforts with
varying degrees of motivation and success. The increased funding provided significant growth
opportunities for the existing non-profit homeless service and housing providers, which have
expanded their infrastructure and operations in response, along with affordable and non-traditional
housing developers. The faith community, especially in south Los Angeles, felt called to participate
and saw an opportunity for augmented financial support by leveraging property. Some are playing a
valuable role in developing land that they own to help fill the supply gap. However, many
homeowners, especially in wealthier communities, have banded together to oppose housing
development, indicating a fear of undesirable residents, overcrowding, or changes to the character of
their single family home neighborhoods (Thornberg, 2013; Boyarsky, 2019). The business
community, through local chambers and business districts, has advocated for solutions to protect

19
business access, maintain clean streets, and make affordable housing more available (Hosepian,
2018). Unfortunately, the aligned efforts and expanded funding continue to fight against slow
progress due to barriers such as NIMBY (not in my backyard), stigma that labels the homeless
population as undesirable, high costs and slow timelines for construction, limited land availability,
regional poverty, and high levels of trauma.
Evidence and Current Context for Proposed Innovation
Homeless persons have been present in the United States, according to historians, since the
late 1890s due to varying economic conditions and an ongoing national reluctance to establish
helping programs for the neediest residents, with concentrated urban homelessness gaining a
persistent foothold in the 1980s (Bassiuk & Franklin, 1992). The city and county of Los Angeles
have attempted to address homelessness since then with limited success. The initial strategies
focused on concentrating the homeless with services in Skid Row such as wet weather and other
shelter types, regulations about where they could be, arrests for minor offenses, sanitation to clean
up the trash from homeless encampments, and mental health outreach teams (Holland, 2018). These
efforts were often ineffective at best, while real solutions were hampered by lack of funds and
limited permanent housing stock that continued to erode through the process of gentrification as
areas became developed to meet the needs of wealthy commercial or residential interests. As a result
of these barriers, rents skyrocketed rapidly in the region and housing development stalled (Holland,
2018). Both the city and county developed comprehensive plans in 2016 to eliminate homelessness
(Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, 2016a; City of Los Angeles, 2015). In collaboration with
the philanthropic community, the city voters passed a measure to fund 10,000 units of permanent
supportive housing stock in 10 years and county voters passed a ¼ cent sales tax increase to fund
expanded services. These comprehensive initiatives are currently in progress (ABT Associates,
2018). Unfortunately, regional counts demonstrate that the numbers of newly homeless are
continuing to grow and point to needs for a much wider range and deeper investment in prevention.

20
As noted in the previous literature and practice review section, a small range of prevention
strategies have been developed and studied. These primarily incorporate a subsidy for rent to keep
a person housed when their income is insufficient, along with case management and legal services.
In order to effectively intervene with the most vulnerable low-income African American women,
there are additional unexplored approaches that can add value and are considered here. Building
self-efficacy for self-reliance, social capital, and empowerment also has a bearing on this work if
the combined negative impacts of trauma, racism, and lack of financial expertise are to be
mitigated. As noted by McMaster, Lopez, Kornhaber, & Cleary (2017) in a qualitative study of at-
risk women, establishment of a belief in the personal power to change, along with support to
develop and act on life goals, were key elements for success. Self-efficacy has been established as a
predictor of motivation and achievement in learning settings, especially where behavior modeling
and goal setting elements are present (Schunk, 2003; Pajares, 1996). Furthermore, Moxley,
Washington, & Crystal (2015) have made effective use of narrative strategies that facilitate sharing
of life stories, identifying life burdens, and participating actively as a partner in program
development to empower women toward improved housing status. Thus, a support group model
has significant potential to increase self-efficacy by reinforcing goals, providing peer role models,
and increasing individual motivation to maximize impact of educational activities.
There is increasing recognition of the role played by emotional trauma for persons with
experiences of homelessness as research piles up about the impact of trauma from childhood
adverse events (ACEs) such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction and homelessness
(SAMHSA, 2016; Goodman, Saxe, & Harvey, 1991; Montgomery, et. al., 2013). Specifically, a
large-scale study in the state of Washington found that a lifetime of trauma experiences play a role
in susceptibility to housing instability (Montgomery, et.al, 2013). Taking the trauma into account,
one of the key principles for trauma-informed care (Oral, et.al, 2016), is widely recognized as
necessary for long-term effectiveness of services when the target population has experienced high
21

levels of trauma. Cultural awareness is identified (Key, 2016) as a primary principle of trauma-
informed care, which requires identification of cultural biases or stereotypes and finds healing value
in use of cultural traditions as part of the service strategy. The link between trauma and self-
efficacy has been firmly established (Benight and Bandura, 2004). Social support and compassion
has been identified as a way to strengthen self-efficacy and mitigate trauma impact (Regehr, et.al,
2003; Vettese, et.al., 2011), while increased self-efficacy becomes a protective factor to reduce
distress, increase effective decision making, reduce negative cognitions, and improve coping
capacity (Luszczynska, et. al, 2009; Wingo, et.al, 2014; Cieslak, Benight, & Lehman, 2008; Lerner
& Kennedy, 2016). Studies also report a link between self-efficacy and the trauma created by
racial discrimination or micro-aggression where increased self-efficacy can reduce the harm from
that type of trauma exposure (Torres & Taknint, 2015; Schwartz & Meyer, 2010). Thus, building
self-efficacy through WISER has potential to moderate the impact of emotional trauma related to
distressful experiences including violence, abuse, and racism.
The research around social support systems is also of value to utilize on behalf of

innovation development. Healthy support relationships are related to more realistic action plans and
positive self-beliefs (Finfgeld-Connett, D, 2010). A key study of homeless women (Nyamathi, A.,
2000) established the importance of finding or developing positive support networks in order to
achieve improved results. This concept has been used internationally by many cultures in
connection with financial empowerment. Seck (2015) identified positive results for West African
female immigrants who used “tontines” or social networks that facilitate savings, provide flexible
funds, and create networks for social exchange (both information and experience sharing). Similar
savings vehicles are effectively used by other immigrant groups, according to a review by the
Federal Reserve (Hevener, 2006), replicating the extensive international informal savings and credit
circles. These provide benefit to participants as long as there is sufficient similarity of
experience and connection to an established community such as a church (Hevener, 2006). Social
22

support is an important feature for vulnerable women because, without a sufficient support
network, they are at higher risk to expend their limited social capital and still be left with nowhere
to turn when they experience crises or extended hardship (Mahar, 2012).
Finally, a targeted set of activities to build financial expertise can have impact for vulnerable
women’s economic stability. The literature on women’s savings groups and financial literacy
education are both instructive. Researchers have verified that low income households have potential
to gather financial assets such as savings but are less likely to have access to institutional resources,
more likely to perceive that larger scale investments won’t last (due to frequent fires and theft in
poor neighborhoods), and more likely to have disincentives to save due to asset limits for public
assistance programs (Beverly, 2003; Turnham, 2010; O’Connor, et. al., 2018). Studies of savings
behavior indicate that people are more likely to save if factors are present such as family role models
who saved, exposure to reference groups who engage in savings behavior, structured reinforcement,
ease of access to savings vehicles, and accurate information about financial management (Beverly &
Sherradan, 1999; Lusardi & Scheresberg, 2013, O’Connor, et.al). Adults, and women in particular,
have capacity to benefit from financial literacy education to improve their financial circumstances if
it is paired with incentives or a structure that facilitates effective spending and savings behavior
change (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2008; Mitchell-Martin, 2013). Finally, self-efficacy plays an important
role in women’s financial help-seeking behavior, financial capability development, and planning for
retirement (Lusardi & Mitchell, 2008; Lim, et.al, 2014; Farrell, et.al, 2016). In conclusion, the
research on key elements of the innovation demonstrates that support groups for women are of
value, and that carefully selected activities can increase self- efficacy to improve self-care and lead
to effective financial management behavior.
The author’s capstone intervention is intended to include trauma-informed principles,

cultural perspectives, and support group concepts. These will be combined with a financial

empowerment approach that provides access to key resources and builds self-efficacy to achieve
23

effective financial education. WISER is tailored to the needs of a special at-risk population. Given
cost effectiveness as well as humanitarian potential, the author looks forward to contributing a social
work-derived tool for the grand challenge of homelessness.
Comparative Assessment of Other Opportunities for Innovation

The research literature related to prevention of homelessness recognizes that federal level
structural interventions have the most potential to impact large numbers of persons at risk with
various income and resource redistribution policies. However, given the country’s past history of
unwillingness to utilize such policies as well as the current political climate, it seems more practical
to focus on the evidence for effective service strategies. According to a recent prevention research
overview by Shinn and Cohen (2018), these cluster around how best to stem the flow into
homelessness as well as how to ensure maintenance of housing stability for those at high risk due to
recent episodes or current shaky circumstances. The strongest evidence base (Shinn and Cohen) has
been substantiated for subsidies, eviction prevention, and intensive case management. However,
Shinn & Cohen acknowledge that there is ample need for additional research exploring how best to
strengthen the social safety net with locally adapted services that provide accessibility and meet the
full range of individual needs. None of the interventions being currently applied involve support
groups, are strength-based, or designed to build resilience. For vulnerable women with fixed or
limited incomes in local communities of color, it is important to develop new strategies that can
empower them within their environment. The author asserts that her innovation will provide an
accessible, culturally relevant service. Other types of available resources currently established, and
potentially available for partnership, will be further explored in the comparative market analysis
section of this paper.
WISER comes at an important juncture in the national, state, and local efforts to end
homelessness. The subject area has prominence due to its visibility, which has led to
unprecedented public awareness across the country. Multiple U.S. cities are engaged and
24

struggling to implement effective efforts that expand, target, and improve both service and housing
resources. Experts and policy makers are feeling increasingly under pressure to show results that
truly make a difference and encountering frustrating obstacles. Unveiling a completely new
approach in the Los Angeles environment at this time is likely to meet a welcoming attitude. Leaders
are looking for new strategies to test. There is particular interest in finding effective ways to address
the extreme disparity found in the African American homeless population. This issue has been the
focus of recent attention. An ad hoc committee met to explore the issue and developed a list of
recommendations to ensure that more in-depth research would help answer ongoing questions and
that established programs are appropriate to address cultural needs (LAHSA, 2018c). Trauma and
racism have been referenced frequently in recent policy discussions, providing a fertile space to pilot
and test effectiveness for WISER. The USC Homeless Research Policy Institute (HPRI), a
collaborative group of national scientists with expertise in homelessness, is conducting
effectiveness research. The timing is fortuitous with expanded levels of funding now available.
As noted, there is a limited playbook of prevention models. Once WISER has pilot and
evaluation data to back it up, the opportunity to publish through the HPRI and in a national journal
will provide widespread exposure, leading to community and population scaling of the model.
Eventually, it can become part of the standard of care within the homeless service continuums and
listed by HUD as a required service in communities of color.
The proposed intervention can be more sustainable than existing rent subsidies because it
relies on self-help and participant empowerment instead of creating dependency on public funds
that must be available over a period of time for rent costs. This year, there has been considerable
interest in targeting vulnerable communities of color who are overrepresented in the homeless
population, exploring how to prevent those at greatest risk from falling over the edge into
homelessness, and how to contain costs in the multiple systems that are impacted when people
become homeless. Thus, there is the potential value for the innovation in public sector systems.
25

How Innovation Links to Proposed Logic Model and Theory of Change

The proposed innovation is intended to achieve improvement in current and future financial
status through a relational model of group support combined with education, skill development,
and resource access. Maximal effectiveness will be achieved by activating the variable of self-
efficacy. Social learning theory predicts that expectations of self-efficacy or ability to perform a
task, are developed and can be modified through experiential information including performance
accomplishments, vicarious experience, emotional arousal, and verbal persuasion (Sullivan &
Mahalik, 2000). The WISER curriculum includes opportunities for participants to experience each
of these as they try new behaviors, watch others, receive guidance, and provide mutual
encouragement. The particular combination of a social reinforcement process paired with targeted
curriculum content is designed to increase self-efficacy in the areas of highest need. The first goal is
to manage emotional arousal related to external input and internal memories of trauma and
racism. The second goal is to practice a series of successive behaviors to skillfully manage finances
in partnership with community assets. Short term outcomes include bonding, learning, and goal
setting. Intermediate outcomes encompass improved coping with trauma, racism, financial
operations, and life purpose. Long term outcomes yield an expanded network of friends as well as
financial stability with improved access to resources for emergencies and future needs. In summary,
the WISER approach is based on scientific research that combines a set of activities selected
strategically in response to the particular challenges of the target population. It provides a
scientifically based and feasible way to achieve the desired results that prevent homelessness for
high-risk and vulnerable adult African American women.
Project Structure and Methodology

Description of Capstone Deliverable/Artifact
The author has created a capstone deliverable in the form of a comprehensive manual
containing detailed instructions for WISER, an innovative women’s support group designed to
26

build a social and financial foundation for participants who otherwise may have considerable
vulnerability to housing instability in their later years. It is expected that the manual, as developed
by the author, will be modified through participant feedback during the pilot and formative
evaluation processes in order to ensure it is relevant and responsive to user needs. The artifact
(which is available for review in Appendix 3) provides detailed guidance for program preparation,
implementation, and evaluation. There is an overview of WISER’s development history,
principles, structure, and notes for user guidance. This is followed by program implementation
directions related to site identification, orientation, informational meetings, and group leader
training. Then the manual contains a listing of session topics, description of the program phases
with goals, phase and session formats, worksheets/activities, and data collection instruments.
The total program, as incorporated into the WISER manual, has twenty-one structured
sessions and is designed for a 24-week commitment, leaving space to extend some of the session
topics into more than one meeting and/or convene added meetings with special invited guests.
There is a listing of session topics, description of the program phases with goals and formats. This
is followed by educational and activity worksheets. Phase one (five sessions), focuses on
connecting and sharing that promotes the building of positive group relationships, teaches about
emotional self-regulation in response to traumatic stress reactions, and incorporates
individual self-care behaviors. Phase two (six sessions) follows with recovery and repair, including
education that prepares participants to act on financial goals with improved knowledge. Phase
three (six sessions) gives participants an opportunity to create a desired future, including individual
or group-based financial activities, and phase four (four sessions) explores ways to give back
through a legacy for the next generation. Each session is based on a step toward the goal for the
particular phase of the program and contains detailed instructions for the group leader regarding
session structure with timeframes, activity descriptions, and worksheets. The order of topics and

activities within the curriculum are designed to increase self-efficacy (belief in a positive outcome
27

of effort) through experiential learning. During the successive program phases, social learning
theory predicts that group member self-efficacy will be strengthened and gain momentum as they
try out new behaviors or skills, watch as others do so, receive guidance with reinforcement, and
provide each other mutual encouragement (Sullivan & Mahalik, 2000).
There are instructions in the manual for program evaluation, along with recommended
outcome evaluation data collection instruments, in order to ensure continuous quality improvement
and significant participant input. Finally, there are directions to policymakers about program
dissemination activities to ensure both participant action and research framework suggestions to
assist with the process of adaptation for other cultures or special populations.
Comparative Market Analysis

There are no direct competitors for WISER because it targets a special age group, gender,
and race with a unique model that combines social support, financial literacy, and business
development under one framework, while addressing a problem area and special population which
has not been previously targeted. However, there are businesses that focus on a similar consumer
profile which might function as competitors through related or replacement services.
Publicly Funded Homelessness Prevention and Economic Development Services

In Los Angeles, there is a funded set of services for prevention of homelessness that may be
utilized by adult women, including women of color, who are financially fragile, although these
services tend to be primarily targeted for families. The services include legal services (mainly
eviction prevention), funding for rental subsidies or rent arrears, reimbursement for various fees or
housing maintenance costs, and case management to address ancillary health, mental health, or
social problems (LAHSA, 2019b). These services are designed for women who are facing a crisis
and fear future housing loss. It can also used when immediate help is needed to maintain housing
or for those who do not feel comfortable in group settings. The lead homeless services agency in

south Los Angeles, the Homeless Outreach Project Integrated Care Service (HOPICS, 2019),

28
operates homelessness prevention services via individual case management, without any groups,
when loss is imminent and also offers brief-format financial literacy classes open to all genders and
races. Another prevention services agency, New Economics for Women (NEW, 2019) in the San
Fernando Valley, targets primarily Latinx families, with classes and coaching for financial literacy
to strengthen overall financial health. This service is similar to other Los Angeles city social
service agencies that provide general educational, vocational, and social help for community
members in low-income neighborhoods, that may include tax preparation, financial coaching, and a
variety of classes on different financial topics (HCIDLA, 2019). Thus, publicly funded homeless
prevention and other poverty programs serve similar but not identical markets at this time. Ideas
have surfaced in Los Angeles (voiced at a homelessness planning meeting that the author attended
recently) to use support group modalities in the arena of homelessness services as a cost-effective
alternative. Thus, the group modality may represent a future new market entrant.
Microfinance Business Development

Another type of product may be a substitute for the WISER program by offering women’s
group savings and credit services to build small business entrepreneurship. Microfinance programs
typically use groups of women to engage in mutual savings and lending activities (West & Mottola,
2016; Women’s World Bank, 2016). This model has been utilized with great success
internationally to fill in where banking products for very low income communities are unavailable,
accounting for $30 million worth of business internationally by 2010 (West, 2010). A systematic
review of published studies from 1980 through 2014 (Brody, et al, 2015), concluded that women’s
microfinance activity had a positive impact on women’s empowerment. Microfinance services for
women are offered in the United States through non-profit organizations such as Grameen America
(Schaberg, et. l., 2019). Online crowd funding platforms that provide opportunities for individuals
or groups of women to fund micro or small business activities include GoFundMe
(gofundme.com) and Kiva loans (Kiva.com). In Los Angeles, there is also a limited number

29
of non-profit service organizations which provide coaching for small business development with
provision of micro loans, although they tend to lack the support group element (PACE Finance
Corp, 2019). There is also an organization which provides teaching and coaching to develop
cooperative businesses, with possible appeal for women who want to extend their income, have a
skill or talent to offer, and don’t feel ready to go into business for themselves (Collective Remake,
2019). A business development model without the other WISER elements can work to support
female entrepreneurs who want to start or grow small businesses, but may not be as helpful when
women have responsibilities, health issues, or other barriers that may preclude becoming self-
employed. Thus, WISER allows for a variety of options, individualized to the different needs of
members in each group.
Financial Literacy Programs

The market for financial literacy and management programs was prioritized in the past by
federal government policy during previous American presidential administrations. For example, a
Treasury progress report (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2016) noted that the federal
government made small grants under $5000 available to community development financial
institutions or CDFIs as an alternative to predatory or pay-day lenders and helped build individual
development savings accounts (IDAs), incentivized with matching funds, across the country. The
Treasury’s Financial Inclusion Forum hosted events to identify best practices for credit building
and gender inclusion (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2016). However, there is little evidence
that any of these strategies have been sustained to the present day. The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD Exchange, 2019) has a housing counseling program with
some funding designed to help families obtain or sustain home purchases, which continues
nationwide through competitive applications.
Indirect competition for the WISER program can be seen in the wide range of financial

literacy and management products currently available online and in the community. Women may

30
prefer to go online or to specific classes to meet their needs. They can find considerable
information on federal government websites such as USA.gov (n.d.) as well as the Money Smart
curriculum made available through the the FDIC (2019), which has over a dozen registered
partners using the system in the Los Angeles area alone. In addition to federal government based
resources, there are also national non-profit organizations dedicated to financial literacy such as the
National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE, 2019) and InCharge (2019), which both
feature a comprehensive list of free articles, videos, online training, podcasts, and personalized
course development. A range of free apps for smart phones teach financial concepts while
providing personal finance management (Hong, 2019). Multiple websites at the state, county, and
city level also have excellent resources for financial literacy (Cal CPA, 2019; DCBA. 2019).
Finally, there are financial literacy services operated through churches such as West Angeles
Community Development Corporation (WACDC, 2019) and the USC Cecil Murray Center (n.d.).
Prior federal administrations have urged their agencies to increase financial literacy activities
within the workplace, addressing the needs of traditionally underserved groups such as shift
workers, low-income employees, and those of different cultural backgrounds (GAO, 2015), which
did not appear to have much impact on companies because there were no compliance requirements.
Notwithstanding this plethora of available online or in-person information, research shows that more
working age women than men have high rates of financial fragility, defined as inability to meet
short term emergency expenses such as a car or house repair, medical bill, or legal expense, and are
less likely to understand key financial concepts (GFLEC, 2018). Insufficient knowledge is one
element linked to housing insecurity, because it can mean poor decisions or lack of preparation
cascading into housing loss from unexpected costs and financial setbacks (Lusardi and Hasler,
2017). The WISER program is designed to bring financial education and resources to the group
participants instead of expecting them to initiate individual action on their own. It is based on a

31
relational framework, so that learning is maximized within the setting and group members
reinforce active behavioral progress for each other.
Financial Management and Improvement Products
In addition to financial literacy, there are competitive products that could act as substitutes to
help women save more, reduce debt, and build credit. It is the responsibility of consumers to screen
carefully before using a product for best value and least cost options. One asset building product is
an Individual Development Account (IDA) with restricted matched savings (FDIC Quarterly,
2007)). In the past, there was federal funding to banks and other financial institutions for this
resource, but the last congressional allocation was distributed in 2016 (Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, 2018). Other types of services include NFCC (2019), a non-profit consumer
counseling organization with member groups across the country, providing debt counseling and
consolidation for reasonable fees. However, there are also do-it-yourself options that one can learn
about through internet research. Similarly, one can monitor individual credit reports and dispute
errors or hire a company to do it. Credit builder accounts may be offered by banks or financial
institutions through a program where a loan is provided, put into a savings account, and the account
holder makes monthly payments until the loan amount is repaid, after which the savings account is
released (Herring, 2019). Another variation is the secured credit card that requires a cash deposit
equal to the credit limit, often used for credit building. Second chance checking accounts (Tierney,
2018) are offered at many banks to help rehabilitate a poor banking history. They may require
monthly fees and not offer overdraft protection but are often less costly than other options..
Unfortunately, while alternative non-banking products (high interest rate check cashing and payday
loans with unfavorable consumer terms) are highly available in low income communities, other
products are much less accessible (Birkenmaier and Fu, 2016) because banks don’t find them
profitable to operate in low-income communities. A growing list of online product options requires
women who are educated and know how to effectively use the internet for research and purchasing.

32
The proposed program brings information on these products to the women who can research
together, reach decisions, and try out products with mutual guidance and support.
SWOT Analysis
As described above, there are multiple competitive market choices for women that may act
as substitutes to WISER, including ever-increasing easy-access online entrants. However, with the
perspective that women grow and thrive in relational environments (Baker-Miller, 1987; Gilligan,
1983), a strength of the WISER program is the crucial element of supportive relationships paired
with practical activities. Adult women, who have not received much financial literacy education,
may be less likely to engage in activities for good financial self-care on their own, leaving them at
risk. Even so, eligible women may choose to do nothing or seek alternate options that seem less of
a commitment or easier to access. The inherent opportunity for WISER lies the fact that there are
so few homelessness prevention interventions. The existing models focus on individual households
and less sustainable due to the costs of ongoing rental and fee subsidies. Threats to the model stem
from the potential of disruptive technologies or services that may impact or adopt similar methods
in a digital or virtual format. It is hoped to leverage new technologies by bridging them through the
medium of the group, continuing to expand access and resources that would not otherwise have
been available or accessible to the participants.
Political Feasibility
Implementation of the WISER model is feasible from a political perspective, in that
advocates from the African American community are motivated to support the approach because it
is culturally relevant and facilitates access to financial products that fill a market gap (Cheryl
Branch, 2019 personal communication). There is a recognition that current models which focus
solely on mental or behavioral health to the exclusion of practical financial education and resources,
don’t acknowledge the black community’s systematic denial of access to wealth building (Cheryl
Branch, 2019 personal communication). There is also wider community concernabout the

33
disparities in terms of overrepresentation and poorer housing outcomes of black people, with 40%
of the persons experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles county being African American while
they represent only 9% of the total population (LAHSA, 2018a). A comprehensive study’s report
on black people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County was released in December of
2018, recommending research and policy changes to achieve improved outcomes for black people
to reduce the disparities (LAHSA, 2018c). The state of California just provided a large budget
allocation to L.A. for homelessness prevention (Dillon & Luna, 2019). Thus, there is community-
based political support where WISER will be piloted and political recognition that increased
attention to prevention is required.
Financial Feasibility
WISER is an innovation that remains untested, with no similar interventions in use. It is
conceivably more cost effective and sustainable over time, given the group format and use of a
curriculum which develops self-reliance instead of dependence on subsidies. However, the current
programs often provide less intensive services such as payment of a particular bill to keep a person
in their home in the short term. The current objective is immediate relief, not long-term stability.
Local leaders are now funding prevention programs that have been previously studied with proof of
effectiveness and an eye to spreading the funds around as widely as possible. They will need
education and initial evaluation results to invest in this model.
A publicly funded innovation pilot to build a track record will help and may require
individual support from the office of a county supervisor as a special project. However, the current
supervisor, who represents the south L.A. district and is most passionate about homelessness, will
be termed out of office and has tested plans to run for Mayor of Los Angeles City in 2020 (Celeste
Rodriguez, personal communication 2019) so will not be in a position to launch a pilot in his
district. Thus, it is not currently feasible to tap into district funds for an innovation pilot until
additional relationships are built or the local open seat has been filled. The city of Los Angeles

34
only supports homeless shelters or housing development, so is unlikely to take on a pilot of this type.
However, the author recently submitted a grant application to the FHLB Foundation, sponsored by
Beneficial State Bank for a pilot to test the concept. Resources from this source could be available
by February 2020. Additional funding sources that will be approached including other bank
foundations, health insurance foundations with an interest in preserving health through housing, and
local philanthropies which address homelessness. Also, USC has seed funding for multi-disciplinary
projects to build a track record of results for future expansion. Upon completion of the first year
pilot, the results can help expand the evaluation. At that time, local government sources will be
approached for inclusion within publicly funded innovation efforts, in collaboration with HOPICS
prevention services.
Operational Feasibility

The one-year pilot will be launched under the auspices of Los Angeles Metropolitan
Churches or LAM (2001), a non-profit agency in south L.A. A group leader has been identified
who helped co-design the curriculum and is available for part-time work upon receipt of the grant
funding. She will receive training and clinical supervision from the author. In order to access
referrals and operate out of a local site in a reasonable time frame for the first group, LAM will
partner with HOPICS. LAM has an existing subcontract with HOPICS for transitional housing
services and employees who maintain collaborative relationships. HOPICS case managers indicated,
during one of the WISER preparatory stakeholder meetings, that their program could benefit from a
women’s support group with financial literacy training. Thus, there is a ready-made referral source,
for clients who have passed their original housing crisis and need to maintain gains. After the first
group is in place and appears stable, WISER will be implemented at a local church site, with help
from faith leaders to identify parishioners at risk.
Project Implementation Methods
As noted previously, the WISER intervention is designed to increase self-efficacy for

35
African American women to engage in effective life management, using tools delivered via social
connection. The author will consider inner and outer context barriers and describe implementation
within the four stages of the EPIS model (Aarons, Hurlburt, & Horwitz, 2011) as part of a multi-
faceted implementation strategy (Kirchner, et al., 2018).
Implementation Barriers

A key outer context barrier for consideration is the low national and local priority given to
prevention of homelessness. In L.A. county, only 3-6% of the more than $400,000 million annual
homelessness service funding is allocated to prevention-related activities (L.A. County
Homelessness Initiative, 2018). Nonetheless, leaders are aware of a growing need for attention to
this area, as reports document the escalating costs to public infrastructure of inaction over time with
the aging of the population (Culhane, et.al., 2019). The limited range of tested intervention tools
for prevention is a related outer context consideration. Experts (Culhane, D., Metraux, S., &
Byrne, T., 2010) have recommended three levels of care, with primary prevention as a foundation.
Only veterans and families have been studied with prevention services, yielding effectiveness
significance for various combinations of rent-related subsidies, case management, and legal
eviction protection (Byrne, et.al, 2016). However, as service programs empty the streets, only to
have them quickly refilled with inflow, there is rising policy motivation for added strategies. The
author perceives a current environment that is conducive to innovation, especially given the high
costs over time of paying people’s rent and providing them with attorneys.
Trust can be considered another key barrier for both outer and inner context. The target
African American community has been historically exploited (Fuqua, et.al, 2005). Women may
have difficulty building trust with others who don’t live in their neighborhood or go to their church.

Women may not trust themselves after a lifetime of limited experience or confidence with financial
36
challenges. The author plans to address this barrier by partnering with a trusted local
organization, linking the program to a faith community, weaving in expression of religious belief
within the intervention format, and ensuring peer group role models to facilitate the program.
Inner context barriers relate to sites and staff. The author will address these by locating one
pilot site at a well-known south L.A. community agency and the other at a local church.
Leadership Strategies
Leadership strategies will be required to gain more attention to prevention and encourage
innovation in the fight to prevent homelessness, including a focus on the groups with highest
vulnerability. The author will use her role at USC to promote academic activities that harness the
university’s institutional power, enlist support from local spokespersons on homelessness, and use
media to tell the story. Academic activities can include release of a policy brief on prevention
through the USC HPRI or a conference on prevention that includes persons with lived experience.
Key stakeholders include political, philanthropic, business, faith, and lived experience leaders.
Media stories can highlight economic vulnerability in the region, with a focus on how to stay
housed, increasing emotional connections to the issue of prevention. These leadership strategies will
focus more attention, concern, and funding on prevention activities, achieving support for new cost-
effective interventions.
Exploration Phase
Exploration, the first stage of implementation under the EPIS model (Aarons, Hurlburt, &
Horwitz, 2011) has been accomplished. After extensive research through published literature to
study and understand the grand challenge of homelessness, the author engaged with design
thinking techniques and conducted a variety of concept testing activities. These included two
individual stakeholder interviews with African American women who had previously been
homeless to better understand their trajectory and their ideas about the healing and support that

helped them stabilize. The author also conducted four focus groups, two at transitional housing
37
sites, one at a community meeting, and another at a housing agency, with a total of twenty
participants. This was followed by a design workshop with doctoral classmates where the author
received feedback about key design elements and factors that would draw potential participants or
motivate funders. A recent co-design retreat was held with eight African American women of the
target age range, including three who had prior experience of homelessness and the others with
experience as social service providers or leaders. The retreat program included experiential activities
for ice breakers and bonding exercises. It was instructive to see how the participants gradually
became connected and deepened their sharing within the timeframe of the retreat, leading the author
to adapt variations of these activities in the prepared curriculum. The group also provided feedback
to questions in a brainstorming format about a range of ideas for the curriculum content. After a first
draft of the curriculum was prepared, one of the women from that group met with the author to
review it and provided additional feedback for improvement.
Preparation Stage
The second stage of preparation is currently in process. The author has conducted a
readiness assessment of the partner agency, Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches (LAM, 2001), a
non-profit organization formed by a group of south Los Angeles churches to provide technical
support, program development, and political advocacy for member capacity building. LAM views
itself as an incubator for programs that are of value to the community. The agency is currently
incubating a set of transitional living services to address homelessness and a program to develop
fatherhood skills for young men, along with operating a church-based food bank, medical clinic,
and health-based program for wellness/fitness. Within an extensive array of activities, the CEO,
Cheryl Branch, agreed to help incubate WISER, based on a long-time collaborative relationship
with the author and the goal of building women’s financial security through skill and business
development. LAM is a small non-profit agency with an expansive vision, based on strengthening

community capacity to fight racism by planting seeds and creating resources to empower residents.

38
Given their already full plate, LAMC has limited capacity to add another program, which could be

a barrier to success if not properly managed. Thus, LAM has agreed to take on the WISER project,
given additional funding for pilot operations, for one year to offer the curriculum at two
community sites and then spin it off to another small non-profit agency with more capacity. which
was previously incubated by LAM.
A key strategy of the preparation stage is to access sufficient funding. Activities related to
this strategy are discussed in detail under the following section on financial plans and staging.
Preparation stage strategies for building team structures and operationalizing the program will be
implemented upon access to pilot funding, with staff hired and trained on the curriculum within 60
days of the funding announcement. The author has developed a preliminary curriculum for a 21-
week session program and a manual of instructions further described in the section of this paper on
the Artifact. It is expected that ongoing curriculum adaptation will occur with facilitator and
participant feedback during the usability testing and formative evaluation phases. The author views
the curriculum as a living document with an ongoing loop for continuous quality improvement
based on user needs and input. Finally, initial data collection systems will be designed and
implemented in collaboration with the evaluation consultant. This topic is further explored by the
author in the section on project impact assessment.
Implementation Phase

The implementation phase will occur in three steps that align with the project impact
assessment: Step 1) an initial one-year pilot where usability testing and rapid cycle improvement will
occur at two sites with a total of two groups and 20 participants, Step 2) a two-year formative
research design to identify issues with program functioning and track outcomes to see if they are
moving in the desired direction at three sites with a total of six groups and 60 participants, and Step
3) a two-year implementation with summative evaluation study, replicated at six sites in Los

Angeles county for a total of thirty-six groups and 360 participants.

39
As soon as step one of the program is launched into initial operation, there will be interactive
assistance with ongoing staff training, clinical supervision for the group leader, and technical
support from the evaluation consultant to ensure the highest possible quality. To generate referrals
for the first group, the pilot will rely on persons who have case management responsibilities for
homelessness prevention services at the designated site. A preparatory meeting will be held with
these employees to introduce the program, describe eligibility for services, and elicit appropriate
referrals from their caseloads. An introductory meeting will then be held for the referrals to explain
the program and conduct enrollments for those who choose to join. A similar process will occur
with the second group when it is ready to launch. In order to prepare the group leader, a 16-hour
preparatory training program will be provided for the facilitator, an African-American woman of
similar age and life-experience, professional training as a social worker, and participation in the co-
design retreat that was held to develop the curriculum. It is projected that a full cycle for the first
group would include two months to engage and enroll participants, six months to implement the
complete group curriculum, and one month for follow up data collection. The second group will be
launched in a staggered sequence, approximately six months after the first one started registering
participants. This will ensure that best practices from the marketing, screening, registration, and
initial phase of group one can be gleaned and applied to group two.
It is desired that peers become empowered through the group process. Ownership is
encouraged as group members decide if they need extra time for session content, determine which
experts to invite for presentations, and decide which group-based business activities to adopt.
Thus, leadership is encouraged, peers can mentor future group members, members may eventually
train as leaders, and all can create projects for community-building. A program advisory board,
with group participant involvement, will be developed upon completion of the first group cycle to
provide input on the most impactful factors and potential curriculum or format revisions. This

advisory board will be supported through in-person and online meetings as well as collaboratively
40

generated documents for distribution and will help to recruit new advisory board membership as
each cycle completes. The implementation will expand to additional sites with full time staff and
more sophisticated program evaluation as detailed in the section on Project Impact Assessment.
Sustainment Phase
The summative research outcome results will help to determine if a dissemination
organization will be required to develop and oversee a plan for wider exposure of the intervention
in cities throughout the U.S. for African American women’s empowerment, as well as adaptation to
other special populations, based on need and demand. Expanded funding opportunities will be
based on the evidence research and achieved on a national scale by advocating for the WISER
intervention to become incorporated into protocols for prevention services funded by the HUD
continuums of care and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services programs. The necessary
process will be followed to add this intervention into federal evidence-based practice listings.
Timeline for Implementation
The full implementation is based on a seven year plan with phases including exploration
(which took place during the author’s progression through her first year and a half of doctoral
studies), preparation (currently in progress with tasks having been achieved, still in process, or
recently initiated), implementation will occur in from 2020 -2025 (with a 1-year pilot, 2- year
formative evaluation, and 2- year summative evaluation to accomplish measured growth), and
sustainment which will occur within the last two years of the timeline. Accompanying evaluation
activities are matched to each phase with the final aim of building a full evidence base for
dissemination. (Please see timeline included with a GANTT chart format in Appendix 4).
Financial Plans and Staging
A funding application was collaboratively prepared by Ms. Branch and the author for a

$50,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLB/SF), whose foundation

funds economic development projects in low-income communities. The grant was submitted for
41

the bank’s funding initiative known as AHEAD or Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for

Development Program on May 31, 2019, with results expected in September and a grant period of

18 months available as of February 1, 2020. It would fund LAM with $50,000 to support phase one
of an implementation process, a WISER pilot with a group at two locations in the community. The
grant would cover staffing, site costs, program expenses, technical/evaluation consultation, and
administrative support to help LAM launch this one-year pilot. To ensure funding, the author plans
to approach other banks with community benefit programs who have a stake in women as potential
bank customers, as well as local foundations with an interest in homelessness. Upon completion of
the pilot, additional funding will be sought for an expanded evaluation in collaboration with the D-
Health Lab at USC, a center with homeless program evaluation experience. Further expansion will
occur through a combination of foundation and public funding resources.
The projected second phase of implementation will require an annual budget of
$375,000.00 or $750,000 for two years of operation, to gain experience and complete a formative
evaluation process. The phase two annual budget will include a full-time MSW program
manager/clinician, a full-time B.A or equivalent experience counselor to lead the groups and collect
data, and a full time clerical assistant for administrative requirements totaling $225,000.00 of direct
expenses for salaries and benefits, in addition to $75,000.00 for developer/evaluation consultation,
$20,000.00 of program-related expenses, and $55,000.00 of administrative overhead (15%).

Expense Category Annual Cost Total Cost
Salaries and benefits $225,000.00 $450,000.00
Developer/evaluation consultation $75,000.00 $150,000.00
Program costs for food, sites,
supplies, etc.
$20,000.00 $40,000.00
Administrative overhead (15%) $55,.000.00 $110,000.00
Total $375,000.00 $750,000.00
42

This expansion will support six WISER groups annually at a minimum of two different community
sites, with 60 participants served per year.
Upon conclusion of phase two, the three previous years of usability and formative results
will be assessed, the curriculum will be finalized, and two years of summative evaluation will
occur in multiple locations to develop a full evidence base. The summative evaluation will require
large scale federal research funding, collect data from at least three major U.S. cities, involve 360
participants, and likely cost a minimum of $2 million dollars annually. From there, the innovation
can be disseminated and used in multiple settings with a variety of populations, based on a
scientifically sound evidence base, allowing replication throughout the United States.
Project Impact Assessment Methods

The WISER project consists of an innovation that has not been previously tested.
Consequently, it requires a set of structured impact assessment activities staged over time that will
demonstrate intervention impact with a research evidence base. The desired long term outcome is
prevention of housing loss in later life for adult African American women through improved
financial/housing stability. The author incorporated an evaluation framework from a recently
published toolkit, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which matches
her need for best practices to evaluate program implementation and early outcomes with a program
innovation ((James Bell Associates, 2018). The usability testing paired with rapid cycle
improvement of the pilot year will prepare the program for expansion in the next phase. The
formative evaluation in the next two years will then prepare for further expansion of summative
evaluation in step three, completing the implementation phase.
Phase 1: Pilot Usability Testing
During phase one, WISER will conduct an initial evaluation of processes through a pilot
study that includes usability testing and rapid cycle improvement activities. This will provide an
opportunity for observation of the envisioned program functioning in the field to identify needed
43
short term improvements. The questions for study will be: 1) are potential participant information
meetings achieving attendance targets with sufficient eligible referrals from partners at each site?
2) do marketing activities provide the right/sufficient information to motivate and achieve
enrollments to fill group spaces? 3) what are the initial retention and early drop-out rates within the
first four weeks (including primary reasons for each)? 4) are baseline pre-test assessments
conducted as planned prior to group entry? 5) are the data collection systems for process outcomes
feasible and occurring as intended? The evaluation consultant will identify concrete behavioral
objectives for each of these questions, set up and train staff to use a system for immediate
feedback, and guide the implementation team to make improvements based on the results. Thus,
the process will determine initial intervention motivation, population, acceptability, feasibility,
sustainability, and fidelity to the core model elements.
Process data will be collected quantitatively on concrete outputs and qualitatively to
determine responses of participants and staff to orientation sessions, the enrollment process, the
curriculum, group behavior challenges, and emergency response needs. The evaluation consultant
will help staff develop, implement, and analyze appropriate process measures for each of these
elements. Participant feedback will be supported through input mechanisms within sessions and
post session surveys that offer opportunities to incorporate choice and voice.
Phase 2: Formative Research Activities
Phase two will consist of a formative two-year project impact assessment where output data
will be collected to determine if WISER is working as planned in terms of reaching the target
audience. In addition, it will be important to discover if participants perceive they are gaining
benefit, find the format acceptable, and experience the content as useful. Finally, it will be
important to measure self-efficacy and financial status to see if there is emerging evidence that the
program can impact these variables. The evaluation consultant will work with the program

manager, staff, and advisory board to survey participants about their perceptions and experiences.
44

The self-efficacy measurement will be captured with the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (Chen,
Gully, & Eden, 2001), while the financial chronic stress scale (Lantz, House, Mero, and Williams,
2005), risk literacy assessment (Lusardi, Schneider, and Tufano, 2011), and well-being assessment
(Tucker-Seeley, 2018) will be used to measure financial status. Preparation will focus on how to
operationalize the evaluation design. Outputs will require ongoing data collection with instruments
developed and implemented by the evaluation consultant and program manager. The outcomes
will measure self-efficacy and financial status variables.

Phase 3: Summative Evaluation Research

Phase three will graduate to collection of outcome data in an evaluation study that will build
a scientific base of research evidence for the innovation. An intervention and control group format
will be utilized to compare similar participants who receive the intervention with those who don’t.
The design will include a comparison of intervention populations representing women at three
different stages of the prevention continuum (risk vulnerability, imminent danger of losing
housing, and rehoused after recent homelessness). The process data collection systems that were
developed previously to ensure accountability for outputs will continue.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan
The author has identified several key stakeholders in relation to WISER, who will require
an engagement strategy in order to align interests, maximize support, and reduce any negative
influence. First is the author’s employer, the University of Southern California, for whom she
directs the Initiative to Eliminate Homelessness, including the twelve school deans who are part of
the initiative Steering Committee and oversee that effort. She will also want to ensure support from
the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, through which she created the WISER
innovation and may funnel future research grant applications. She will need leadership support to
move forward with program implementation activities within her role on behalf of the initiative and
utilize her relationships with the schools which oversee it. The author will ensure
45

opportunities to present her work to incoming leadership at the school and university as well as
initiative leadership, given USC’s investment in her professional development and the significance
of a new program model she developed to end homelessness. This will include in-person meetings,
presentations at administrative or faculty meetings, and featured articles on the initiative website as
well as in campus social work, policy, and homelessness newsletters.
LAM, the author’s partnering organization, will require engagement at all levels of the
organization, as well as the agency’s existing community partners to maximize the excitement of
piloting a new model that was created expressly for the African American community. This will
include marketing presentations about the program and stories that highlight the importance of
cost-effective local resources to prevent homelessness for staff, board of directors, member
churches, and neighborhood partners.
A leadership strategy will also be necessary with elected officials and public administrators
who make decisions on policy around homelessness, need encouragement to expand their
commitment on prevention, and must become aware that other models now exist besides those they
already know of. Engagement of these stakeholders will include multiple presentations to elected
officials and directors or staff members, at all levels.
Philanthropic leaders who work in the area of homelessness prevention and/or economic
empowerment will require an introduction to the importance of prevention and opportunities for a
new cost-effective innovation to enter the marketplace for social impact. The author will reach out
to the key organizations with introductory written communications to high level leadership for
awareness purposes and follow up for those who demonstrate interest in more information.
A group of stakeholders who may be less than receptive to the author’s innovation are
businesses, both for-profit and non-profit groups who work with homelessness prevention and/or
financial products. They may not welcome a competitive new approach into their space. However,
the author believes that the WISER model presents many opportunities for benefit to these
46
businesses, in relation to collaborative partnerships and referral relationships. She will conduct
outreach in the community where the pilot will occur, building a network coalition of businesses
who can guide and support the WISER participants. The program will represent an additional
resource for businesses to market their products or services and referral resource.
Women at risk or who have experienced loss of housing represent an additional stakeholder
group of great importance. The author has consulted with a number of women who fall into this
category, through various individual and group interviews that elicited information about their
experiences, perceptions, and needs. These interviews uncovered themes and topic areas that have
been incorporated into the WISER curriculum, presented in this paper as Appendix 3. A
preliminary community advisory board was formed and provided direct input for the curriculum in
May of 2019. The implementation plan includes ongoing recruitment for this body as women
complete the course, so they can join and provide ongoing feedback while acting as mentors to the
women who join the next group. WISER is designed on a framework of participant action research
to ensure ownership and widespread community dissemination.
A final stakeholder will be the general public, which can benefit by gaining awareness of
risk or warning signs of potential housing loss and available help. The community will be engaged
through a public awareness campaign on behalf of the WISER mission and program.
Communication Strategies and Products
The author’s communication strategy will include a front-end strategy to prepare the market
by increasing overall public and policy support for efforts that prevent homelessness. It will also
build awareness of the WISER innovation as a cost-effective and valuable new tool to reduce
housing loss. Communications products for homelessness prevention will focus on the theme of
#womenstayinghoused and #housinghelp, with a short ad that identifies the warning signs and
urges people to reach out when they see a friend or neighbor who might need help. A website with
information and links related to a range of helping resources will be created and linked to other
47

public, non-profit, and academic sites, with social media messages drawing users to the website.
Communications products for WISER will include a one page program overview, a slide deck with
key program information, and a short video on the program. Additionally, the author will prepare a
policy brief on homelessness prevention for publication by USC’s Homeless Policy Research
Institute, an article for the Grand Challenges in Social Work newsletter, and an article for journal
publication on the WISER model. The author will submit proposals for workshop presentations on
homelessness prevention and the WISER innovation at the NASW, Society for Social Work and
Research, and National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs annual national conferences.
Finally, all required grant reports will be submitted.
Ethical Considerations
The author has identified ethical concerns to consider in relation to the WISER project,
which fall under the NASW Social Work Code of Ethics standards for informed consent, privacy
and confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and evaluation research issues, in part as they intersect with
her role as a DSW student. The author addressed informed consent and confidentiality when she
conducted design-centered focus groups, facilitating informed consent by explaining her purpose
clearly, protecting the right of all participants to refuse to share or engage in a suggested activity,
and ensuring consent in collaboration with the agency contact who provided access, while protecting
privacy by collecting and maintaining all feedback anonymously. There were situations during the
course of design development, where the author had access to potential populations or resources
because of her role as a USC Director. In these circumstances, the author clarified her status as a
student in a doctoral program and separated that from her role as a staff member. The author was
concerned about the issue of benefitting from the information provided by persons who had
experiences of homelessness. There is an ethical concern in homelessness and community- based
research fields about taking lived experience time and knowledge from marginalized persons for
research purposes without compensation, so the author provided gift cards for all interviews.
48

That is one way to recognize the value of the contribution that was provided and ensures a more
equitable, rather than exploitive, exchange.
The author also harbors a concern about going into a community and raising hopes that a
new program will be offered and then being unable to sustain the service after the initial pilot or
research period funding is exhausted. In response, the initial implementation will provide staff
training and curriculum materials that can be incorporated into existing programs, even if WISER
becomes unsustainable as a separate entity at some point. Given the lack of economic opportunity
in the African American community, it is possible that one or more of the participants may have
engaged in illegal activities, either personally or through family members. Since it is the goal of the
WISER intervention to guide the women toward use and enhancement of legal business activities,
past history or family ties information may emerge. It will be necessary to respond with a
nonjudgmental attitude while identifying the risks and setting clear boundaries for group activities
and safety. It will be important to ensure that illegal activity is avoided and any women within the
program who may be at risk within their community are protected. Finally, as a Caucasian female,
the author feels an ethical responsibility to transfer her knowledge and resources into the hands of
African American service providers who have strong roots in the community and can take
ownership in a way that will provide maximum empowerment to all stakeholders. The author
recognizes the level of power and privilege that has allowed her to work on a doctorate and design
a program for a marginalized and impoverished community that is not her own, on an issue of
housing where she is not vulnerable or at risk. She has been and will continue to carefully consider
the implications of her status, role, and power. She has nurtured long-term respectful and
collaborative relationships within this community but recognizes that the differences are not lost on
her partners and that sensitivity to unspoken feelings or reactions is an important feature of this
work, in order to successfully realize the potential of WISER as a useful innovation.
49

Conclusions, Actions, and Implications

Summary of Project Plans

The WISER vision is to provide an intentional community of support for low-income
African American women to prevent homelessness by creating a place where they can build
personal and economic power that uplifts their families and their communities; a place where they
are planting seeds of future opportunity for the next generation while strengthening their own
economic condition. The program mission is to offer an innovative women’s support group that
builds a social and financial foundation for participants who otherwise may have considerable
vulnerability to housing instability in their later years. Program participants will strengthen
protective factors and reduce risk factors to prevent loss of housing. The author has utilized
published research, design thinking technique, and clinical social work knowledge from her past
experience to develop a 24-week women’s support group curriculum contained in a manual that
provides detailed instructions for program operations. The manual includes a curriculum,
formatted with session topics, guidelines, activities, and worksheets.
The full implementation is based on a seven year plan with phases for one year of
exploration (which took place during the author’s first year of doctoral studies), one year of
preparation (currently in progress), and a five year implementation (1 year pilot, 2 year formative
evaluation, and 2 year summative evaluation to achieve successive and measured growth). The
pilot will be implemented by a non-profit agency from the African American faith community,
supporting groups at two sites in south L.A., to test usability and make rapid cycle improvements.
This will be followed by a three-site expansion to build on the pilot, focused on women at three
different points on the prevention continuum; primary or those at risk or vulnerable financially due
to health or family issues that impact their income streams, secondary or those at imminent risk of
housing loss who are receiving publicly funded prevention help, and tertiary or those who have

been re-housed with need to maintain housing status after a period of homelessness. A formative

evaluation will test the process and early results to see if things are on track with expectations. The
output and outcome results generated will help to accumulate sufficient evidence for a possible
linkage between group participation, self-efficacy growth, improvement of financial status, and
stabilization of housing, making the case for expanded scientific study to prove the concept.
Accompanying evaluation activities are matched to each phase in order to build a strong evidence
base for dissemination. Sustainment will occur after the evidence base has been established, where a
dissemination organization will ensure policy advocacy, community collaboration through
coalitions or learning communities, and provision of program training for use or adaptation.
Current Practice Context for Project Conclusions
WISER is an intervention based in theory, which provides an innovative program to break
down social norms that disempower African American women on the basis of gender and race,
disincentivizing their access to financial wealth and maintaining economic class-related barriers to
knowledge and supports that are available to those in higher income brackets. This process makes
them more susceptible to housing loss in later years. Through WISER, adult women will gain
economic knowledge and tools with social support to effectively challenge the gender and race-
based factors that have held them back. The program promotes active self-care, goal setting, and
practical action to resolve difficult life issues. It also provides opportunities to start a small
individual or collective business, open a group savings circle, create an investment club, or
advocate for community needs. The intervention focuses at the micro level, incorporating
groupwork skills and clinical supervision, as well as opportunities for masters level internship
training. It is strength-based and builds resiliency for empowerment, starting at the community
level with persons who are often marginalized, stigmatized, and overlooked.
Economic empowerment programs and homelessness prevention services have traditionally
been conducted in classroom settings or individual coaching/case management sessions, thereby
neglecting the power of group role modeling, encouragement, praise, and learning based on a

relational model of women’s psychological development. Mental health and human service
programs have neglected to address or provide linkages for improvement in financial issues. This
program bridges a gap and challenges social norms by equipping women with increased economic
power based on the understanding that systemic inequities have created barriers to access and
women can help to transform the system by working together.
Project Implications for Practice and Further Action

As the program implementation moves forward, there will be opportunities to promote the
WISER concept, generate support, and gain additional funding. Future growth may include
establishment of a separate agency to engage with policy advocacy for prevention programs,
coalition building, and program model training for use or adaptation to other special populations.
One important next step will be to hold additional tabletop exercises based on the current
developed curriculum for women with similar population characteristics and personal experience.
Their input will be valuable in response to the developed curriculum, providing potential user
feedback that can inform ongoing development to support the first pilot group.
Social work practice has a strong base in social justice, with the NASW Code of Ethics
(2017) identifying ethical responsibilities to promote the general welfare of society. Advocacy to
help fulfill basic human needs for persons who have been marginalized, excluded, or treated
unfairly is at the base of the profession. The WISER project is centered within this context to
impact the grand challenge of homelessness. It will strengthen a vulnerable group to meet basic
needs and increase well-being. The intervention is focused at the micro level, not directly
addressing the outer macro context where there is woefully insufficient affordable housing stock or
ongoing wealth inequality that both contribute to the problem. However, WISER, building from the
ground up, may have macro implications generated over time as women find new ways to use their
power and make community-based impacts through legacies for future generations.

Project Limitations

There are limitations with the WISER project beyond it’s micro social work approach. The
curriculum is rather long, incorporating multiple elements that are combined to build self-efficacy
and change behavior. The author found another model that used a six-week curriculum for young
women to build career self-efficacy that was effective, although the exact target population and
behavior focus were different. It may be difficult to gain a commitment and consistency for this
length of time, resulting in loss of enrollment or a high drop-out rate by eligible applicants. The
design elements that have been applied to avoid this problem include meals at each meeting, help
with transportation and/or child care, and personal bonding along with self-assigned homework
assignments that will hopefully attract women to make the weekly meetings a part of their regular
schedule for the required time period. The author recognizes that people will attend if they feel
safe, comfortable, respected, and perceive concrete as well as emotional value from the meetings.
Future iterations of the curriculum may break up the program phases into shorter segments (e.g. 6
sessions each). which can allow for enrollment in smaller chunks and respond to the participant’s
pace or interest. Even with these elements, there will likely be eligible women who don’t feel
comfortable with or want to be part of a group format. They will be referred to a prevention
program that uses individual coaching.
Another potential limitation arises from the fact that prevention services in the homelessness
arena struggle with efficiency of selection, given that the majority of people who are at severe risk
resolve the situation on their own and never actually become homeless (Culhane, Byrne, &
Metreaux, 2011). According to Culhane, et.al (2011), efforts at prediction are not sophisticated
enough yet to provide much assistance with effective targeting of services. Thus, there is no way to
know if a particular service, including WISER, is actually preventing homelessness. Using WISER
as a primary prevention approach may at best serve a population where only 1-2% would have
otherwise actually become homeless without the help. Researchers recommend prevention

approaches that focus on secondary or tertiary levels of homelessness, where people are on the brink
or just coming back from it (Colhane, et.al, 2010). This knowledge has informed the WISER
strategy to locate at sites to address all three levels of prevention care in order to engage in a
comparison of outcomes.
A final limitation can occur based on the self-selection of women who enroll in the program.
One might wonder if the enrollees are not representative of certain categories of health, mental
health, social status, etc. For example, women with histories of incarceration, substance use
disorders, or mental health conditions who could benefit may either be screened out by the site,
their own preference, or their behavior status. An approach that starts with the women who choose
to participate will establish groups and form the basis of an intervention with a good evidence base
that can then be adapted and become accessible to special populations.

APPENDIX 1

Definitions

The key grand challenge specific concepts discussed in this paper include the following:

1. Homelessness:

Homelessness has been defined by HUD in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid
Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-22, Section 1003) (HUD Exchange, 2019) as an
individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence or is using a public or
private place not designed for regular human sleeping accommodation, such as a car or abandoned
building. The definition also includes persons living in a temporary shelter, exiting an institution
where they were without shelter prior to entrance, or at imminent risk of eviction within 14 days
without other resources (National Healthcare for the Homeless Council, 2019) .

2. Poverty:

Poverty is defined by the federal government through established income threshold estimates of the
income amounts required to cover basic living costs, updated periodically for inflation. These
thresholds have been established by the federal government to determine eligibility for various
benefits and also used to collect data for planning. In 2018, the estimated thresholds varied from
$12,793 for a single adult to a maximum of $51,919 for nine or more persons (U.S. Census, 2019).

3. Housing Insecurity:

Although there is no empirically validated instrument of measurement at this time (Cox, Henwood,
Rice, & Wenzel, 2017; Frederick, Chwalek, Hughes, Karabanow, & Kidd, 2014), housing insecurity
is generally considered to occur when an individual misses a rent payment or receives an eviction
notice (PD&R Senior Leadership, 2019). According to experts who work on the American
Housing Survey (PD&R Senior Leadership), cost burdened renters whose housing costs are 50% or

more than their monthly income, are highly likely to fall into this condition.

4. Food Insecurity: Food insecurity has been defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in terms
of low or very low food security. Low security refers to “reduced quality, variety, or desirability of
diet; little or no indication of reduced food intake”. Very low food security is, “multiple indications
of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake” (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2018).

APPENDIX 2

WISER Women’s Program

Logic Model

Benefit: This program will benefit women of color who are at risk of homelessness due to low
incomes and impacts of gender and race. It will improve that their capacity to maintain housing in
south Los Angeles during their later years. It will also benefit their families and communities.

Purpose/Goal: This program will prevent homelessness for pre-retirement African American
women by increasing social support, knowledge, and resources for financial security to meet basic
needs into older years.

Theories/Assumptions:

• Factors of race and gender impact earning and asset accumulation capacity for African

American women ages 40-65

o Limited savings, credit histories, social capital

o Impact of financial emergencies, life shocks, losses, or transitions can be
devastating
• Histories of trauma impact attitudes and behaviors

o Nervous system dysregulation reduces capacity for long-term perspective

o Abusive role models lead to poor self-care skills

• Challenging or overwhelming financial situations reduce hope, expectations, and self-
efficacy
• Support group members can help each other build new skills through peer role modeling,
encouragement, and rewards of group goal achievement

Priorities:

• Formative evaluation will improve curriculum; outcome evaluation will build evidence for
effectiveness and program expansion
• Ensure that all participants receive help in emergencies and are treated with respect
throughout their experience

Inputs Activities Outputs Immediate
Outcomes
Intermediate
Outcomes
Long-term
Outcomes
• Trained
facilitators
• Conduct group
using WISER
curriculum for
women (hold
ongoing
meetings of
women for
purposes of
mutual support,
education,
training, and
technical
assistance for
issue resolution)
• Involve women
in determining
financial
activities/
assets/experts
used for group
• Utilize women
to guide
direction of
program
improvements
and to take
leadership with
newer members
• 20 women
served in
first year
• Emotional and
social bonding
between group
members
• Women
make new
friendships
Women have
expanded social
network for
ongoing
support, report
improved well-
being,
demonstrate
financial
capacity to
meet basic
needs, and have
begun to save
money for later
years
• Curriculum • 50 weekly
sessions held
in 2 group
sites held in
first year
• Women learn
about impacts
of racism and
trauma in their
lives, identify
healthy coping
+self-care
skills, role
model for
peers, and
increase self-
confidence/
self-efficacy
• Women
self-
identify
trauma
triggers and
feelings,
develop
new
behavior
patterns
that include
grounding
and healthy
self-care
• Group space • 16 women
with
completed
financial
plan served
in first year
• Women learn
basic financial
literacy info,
create a
financial plan,
identify
structure for
savings and
income
• Women
add
income,
reduce
expenses,
improve
credit
status, &/or
save for
future goals
• Participants • 14 women
with a
completed
financial
goal served
in first year
• With help of
experts and
peers, women
commit to and
accomplish a
financial goal
• Funding • 12 women
who reported
improved
well-being in
first year
• Women identify
how to give
back to family
or community
and create a
legacy plan
• Women
share their
knowledge
and
experience
with
younger
women to
give back

APPENDIX 3: ARTIFACT

WISER WOMEN’S SUPPORT GROUP
Well-being Innovation with Support and Education for Resilience

USER MANUAL AND CURRICULUM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to User Manual and Curriculum 4

Notes to User 5

Overview of WISER 6 - 7
• History
• Purpose
• Principles
• Structure
• Phases

Preparatory Phase, Group Implementation 8 - 9
• Identification of Sites
• Orientation for Hosts
• Informational Meetings
Community or referral persons
Potential participants
• Facilitator Training

Phase 1- Introductory and Bonding Phase: Connecting and Sharing 10 - 33
Step 1/Session 1: Co-create a safe place with other group members
Step 2/Session 2: Learn how to engage in a process of growth, empathy, and self-care
Step 3/Session 3: Identify key elements and create personal story narrative
Step 4/Session 4: Learn about trauma impact from individual and historical perspective
Step 5/Session 5: Build resilience and reframe personal stories to emphasize strengths

Phase 2- Education and Linkage on Key Issues: Recovery and Repair 35- 67
Step 1/Session 6: Assess life issues with relationships to identify challenges
Step 2/Session 7: Ask for help and find safe support in the community
Step 3/Session 8: Build skills to address relationship issues (baby steps/goals/actions
Step 4/Session 9: Assess relationship to money to identify challenges
Step 5/Session 10: Learn about sales compliance and manipulation to arm against these
Step 6/Session 11: Conduct research to self-educate for good financial decision-making

Phase 3- Goal Setting and Planning: Creating My Future 68- 91
Step 1/Session 12: Develop basic financial literacy behaviors through game experience
Step 2/Session 13: Assess financial issues/challenges and develop a plan
Step 3/Session 14: Identify need for partners with special expertise
Step 4/Session 15: Engage in problem solving with experts
Step 5/Session 16: Create a group financial activity to implement
Step 6/Session 17: Set realistic expectations and celebrate successes

Phase 4- Creating Ways to Invest in Community: Giving Back 92- 113
Step 1/Session 18: Develop a vision, picture, written story, and timeline for future vision
Step 2/Session 19: Create support networks with cheerleaders to help/appreciate you
Step 3/Session 20: Work to heal past damages for yourself and your community
Step 4/Session 21: Build resources for family/community’s future well-being

Program Evaluation 114

Appendix: Program Evaluation Instruments 115- 122

References 123- 125

Please note that the WISER manual is registered for protection:
© 2019, Brenda Wiewel, all rights reserved

WISER WOMEN’S GROUP INTRODUCTION TO USER
MANUAL AND CURRICULUM

What is this approach?
Various support group models for women have been used to either help with mental health care
or to facilitate economic development through access to financial education and/or small- scale
savings groups worldwide. The WISER approach blends these two models. The culturally
appropriate curriculum is trauma-informed and structured to build participant power to guide
the group. It uses a series of steps to unlock women’s strengths, energy, hope, and self-
confidence. These elements are then applied to development of a financial plan that will
address current issues and long-term needs to improve stability as the women age. Experts will
be brought in, upon request of participants, to educate and/or partner with the women as
needed. The women will implement their financial plan, engaging in active efforts, with group
encouragement and guidance. The final element is work on a legacy that focuses on creating
ways to give back to the community, using the strengths and knowledge participants have
developed through the group. The model is designed to build sufficient financial stability to
meet current and future basic needs, preventing destitution or homelessness in later years. The
activities and information are designed to increase self-efficacy, a key element in the ability of a
person to take positive action and achieve goals.

When would a WISER group be used?
WISER groups can be implemented as a specialized stand-alone program at a community site,
such as a church, to provide support for female congregants who need help to strengthen their
financial stability. It may be added to an existing women’s support group to provide a guided
set of activities and experiences which can enhance the group experience. The groups can also
used as a component of a comprehensive homeless prevention or mental health program that
provides a range of help. As part of an array of services for clients who are at risk of
homelessness or those attempting to regain financial stability after being re- housed after a
period of homelessness, the groups can add an important way to help clients consolidate gains
they have made in service programs for maintenance into the future.

What is the primary target group?
WISER is designed specifically for low income African American women in urban environments.
Particular focus is on women ages 45-65 who have a cost-burdened household where they
spend more than 30% or more of their income on housing. This can mean trouble paying rent,
mortgage, or utilities along with forced moves, insufficient food, or foregoing healthcare needs.
Black households are almost twice as likely as white households to be cost burdened. Thus, the
specific target group was selected on the basis of their extreme vulnerability due to disparities
in race and gender-based risk (Brown, et.al, 2016; Christ & Gronniger, 2018; Gaona, 2018;
Henry, 2018; LAHSA, 2018c). The program evaluation section provides guidance for adaptation
to other cultural or special groups.

Notes to User

The WISER Manual has been developed for staff who will implement a WISER women’s group.
Users of this guide will be able to assist with development and facilitation of the groups, help to
train others who want to use this model, provide support to achieve group success, and
conduct program evaluation to ensure continuous quality improvement.

WISER is a structured women’s group with four phases of activities. It was developed to build
social and financial empowerment in low-income urban communities, out of a commitment to
interrupt cycles of economic instability that can lead to homelessness. The groups are targeted
to women who are at high financial risk and can benefit from a group approach. A group will
run for an average of six months, utilizing the structured curriculum and providing linkages to
community experts for active guidance to solve otherwise unmanageable problems.

WISER recognizes that the vulnerable women who attend the groups are likely to have
experienced trauma from violence, abuse, and/or multiple losses as well as racism from
microaggressions and/or racial discrimination that has affected them in large and small ways
throughout their lives.

The first phases of the program will provide education to help the women understand the
contextual issues that they experience from a new perspective and build skills for improved
self-care. This process will strengthen resilience and self-efficacy for the next phase of planning
and actions. Group members may uncover traumatic memories that trigger mental health
symptoms and may require referrals for additional care. Group leaders must be prepared to
identify presence of mental health symptoms and have a mental health program resource
available for immediate assistance as needed. Group leaders and facilitators may also have had
similar experiences and are encouraged to ensure an outside support system and practice of
ongoing active self-care for their own well-being.

The program will then focus on unresolved financial issues to address and act on goals to
develop financial stability. This may include use of outside legal, financial, or other types of
special program expertise. Group leaders must be prepared to identify member needs in these
areas and bring in the required assistance through partners who are available to provide
guidance. This process should be directed by group members, giving them an opportunity to
assert their needs and build leadership skills. Group leaders will facilitate this process, arranging
for linkages or special guests at meetings. They will also help members identify barriers and
explore ways to overcome them, with members always taking the lead on this process.

The final phases will help group participants create positive legacies for the generation that will
come after them. Group leaders will assist them to bring their talents, strengths, and
knowledge to the community through linkages to existing projects or creation of new projects
that help them give back. This will build community investment opportunities and strengthen
social networks for extended social capital that will support group members to maintain gains.

OVERVIEW OF WISER

History
The WISER intervention was based on homelessness, culture, and trauma-related research
conducted by Brenda Wiewel, who created the model framework. The curriculum was
developed with the co-design help of a small group of women advisers who attended a retreat
for the purpose on May 19, 2019, along with subsequent contacts with some of these advisors
to guide development. It was the product of her work as a doctoral candidate in social work,
DSW ’19 to create an innovation in response to the Grand Challenge in Social Work for Ending
Homelessness. Wiewel wishes to express appreciation for their contributions to each of the
advisory group members including Ana Amaya Alvarez, Tisha Boyd, Cheryl Branch, Maxanna
Brooks, Larae Cantley, Tiffany Duvernay, Inga-Rochelle Jones, and Alisa Orduna.

Purpose
The purpose of the model is to interrupt cycles of homelessness for high-risk African American
women. The curriculum is scheduled for a pilot at two community sites, in a one -year trial, to
provide formative evaluation along with an outcome evaluation design to determine
effectiveness and incorporate quality improvement from operational experience. It is hoped
that the model will eventually stand alone, via this manual, and develop into a standard
evidence-based intervention utilized as part of continuums of care throughout the United
States. It is also hoped that the model will eventually be adapted for other cultures and
subpopulations, in order to build resilience and self-efficacy for a wide range of economically
disadvantaged populations.

Principles
This model is based on the following principles:

1. Group members know best what they need and will establish their own behavior rules
2. Group members will take the lead regarding timing and use of content
3. Group members will determine their own individual goals and action plans
4. Group members will encourage and support their peers to take action on their plans
5. Group members will identify areas where they desire outside expertise
6. Financial vehicles such as group savings, cooperative business development, etc. will be
determined and developed by each group, with group leader support
7. Members who are destructive of group safety or actively disruptive during meetings
may be asked to leave and referred elsewhere
8. Group members may be referred to mental health services as needed
9. Constructive self-care for group members and leaders will be prioritized at all times

Structure
For best results, groups will utilize the following format:
1. Groups operate best with 8-12 members
2. Groups will be opened when sufficient members have registered to attend
3. Membership will be closed once a new group begins and be time-bound at 24 weeks,
unless otherwise agreed upon by members.
4. Each group session will be 2 hours, inclusive of 30 minutes for arrival and meal
5. Members are expected to attend minimum 70% of sessions and stay until group ends

Phases
The curriculum makes use of four phases, each lasting 4-6 weeks. They include:
1. Connecting and sharing: bonding and narrative building, which includes education about
historical trauma, racism, and self-care tools
2. Recovery and repair: identifying and sorting life burdens/issues, which includes
education for financial literacy and use of financial tools/experts
3. Creating a future: recognizing talents/strengths and developing a plan to utilize them as
well as building a lasting support network with rebuilt and new healthy relationships
4. Giving back: work on creating purpose through lasting mechanisms that give back to
community as well as future generations

Guidance for the Group Leader
As the leader, you will play an important role in monitoring and helping to steer conversation
away from judgmental attitudes or advice-giving behaviors. Please use invitations for action,
instead of commands or demands, if possible. At the beginning, each member will receive a 3-
ring binder, notebook paper, and plastic sheet covers. Remember to use a 3-hole punch for all
handouts so they can be placed in the binder. This binder will function as a scrapbook to
capture and document member experiences, growth, and progress. Each session comes with a
set of activities and handouts with information on group goal, activities, sheets with key
information for the topic, and worksheets for members to complete during the group. There will
be a session description for each week, which provides a starting point for conversation and
comments.

In preparation, please review the session information prior to the session time and be sure to
have all of the items for activities available when the session begins. The sessions are designed
to be accomplished in 1-2 meetings. However, the group may require more time to engage in
the activities and accompanying sharing. Please check in with the group at the end of each
session and gain agreement for whether or not to continue the session to the next meeting.
When the group feels ready to move on and you perceive that the session goals have been met,
then it is time to move to the next step. It may be preferable to allow sufficient time instead of
rushing through activities, remembering that the structured sessions can be extended into
more than one meeting. You may want to include group members to help with all or part of the
group readings and guidance for activities.

Preparatory Phase for Group Implementation

Community and Host Orientation Meetings

Purpose:
To obtain support of community and host site leaders
Attendees:
Representatives of elected officials, community agency directors, community leaders from
government, philanthropy, business organizations with responsibility and investment in the
target community for implementation

Content:
• Introduction of NGO non-profit agency program sponsor
• Explanation of WISER group design with summary of goals and activities
• Identification of target group to be served
• Overview of how WISER groups work with description of underlying program theory and
logic model along with principles, phases, structure, and benefits
• Description of staffing and use of community financial assets as partners
• Explanation of role for community and host site leaders to authorize and advertise

Identification of Locations and Site Agreements
Community leaders who desire to provide a host site will work with the NGO non-profit agency
program sponsor to make arrangements. These will include:
• Rent for space
• Site access to include bathroom facilities, power outlets, chairs, tables, janitorial
services, security, and keys, etc.
• A written Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by both parties that specifies all
working agreements
• Limitations for group participation (open to community members or limited to host site
referrals)
• Process for parties to resolve differences or end the agreement
• Responsibilities and restrictions for communications and messaging about the WISER
group within the host site, the local community, and wider audiences

Informational Meetings for Referrals

Purpose:
To inform potential group referral sources about the WISER groups, participant eligibility, group
expectations, and group registration process: friends, community members, service providers

Content:
• Introduction of NGO non-profit agency program sponsor and group leader
• Explanation of WISER group design with summary of goals and activities

• Identification of target group to be served and eligibility requirements
• Overview of how WISER groups work with principles, phases, structure, and benefits
• Description of process for group referral and participant registration
• Provision of written materials and flyers for program

Informational Meetings for Interested Participants

Purpose:
To inform potential group participants about the WISER groups, group eligibility, group
expectations, and group registration process

Content:
• Introduction of NGO non-profit agency program sponsor and group leader
• Explanation of WISER group design with summary of goals and activities
• Identification of eligibility requirements
• Overview of how WISER groups work with principles, phases, structure, and benefits
• Description of process for registration (may register at this meeting)
• Provision of written materials and flyers for program

Training for Group Facilitators

Agency Affiliation
This curriculum is designed to utilize trained group facilitators who are employed by a host
agency, under a funding arrangement that integrates WISER into an existing range of services in
order to expand women’s group support.

Group Facilitator Qualifications and Supervision
The model presented here may be taught by trained facilitators, including Peer Specialists, with
a range of educational preparation, at the discretion of the host agency. Clinical supervision
with a licensed mental health professional is strongly recommended to oversee all group
facilitators. This will ensure appropriate boundaries are maintained, participant behavior
management is handled in a trauma-informed manner, and mental health or other
emergencies are responded to effectively to protect all parties.

Curriculum Training
Curriculum training will be provided for all group facilitators, consisting of 16 total training
hours, to include a thorough orientation to the group approach, structure, and content. The
training will include practice with sample exercises and role-playing activities. Upon completion
of the curriculum training, group facilitators will be provided weekly clinical supervision, which
may include direct observation, depending on the prior experience and individual training
needs.

PHASE 1

BONDING AND CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING PHASE
CONNECTING AND SHARING

Summary
Step 1: Co-create a safe place with other group members
Step 2: Become willing to engage in a process of growth, empathy, and self-care
Step 3: Identify and share personal story
Step 4: Learn about trauma and impact from individual and historical perspective
Step 5: Build resilience and reframe personal stories

Phase Objectives:
By the end of phase 1, members will:
• Feel emotionally and physically safe with peers and leader
• Start to share meaningful information, experiences, and feelings
• Learn about trauma and impact from an individual and historical perspective
• Have skills to help regulate their nervous systems
• Begin to create a new narrative about what happened to them and identify who they
are from a strengths perspective that demonstrates their personal value

Advance Preparation:
• Provide a meal for the group to start with
• Gather and bring materials for specified group activities
• Identify music to play during appropriate portions of sessions
• Provide notebooks, paper, and plastic sleeves for scrapbooks/portfolios

PHASE ONE: STEP 1

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and conversation
30 minutes

• Review of purpose and activities scheduled
5 minutes

• Read written purpose for program and review
of session activities 5 minutes

• Group members introduce name and share
reasons for joining group 5 minutes
Creating a safe and brave place • Read sheet on safe/brave places and allow
group members to comment
5 minutes
• Co-create group rules list with members
10 minutes
Personal value and care-taking

Self-Care
• Read sheet on Self-Care 5 minutes

• Each member selects a prompt from a basket
and teaches a self-care physical action to
group 10 minutes

• Members use magazines, construction paper,
ribbon, etc. to create an “I am” collage
15 minutes

• Members gather into pairs to share their
collage 10 minutes

• Each partner introduces the other and her
collage to the group 10 minutes

• Members share something new they learned
about themselves from the activity and select
a self-care activity they will engage in during
the coming week 10 minutes

PHASE ONE: STEP 1

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to get to know each other. We will be learning about what
safe places and brave spaces look like so we can make sure our sessions offer benefit when you
are here. You are making a choice to invest your time and energy with WISER and it’s
important for you to feel that your investment reaps the rewards you want in your life. Today,
we will decide and commit to how we want this group to run and how we will behave with each
other. Then each of you will create a collage that represents important symbols or pictures
related to who you are as a person and share those with your peers in the group. This is a way
to learn about each other using pictures to describe your experiences, values, and ideas, a
method that lets you connect with each other from the heart and mind. Although this isn’t the
typical way people get to know others because we normally share where we live, our education
level, or our membership in organizations, I think you will find it a way that equalizes and allows
each of your special uniqueness to shine through. We will start each group with a meal. We will
end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to
extend the activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on
to the next topic.

Handouts for binders:

Safe Places and Brave Spaces
Circle of Trust-Touchstones, Parker J Palmer

Self-Care Activity:

Basket with prompts on separate slips of paper

SAFE PLACES AND BRAVE SPACES

A safe place is one designed to promote important human needs where people feel valued and
respected. Our brains have what is known as a “social engagement system” which uses cues
from our senses (such as eyes, nose, and ears) to scan for safety or danger around us (Porges,
2015). When danger is sensed, the system releases hormones as an early warning for self -

protection, prompting us to fight, flight, or freeze. When our body and mind experiences safety,
our brain then lets us listen, empathize, and connect with other people better. It also leads to
more creativity and new ideas. A safe place includes conditions for basic needs such as food,
water, restrooms, comfortable temperature, and useful furniture. It also includes conditions for
emotional support such as people who lift each other up, share positively, provide support,
behave respectfully, and allow expression of feelings without judgment or condemnation
Hernandez & Wiewel, 2019).

A brave space adds to the safe place by welcoming diversity through multiple viewpoints,
encouraging participants to take responsibility for their own intentions and the impact of their
words on other people, honoring the differences that everyone brings, being willing to take
risks with self-expression, sharing speaking time with others so everyone can be heard, being
aware of personal defensiveness or denial, questioning different opinions in ways other than
personal attacks on the speaker, taking time to get all the information before forming a
conclusion, listening actively, and maintaining confidentiality (Ali, 2017).

Safe spaces and brave places help people to share more deeply and learn more fully.

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy,
courage, empathy, accountability, and authenticity.”
Brene Brown

WHAT IS SELF-CARE?

• “An activity we do deliberatively to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical
health” (Michael, 2018)
• Daily activities for looking after ourselves. “Avoiding all threats and issues that may
make a person face irritable and uncomfortable circumstances.” (Pam, 2013)
• “The practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness,
in particular during periods of stress.” (Lexico.com, n.d.)
• “...refers to actions and attitudes which contribute to the maintenance of well-being
and personal health and promote human development.” –(Wikipedia, 2019)

WHAT IT’S NOT

• Something we don’t enjoy doing
• Something we force ourselves to do
• Something that takes away from our well-being
• Selfish acts
• Adding more to the “to-do” list
• Emergency response

KNOWING YOURSELF

• What is fun to me?
• What makes me feel good or bad?
• How do I typically respond to things I like or don’t like?
• What are my limits?
• What do I need?
• What brings me joy?
• How do I relax during the day?

CONSIDER MAKING A PLAN

• Include activities for daily, weekly, monthly, and annual self-care
• Include physical, social, emotional, professional, and environmental self-care

“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you”
Katie Reed

Partially adapted from Downtown Women’s Center and the 100 Million Healthier Lives, Community
Health Improvement Leadership Academy, Trauma Informed Action Collaborative, 2019

INSTRUCTIONS AND PROMPTS FOR SELF-CARE ACTIVITY #1

The group leader will prepare a basket with one prompt per slip of paper. The basket will
be circulated so that each member can pull out a prompt and carry out the activity. The
prompt will list a physical activity, which the member will guide group members to carry
out, in whatever way they prefer and with whatever instructions they would like to use.
Prompts:
• Rocking

• Praying

• Looking upward

• Following a breath

• Walking

• Raising arms to sky

• Touching hand to heart

• Touching knees or toes

• Turning in a half circle and back again

• Rotating neck in circles

• Clasping hands in back

PHASE ONE: STEP 2

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
member self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Accepting growth and self-care orientation • Read sheet on “empathy” 5 minutes

• Guided imagery exercise of empathy
in action 15 minutes

• Group discussion about ways and
barriers to giving oneself empathy
15 minutes

• Activity with basket of objects: each
member will select an object and
describe/show group how to use it for
self-care 20 minutes

• Identification of a barrier to self-care,
selection of a specific self-care
behavior to work on and report back
on during the next week 15

• Review and discussion of homework
assignment to bring in pictures and
objects that show how they were
helped and harmed during their life
5 minutes

PHASE ONE: STEP 2

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to learn more about personal growth and self-care. We will
focus on empathy, a factor that some scientists and psychologists have called the key to health.
We will learn what empathy looks like and how we can use it for benefit in our lives. Then we
will brainstorm how to engage in self-care with empathy toward ourselves, using simple objects
or activities. This will be followed by a discussion of barriers to self-care and how not to get
sidetracked. You will be able to record in your binder what you discover, writing down personal
reminders or tips to support your efforts. At the end of the session, you will get some
homework. We are asking you to put together some pictures or objects that are significant to
you, telling the story of experiences or places that harmed and helped you throughout your life,
and bringing them in to start a scrapbook next week. As usual, we will end with a check-in that
includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into
another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:
Empathy
Self-Care Activity Instructions

Materials:

Basket with self-care objects

EMPATHY

• Empathy is a skill we can learn where we put ourselves in someone’s shoes and imagine
what they may be thinking and feeling so they feel understood.
• We listen and try to understand the other person’s feelings and experience without
judgment, evaluation, analysis, criticism, or comparison, agreement or disagreement.
• We are fully present in the moment with the other person.

• Empathy takes time, requiring that we pause and not rush to try and solve the problem.

• Empathy is a special gift that we can give to someone.

• Networks of empathy emphasize kindness and compassion.

• Empathy avoids advice, moralizing, correcting, or shutting down.

• We can direct empathy toward ourselves as self-compassion.
Activity:
Please pair up with a partner and imagine that you are each putting on your empathy shoes.
Next, cup your hands together (as if you are cupping to hold water) and keep your hands that
way. Give each partner a chance to express something about themselves. Focus on an intention
to listen intently, hear your partner completely, watch her body language, imaging yourself in
her place, and use your empathy barometer as you tune in. Notice if you start to drift your
attention away and if there are some personal reactions you are having that keep you from
being present. Notice what you learn about your partner and how you feel.
Partially adapted from ECHO Parenting (2015), Rosenberg (2009), and Taylor, R (n.d.)
The human needs necessary for a person to thrive are developed through empathy and attentive
self-care. They include (Adapted from Beaglehole, R. 2019)
• Connection,
• Honesty,
• Play,
• Physical well-being,
• Autonomy,
• Meaning,
• Peace
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

INSTRUCTIONS AND PROMPTS FOR SELF-CARE ACTIVITY

The group leader will prepare a basket with a set of small objects. The basket will be circulated
so that each member can pull out an object in turn and share as many ways as they think of to
use the object for self-care. Other ideas or objects can then be added once the basket has
passed around to all participants. Conclusions and take-aways will be identified during
discussion and written in notebooks as desired.
Objects:

• Small candles

• Small smooth rocks with words on them

• Stress ball

• Lotion

• Chapstick

• Bracelet

• Hairbrush or comb

• Baby wipes

• Headphones

• Picture of loved one

• Tissues

• Lavender or peppermint essential oil

• Card with a favorite affirmation written on it

• Comfort cross

• Playdoh or putty

PHASE ONE: STEP 3

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
member self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Identifying and sharing my story- creating a
scrapbook that will document journeys and
become a portfolio to share with the future
generation
• Read statement on impact of
environment on people’s identity and
health 5 minutes

• Facilitate group comments on info
15 minutes

• Share with group pictures, objects,
and related experiences that helped
or harmed members from their
environment and life history
15 minutes

• Distribute notebooks, paper, plastic
covers to start a personal scrapbook
and put pictures/objects into them
20 minutes

• Facilitate group sharing of scrapbooks
and their learning from process
15 minutes

• Facilitate group identification of a self-
care activity they will engage in during
the coming week to counteract one
environmental harm 5 minutes

PHASE ONE: STEP 3

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to learn more about how our environments and
experiences shape us and affect our health. We will be sharing pictures and objects that help
illustrate how we have been helped or harmed by what is around us and what we go through.
The goal is to start a scrapbook with a record of what has happened to you and where it
happened that can be part of the stories you share with family or others who can learn from
and be inspired by your life experiences. We will continue to have discussions about self-care
each week to help make sure you don’t forget about yourself as you move about in the
business of living. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the
session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week to complete
everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic

Handouts:

Impact of Our Environment
Activity Materials:
Glue, scissors, construction paper, ribbon, etc. for making scrapbook pages

IMPACT OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

Factors that affect our health (Schroeder, 2007)

Genetics: personality and temperament we are born with that affects levels of optimism,
flexibility, preferring energy from people or from solitude, ways we react to caregiver in early
childhood, and other ways we naturally react. This may also affect our sensitivity to developing
diseases such as addiction, cancer, and many others.
My genetics:

Social Environment: this is what we get from people around us, especially our parents or
caregivers, which will teach us behaviors to copy and reward certain individual behaviors while
punishing others. It includes negative attitudes like racism, sexism, stigma, stereotyping, or
behaviors based on factors beyond a human being’s control such as background, abilities, etc.
Empathy, kindness, and compassion build healthier responses. Abuse, fear, intrusion, control,
rejection, and abandonment often lead to unhealthy responses.
My social environment:

Physical Environment: this is homes, neighborhoods, schools, crime and violence, cleanliness of
water, food, and air in the environment.
My physical environment:

“Health happens in neighborhoods,” Dr. David Erickson

PHASE ONE: STEP 4

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
member self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
What I need to know about:
* trauma
* the brain and triggers
* historical, racial, epigenetic trauma

Explore impact on my life
• Form 3 small groups, each will be
assigned an info sheet on trauma, the
brain, historical/racial trauma, and
trauma healing to read and discuss
30 minutes

• Each group will present the info on their
sheet to the others and lead a
discussion, including acting out one
concept visually or behaviorally
30 minutes

• Each member will share what she
learned about trauma that is helpful
15 minutes

• Facilitate group identification of a self-
care activity they each will engage in
during the coming week to work on
trauma 5 minutes

PHASE ONE: STEP 4

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to learn about traumatic stress, the brain, links to our
history, and what it takes to heal from trauma. The goal is to help each of us better understand
how what happened to us and our family is affecting us (including back through many
generations). As we understand this, we can help ourselves and our families to deal with
trauma triggers and learn how to regulate our nervous systems to feel better and have more
energy to direct to our goals. Most people don’t link the effects of traumatic experiences to
their symptoms and health issues, even though there is often a direct link. The more trauma
that one experiences, the more chronic health conditions they will likely develop. There are a
number of things we will share that can help us work on healing of trauma for ourselves and
our families. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and

whether you would like to extend the activities into another week to complete everything or if
you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Trauma Impact Info Sheets:
1. Traumatic Stress and the Brain
2. Historical and Intergenerational Trauma
3. Help for Traumatic Stress Disorders

TRAUMATIC STRESS AND THE BRAIN
(Adapted from Hernandez and Wiewel, 2019)
Trauma, or traumatic stress, occurs when the body’s stress system gets overloaded. Everyday
stress doesn’t usually cause a problem because the body and brain are able to readjust. However,
the stress system can get out of balance when an event is intensely physically or emotionally
harmful or threatening. Typically, someone thinks they are going to die, experiencing tremendous
fear and extreme helplessness. When there are many events following one another, there is no
time for the brain to adjust. It responds by releasing hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline, to
promote fight, flight, or freeze. If the threat lasts too long or is too extreme, hormones called
cortisol are released and may lead to the nervous system being stuck on “on”. The cortisol also
interferes with memories, leading to parts of memories that get stored, often related to one of the
senses (smell, sound, or partial image). Current events can “trigger” a partial memory and release
feelings associated with the original event. This impact of the stress response system can have
lasting effects on well-being. Immediate symptoms that adults and children can develop
flashbacks, upset after exposure to reminders or “triggers”, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli,
ongoing negative thoughts or feelings, lack of trust, and seeing oneself as weak, crazy, or stupid for
not being able to “shake it off”. Large scale research has shown that people who have at least four
adverse childhood experiences(ACES) or traumatic events in their lives as children, are much more
likely that those who do not to develop problems related to mental health, substance use, tobacco
use, depression, suicide attempts, obesity, and many other health conditions.
Experiences of racism and discrimination can be traumatic. Racism is part of a system
that offers access to advantage and power based on race. Systematic denial of access to
resources and the harmful justifications that accompany these can lead to internalized
acceptance of negative messages. Even microaggressions or subtle minor behaviors that
demean people based on race can trigger intense feelings that are rooted in traumatic
reactions. Awareness and social support can be helpful.

HISTORICAL AND INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA
(Adapted from Hernandez and Wiewel, 2019)

Recent research has helped us understand how trauma can be passed down from one
generation to the other. One way is through our biology. There are switches that turn the
genes in our DNA on or off. Stress reactivity in the nervous system can affect a mother’s
caretaking behavior with her children, passing the impact along through the mother to her
offspring. Thus, the trauma impact can be expressed through our genes and inherited to affect
how our brains are wired. Additionally, the brain scans for threat normally and, when wired for
trauma, may see threat when none is there, or not see a threat when it is there, if our parents
reacted to the hormones with fight, flight, or freeze. That is why inter-generational
transmission of trauma has been found by researchers in Cambodian refugees, Canadian
aboriginals, European Jews, native Americans, Japanese Americans, and African Americans.
Another way to pass along trauma to succeeding generations is through our behavior.

Individuals with severe traumatic histories often are very distrustful, bury their pain, and stay
isolated. This affects families and children through many generations. Behavior patterns for
survival may be established in response to severe cruelty, violence, or abuse. These survival
patterns may be passed down from one generation to another through families, where they are
repeated by parents or caretakers and copied by children, even when the survival pressure is no
longer present. It is useful to wonder where behavior may have come from originally, when it
does not seem necessary or advisable at the current time.
It is important to understand the trauma associated with slavery and racism, with the

underpinning of power based on race and privilege, that ancestors and family have experienced
in the past, as it comes through to the present. It is important to talk about and recognize how
racism affects you, your family, and your community, be aware of how you have survived
through it, and how you want to thrive for your future. It may be helpful to think about how
you can use your skills, assets, and power to make a difference in your world.

“Although slavery may have been abolished, the crippling poison of racism still persists,
and the struggle still continues.” Harry Belafonte

HELP FOR TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS
(Adapted from Hernandez and Wiewel, 2019)
Individuals who have experienced high levels of trauma may experience an “out of
balance” nervous system, trouble getting relaxed again after stressed, and difficulty trusting
other people. There are a number of specialized trauma treatments that can be helpful if
someone is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or toxic stress. These include
trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, EMDR or eye movement desensitization
response, cognitive processing therapy, and others. Some additional therapies include a special
program for women, a program that develops safety for trauma survivors, education to teach
ways to regulate nervous systems, trauma-integrated treatment for substance abuse. models
that rewire the brain for greater resilience, and a family-informed trauma treatment model.
Whenever someone you know seeks treatment for a condition that may involve trauma, they
should ask if the treatment provider or program is specially trained or developed with trauma
in mind.

There is a lot of effort currently underway to develop trauma-informed systems of care
for health and human services. These efforts attempt to train staff to better understand and
respond in ways that are helpful, rather than re-traumatizing. Trauma-informed care is an
approach for human service systems to help consumers have a better experience by ensuring
that the entire system is designed to understand trauma and its’ impact on all parties, including
employees, participants, and families. This assumes that many of these parties will have been
impacted by significant traumatic stress and that systems should be designed to reduce or
eliminate re-traumatization of any kind, while providing an environment where people feel safe
and have choices. The core values of trauma-informed care are safety, trustworthiness, choice,
collaboration, and empowerment. Think about the organizations you interact with, including
schools, churches, and government offices. Do any of them use trauma-informed approaches?
The city of Long Beach is now striving to create such a system and a number of school districts
are working on this also.

“Trauma not transformed is transferred. We must do our work to heal generations.” Jerry Tello

PHASE ONE: STEP 5

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
member self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Surviving Trauma: A new way to view life
through the lens of resilience

Rewiring the Brain

Building resiliency
• Read sheet on healing and resilience-
facilitate group discussion 10 minutes

• Review sheet on tips for rewiring the
brain- each member will choose one
behavior and lead group to try it out
15 minutes

• Complete worksheet on resiliency
10 minutes

• Get into pairs to each identify and
discuss personal strengths and survival
skills 15 minutes

• Group discussion-sharing on how they
describe themselves today and any
changes since starting the group
15 minutes

• Facilitate group identification of a self-
care activity they each will engage in
during the coming week to honor their
resilience 10 minutes

PHASE ONE: STEP 5

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to apply what we learned about trauma to ourselves and
our families. We want to understand the way trauma has impacted us, in order to take an
active role in our own healing if that is needed. We can work to rewire our own brains when
traumatic stress has imprinted unhelpful responses. We will learn what resilience is all about
and how to use skills that can help us stay in our resilient zone as much as possible. The goal is
to build practical skills for ourselves and loved ones. Next, this session is designed to help us
identify and honor the personal strengths and skills that we each have used for survival. Finally,

we will look at how all of the information on trauma and resiliency leads to a new way of seeing
who we are and what we have achieved in our lives. As usual, we will end with a check-in that
includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into
another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

“Trauma not transformed is transferred. We must do our work to heal generations.” Jerry Tello

Handouts:

Healing and Resiliency
Skills for rewiring the brain
Worksheet on resiliency

HEALING AND RESILIENCY

(Partially adapted from Beaglehole, R. 2019)

Our nervous systems can be rewired to improve resilience, or balance. When things are normal,
our nervous system functions in a zone, sometimes called the “Green Zone”. Here, the system
feels safe, leading to a person who is normally calm, communicative, and able to relax. However,
due to trauma reactions, our nervous system may go into the “Red Zone” where we will feel
intense emotional reactions, become easily irritated, very anxious, or get very upset in
minor situations. This is stuck in “high drive”. Other times, our nervous system will slow down
into the “Blue Zone” where we lack energy or emotion, almost frozen, and shut down. This is
stuck in “low drive”. It is important to find a way to rebalance ourselves into the green zone by
becoming aware of when we get stuck in red high or blue low zones and taking action. It is
possible to calm down by grounding techniques based on the type of calming strategies that
work best for our individual bodies. These include oral (e.g. chewing gum or drinking water),
visual (e.g. looking at a fish tank or nature pictures), auditory (listening to waves at the beach),
and kinesthetic (touch- e.g. feeling a smooth stone or squeezing a stress ball) to help create a
calming effect, or active (moving, running, playing a sport). It is important to figure out what
your own system needs.

Much of the healing for traumatic stress makes use of grounding techniques that relax the
nervous system back to a calm and resilient condition to reduce anxiety and increase a sense of
control. Use of imagery that focuses on a positive experience, or a caring interaction, can be
helpful if we focus on how it feels in our bodies, stay with the experience to “set it” in our
brains, and use it to soothe ourselves or replace anxiety and other negative physical sensations
through visualization. It is also quite helpful to understand why we are responding in confusing
or irrational ways. We can feel better through recognizing that our histories are producing the
reactions that seem distressing, unusual, or inappropriate. The importance of
empathy and support from others who understand the process and can provide caring guidance

is of great value in the healing process.

SKILLS FOR REWIRING THE BRAIN
(Partially adapted from the Miller-Karas & Click, 2019 and Beaglehole, 2019)

1. Awareness of internal physical sensations

a. Internal physical sensations are the results of your nervous system working
b. Rub your hands together quickly and notice what happens
c. Look for:

i. Blood flow/Vibration (shaking, pulsing, tingling, trembling, numbness)

ii. Breathing (fast, deep, shallow, light, long, short, regular)

iii. Heartrate (fast, slow, regular, fluttering)
iv. Temperature (cold, hot, warm, neutral) v.
Pain (none, mild, medium, intense)
vi. Muscles (relaxed, loose, tight, tense)

vii. Energy (none, low, moderate, high)

d. These physical sensations can guide you to locate your current resiliency zone

i. Green may be: regular breathing, tingling on skin, neutral temp, relaxed
muscles, moderate energy, no pain
ii. Red may be: fast heartbeat, shallow breathing, hot, shaking, tight muscles
iii. Blue may be: slow heartbeat, numbness, cold, low energy
iv. What physical sensations do you notice for these zones in your body?

2. Daily practices to rewire- the key is to practice behaviors daily for at least 60 days

a. movement h. positive sayings
b. rocking i. hugs
c. breathing j. sharing
d. nature pictures k. prayer
e. ocean sounds l. stress ball or smooth stone
f. gratitude thoughts m. drinking water
g. scents such as lavender n. chewing gum

Everyone is different- learn what works for you!

WORKSHEET ON RESILIENCY
Personal/family experiences that created traumatic stress:

Regulation strategies that help me best:

Oral (tasting)
Visual (seeing)
Auditory (hearing)
Kinesthetic (touch)
Olifactory (smell)
Movement
Other

What I’ve learned about my green, red, blue zones

Feelings of gratitude, love, joy, peace, (fill in) (circle one or more) help me best
to replace anxiety, depression, sadness, anger (circle one or more) and I can use them by:

My strengths and survival skills are

I am (describe yourself)

PHASE 2
EDUCATION AND LINKAGE ON KEY ISSUES
RECOVERY AND REPAIR

Summary

Step 1: Assess life issues with relationships to identify challenges
Step 2: Ask for help and find safe support in the community
Step 3: Build skills to address relationship issues with baby steps, goals, and actions
Step 4: Assess relationship to money to identify challenges
Step 5: Learn about sales compliance and manipulation to arm against these
Step 6: Learn to conduct research and self-education for good financial decision-making

Phase Objectives:
By the end of phase 2, members will:
• Identify and clarify the key life burdens regarding relationships and money
• Recognize barriers to asking for help and find safe support
• Build skills for problem solving and issue resolution
• Learn about business practices that are harmful and self-protection
• Learn to research and self-educate to ensure positive financial decisions
• Have permission to feel proud, capable, and celebrate progress

Advance Preparation:
• Provide a meal for the group to start with
• Gather and bring materials for specified group activities
• Identify music to play during appropriate portions of sessions

PHASE TWO: STEP 1

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in - input on experience with
member self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Life assessment: relationship issues • Complete life assessment of
relationships worksheet to identify
current life burdens and issues that
present barriers or obstacles to
improved circumstances 30 minutes

• Sharing 1-2 feelings, barriers. and
conclusions from the activity
15 minutes
Visualization of success activity • Conduct visualization exercise to
explore removal of one relationship
barrier and discuss 20 minutes

• Identification of a self-care action that
each member will take during the
following week and practice with
group 10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 1

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to identify the challenges and opportunities in our
relationships in order to ensure that they support our health and strength. We will complete a
life assessment worksheet on relationships to identify issues that are barriers to our success
and explore how to resolve these issues. We will also visualize the removal of one relationship
challenge in order to be prepared with actions we can take. As usual, we will end with a check-
in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities

into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Life assessment for relationship issues
Visualization of success

LIFE ASSESSMENT FOR RELATIONSHIP ISSUES
(Partially adapted from Moxley, 2019)

This assessment will help you to think about the issues you face in relationships that may hold
you back, be unsupportive, or not meet your needs. You can think of an issue as something that
you must resolve in order to move forward in your life. For each area listed, please identify if you
feel this is an issue for you right now and then describe it in writing.

HOUSING AND HOUSEHOLD

Is there an issue you face with housing? Yes No
If yes, how would you describe this issue?

Possible issues in this area:
Dealing with landlords

Dealing with other tenants or property owners

Dealing with family members

Dealing with friends

Other

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Yes No

Is there an issue you face in taking care of your health or in getting health or social services? How
do you describe this issue?

Possible issues in this area:

Finding a good doctor, dentist, therapist, counselor

Communication with my doctor, dentist, therapist, counselor

Other challenge re: health or social service providers

CHILDREN AND FAMILY Yes No
Is there an issue you face with children or family? How do you describe this issue?
Possible problems in this area:
Childcare

Special needs of children or family members

Incarceration or child welfare involvement with child or family member

Divorce, death, separation from partner

Family or intimate partner violence (current or past)

Safety concern or need for legal protection from significant other

Adult children or grandchildren needs

WORK AND INCOME Yes No

Is there an issue you face with work? How do you describe this issue?
Possible problems in this area:

Boss or supervisor

Co-worker

Other

LEGAL AND CREDIT Yes No

Are there legal issues you face? How do you describe these issues?
Possible problems in this area:
Protecting your legal rights with another party

Safety concerns

Regaining property held by others

Dealing with debt collectors or companies who are harassing you

ARE THERE OTHER ISSUES WITH RELATIONSHIPS OF IMMEDIATE IMPORTANCE TO YOU

1.

2.

3.

VISUALIZATION EXERCISE
(Adapted from Vilhauer, 2018)

Visualization puts a “preferred future vision” into your brain as if it is happening now. When we
visualize a future process or goal, the brain instructs our neurons to “perform” the action. This
lays down a new neural pathway — clusters of neurons that create memories and learned
behaviors — and that prepares our body to act consistent with what we imagined. When you
mentally rehearse an “outcome visualization” (using all your senses to visualize a goal) or a
“process visualization” (where you rehearse the steps you will take to achieve your goal), it’s like
putting your mind and body through a “free” test run. The mental imagery you create impacts
the brain for movement, attention, seeing, planning, and remembering. The brain is
literally getting trained for actual performance during visualization. Because your mind can’t tell
the difference between image and reality (think of how you flinch during scary scenes at
movies), you will already have a head start when you take action toward your goals.

Visualization Step #1: Establish Your Goal

Visualization Step #2. Create a Detailed Picture of That Goal Already Attained (feel it inside)
Visualization Step #3. Focus, Repeat, Focus, Repeat, Focus
Visualization Step #4. Add a Surge of Positive Energy

Close your eyes, feel the floor with your toes, feel your chair beneath you, notice your
breathing, notice the tips of your fingers, notice your toes and heels. If you start to have a
stressful thought, turn that thought into a brightly colored balloon in your imagination, release
it and watch it slowly rise and get smaller as it goes higher into the sky and eventually
disappear. The further it goes in the distance the more comfortable you feel. Now identify
what you want to change or improve with a relationship issue. Be very clear to state what you
want in your mind. Create a detailed picture of what it looks like- who you are with, where you
are, how you feel, what you are wearing, what the other person is wearing and doing,
complete with color (what colors do you see), texture (do you feel soft or velvety or rough or
smooth or ribbed objects(, temperature (can you feel a light warm or cool breeze), setting
(what do you see around you near and far). Notice how you feel when you experience this
picture and describe in your mind what is happening. Notice that you feel energized by this
picture and take it in. Feel the positive emotional feeling that goes with it.

PHASE TWO: STEP 2

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Asking for help:

Knowing your rights
Understanding and removing barriers
• Read sheet on knowing your rights
and discuss with group 10 minutes

• Complete “asking for help” worksheet
with list of hurtful experiences and
personal barriers when asking for
help 10 minutes

• Sharing 1 hurtful experience and one
personal barrier that makes it difficult
to ask for help 15 minutes
Finding a safe person • Use worksheet to identify what
makes a person safe, list one or more
safe persons in member’s life to
whom they might ask for help, and
describe how they might practice
asking for help behavior 10 minutes

• Group sharing about their experience
from these activities 10 minutes
Visualization of success activity • Facilitate a group visualization of
asking a safe person for help
10 minutes

• Group discussion of visualization
experience and identification of help-
seeking behavior that each member
can commit to take during the
following week 10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 2

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to work on accepting our human rights and asking for help
when we need it. We may not have been taught our human rights or need to be reminded.
Getting help when we need it is part of our human rights. We often have a history of not
getting help because family norms put pressure on us to “keep it in the family” instead of
speaking out or due to personal fear or pride about the reaction of others that makes it hard to

ask for help. However, we do have times in our lives where we need to be comfortable with
and have the skills so we can ask for help. Sometimes it’s important to feel connected and
understood. Other times, it is necessary to have an expert guide us through areas where we
don’t have enough knowledge. We will use worksheets and group discussion to explore our
personal barriers to asking for help and learn about finding safe people. Then we will visualize
what it will feel like to be successful when asking for help. As usual, we will end with a check-in
that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities
into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:
Human rights
Asking for help worksheet
Finding a safe person worksheet
Visualization of success

KNOW YOUR HUMAN RIGHTS

“We must honor the dignity of every human being”
Ruth Beaglehole, MA

“Every child has the right to survive and thrive” UNICEF
Here are a few statements of human rights
• The right to be human
• The right to have needs
• The right to ask for help
• The right to ask questions
• The right to protect yourself
• The right to speak up to express yourself
• The right to be treated with dignity and respect
• The right to give and receive love
(Brooks, 2019)

• The right to life.
• The right to property.
• The right to identity.
• The right to one's body.
• The right to self-expression/freedom of speech.
• The right to sexual choice.
• The right to self-defense.
• The right to the fruits of one's labors.
(Your Dictionary, 2018)

• The right to equality and freedom from discrimination.
• The right to life, liberty, and personal security.
• Freedom from torture and degrading treatment.
• The right to equality before the law.
• The right to a fair trial.
• The right to privacy.
• Freedom of belief and religion.
• Freedom of opinion.
(Stand Up for Human Rights, n.d.)

Which is most important to you?

WORKSHEET ON ASKING FOR HELP

The last time I asked for help (fill in):

I don’t ask for help because (fill in):

Reasons why people like me don’t ask for help (fill in):

Some bad things that happened when I asked for help (fill in):

Some things I could use help with are (fill in):

Asking for help is a way to seek information, create a winning strategy, and be successful!

WORKSHEET ON FINDING SAFE PEOPLE

What are the clues or tips that tell you someone is safe? Physically/Emotionally

What does it mean to be a “safe person”? What qualities or behaviors makes someone “safe”?

Is it important for you to have “safe people” in your life? Why or why not?

These are the safe people I know:

Getting help from a safe person will make it a better and more beneficial experience

VISUALIZATION OF ASKING FOR HELP

Close your eyes, feel the floor with your toes, feel your chair beneath you, notice your
breathing, notice the tips of your fingers, notice your toes and heels. If you start to have a
stressful thought, turn that thought into a brightly colored balloon in your imagination, release
it and watch it slowly rise and diminish into the sky and eventually disappear. The further it
goes in the distance the more comfortable you feel. Now tell yourself that you want to ask for
help, that you will ask for help, and you will get exactly what you ask for. Be very clear what
you will ask for and what the response will be. Create a detailed picture of what it looks like,
complete with color (what colors do you see), texture (do you feel soft or velvety or rough or
smooth or ribbed objects), temperature (can you feel a light warm or cool breeze), setting),
what do you see around you (near and far). State in your mind what you will ask for and what
the response will be. See it clearly and notice how you feel when you experience this picture.
Describe in your mind what is happening. Notice that you feel energized by this mental picture
and take it in. Feel the positive emotional feeling that goes with it.

PHASE TWO: STEP 3

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment from
previous week 10 minutes
Complete the Problem Area and Action
Worksheet for Relationships with people
• Read sheet on baby steps and goal
setting for success in relationships
5 minutes

• Facilitate group discussion on how to
apply the concepts presented
15 minutes

• Review life assessment worksheet-
identify one area to work on in area
of relationships and complete
worksheet to list possible action steps
15 minutes

• Share topic area and possible action
steps with group 15 minutes

• Go back to worksheet and circle
action step to start with and describe
reasons 15 minutes

• Share action step plan with group and
Identify self-care for the week
10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 3

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to experience have a new experience with setting a goal
and developing an action plan to follow. We set and achieve goals all the time, but often don’t
take the time to work through the best action steps or understand how it all works. This will
include understanding the process of goal setting, including the concept of baby steps. Then
we will take another look at our assessment of life issues around relationships to pick a starting

place. We will select and commit to a goal, then figure out a realistic set of steps that can lead to
achieving it. In sharing our goals and plans, we will build a stronger connection to them and be
more motivated to follow through. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an
evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week
to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:
Goal setting
Action Plan Worksheet

GOAL SETTING
(Partially adapted from Mind Tools, 2019)

1. Set Goals That Motivate You: Make sure that your goals are clearly related to something
very important in your life and will help you achieve something that is meaningful. If you feel a
sense of urgency that you must do this, it’s more likely that you will! The type of goal you set
can help avoid failure or frustration. Goal setting is much more than simply saying you want
something to happen. Unless you clearly define exactly what you want and understand why
you want it the first place, your odds of success are considerably reduced. Why is your goal
important to you? What would I tell someone to convince them that this goal is worthwhile?
2. Set SMART Goals: Powerful goals are specific, (clear and well-defined) measurable (how do
you know you were successful?), attainable (possible to achieve but not too low), relevant
(consistent with theme or focus), and time bound (you set a deadline).
3. Set Goals in Writing: The physical act of writing down a goal makes it more real, improves
your commitment, and removes excuses. Using the word “will” makes it more powerful (e.g. I
will save $10 this week by not buying 3 coffee drinks at Starbucks). Frame statement from
positive angle and it where you can see it a lot (frig, bathroom mirror, etc.).
4. Make an Action Plan: Write out the individual small steps needed to achieve your goal and
cross out each one when it is completed so you can see your progress. Make your steps small
enough to manage one at a time.
5. Stick with It! Build in reminders and rewards to stay on track, including a partner to help
you. Make time in your schedule to review progress with that partner. Make sure your goal is
still important and related to your needs.
6. Mini Victories: Action steps are realistic and quickly-achievable smaller portions of a larger

goal. The reason this strategy works is because you are able to see real progress rather quickly,
so you feel a sense of accomplishment and are encouraged to move on to your next mini goal,
using the small successes as stepping-stones to larger change.

“Every step you take toward the top is possible because of all the little steps you took in the past.”
Dragos Bratasanu

RELATIONSHIP ISSUES GOAL WORKSHEET

1. Goal Statement #1: I will

2. Why is this goal worthwhile:

3. How will I measure this goal:

4. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

5. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

6. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

1. Goal Statement #2: I will

2. Why is this goal worthwhile:

3. How will I measure this goal:

4. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

5. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

6. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

PHASE TWO: STEP 4

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Complete the worksheet and explore
relationship with money
• Read sheet on history and purpose of
money 5 minutes

• Complete the worksheet on
relationship with money and finances
20 minutes

• Facilitate group discussion, reactions,
and sharing 15 minutes

• Identify a goal that will make
relationship with money become
healthier, write it on the worksheet,
and list help or support needed to
achieve it 10 minutes

• Partner with another member to
share goal and help or support
needed- brainstorm what to do next
15 minutes and write it down

• Share action step plan with group and
Identify self-care for the week
10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 4

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to explore our relationship with money. Many people
experience shame and fear around their finances. We will look at what we have learned about
money from our family, the habits or patterns we have developed around it, and how to create
a healthier set of behaviors in this area. We will have an opportunity to figure out what is
needed to transform our experience around finances and develop an action plan for creating a
healthy relationship with money, guiding each other in this process. As usual, we will end with
a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the
activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next
topic.

Handouts:

History and Purpose of Money Info Sheet
Money Action Plan Worksheet

HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF MONEY
(Adapted from Beattie, 2019)

Over 3,000 years ago, human beings bartered goods or services between each other in
exchanges that helped each person get something they needed. Money came into being after
animals were domesticated and agriculture began. Animals and plants were used to obtain
goods and began to develop value in and of themselves. People in organized societies made
rules for credit that allowed people to borrow now and repay later, interest rates to get value
out of providing objects to borrow, and fines for bad behavior. Paper money started in China in
the 11
th
century. Credit was used by merchants to help expand the products they had to sell
and encouraged large scale trading across wider and wider geographic areas so that people
could obtain desired goods from far away. People set a weight of gold to equal an agreed value
in a standardized note (coming with promise to return value) in the 16
th
century England.
People work to earn money, which allows them to get goods and services that meet basic needs
and desired goods to improve quality of life around them, for fun, and for creativity.

MONEY ACTION PLAN

1. What do I feel when I think about money and finances?

2. What did I learn about money from my family?

3. What is one habit or pattern of behavior I use around money?

4. What do I need to spend money on?

5. What do I want to spend money on?

6. What skills around money do I need to work on?

Money Action Plan

1. Goal Statement #1: I will

2. Why is this goal worthwhile:

3. How will I measure this goal:

4. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

5. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

6. Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

PHASE TWO: STEP 5

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Understanding sales compliance and business
practices that undermine your financial
health
• Read sheet on sales compliance and
manipulative business practices
10 minutes

• Discuss member experiences and
impact on financial health
15 minutes

• Read sheet on ways to counteract
compliance and manipulation
10 minutes

• Complete worksheet on behaviors to
practice and set a goal for the week
10 minutes

• Role play with group how to use one
of these techniques and where
opportunities may occur 20 minutes

• Identify behavior goal and self-care
for the week 10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 5

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to explore the ways we are manipulated to buy things we
don’t want or need that may harm our financial health. We will then learn about tips we can
use to interrupt that manipulation and make purchase decisions based on our true needs. We
will try out using and responding to some of the common sales tricks and set goals with things
we can practice for new behavior patterns. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes
an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another
week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Sales Compliance and Manipulative Business Practices
Tips to Fight Against Manipulation
Worksheet on Self Protection Action Plan

SALES COMPLIANCE AND MANIPULATIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES
(Adapted from Cialdini, 2007)

There are some ways our brain works that can make us at risk of being tricked when it comes to
our spending and credit activities. This in turn can worsen our financial condition. Sales
compliance and manipulation means that sales, marketing, and advertising methods can use
our own brains against us to make us buy something without thinking and whether or not it is

in our best interest. Our brains react automatically to certain built in cues just like a light switch
flip makes the light shine. People use shortcuts to make decisions and tend to behave in fixed
patterns that were developed over thousands of years to make daily decisions simpler and
faster. Most of the time, the shortcuts or cues help us cope with the many things we have to do
in a day. The cues below have all been proved by research in social psychology. Even when
people were not aware and denied they did, the concrete results proved it. Sales tricks use these

cues to trigger fixed behavior patterns automatically and we end up in debt.

Automatic behavior trap Sales compliance trap Fill in
examples
from your
We respond better to a
reason for a request or
instruction
People are more likely to do something they are
asked to if they are given a reason. The reason
doesn’t have to be strong or true, as long as there
is one. (Can I go to the front of the
line? I’m in a hurry!)

We use stereotypes for
decision making
If the price on an object is higher than other
objects of a similar type, people assume this is
due to higher quality in comparison to the
other objects and they are more likely to want
that item. (we think: all items that cost more
are better quality)

There is a principle called
reciprocation: obligation to
give back if given to- think
free samples or compliments-
if we get an item (even an
uninvited handout) or a
compliment, we feel pressure
Sales people will provide an uninvited favor
(hand out candy, a flower, samples) and people
are highly likely to feel obligated to respond by
purchasing something, often of higher value
than the item given freely. This is used also by
starting at a very high price that is above true

This is a very strong urge! asking price, then “cutting the price” as if it is
just for the customer, thereby creating more of
an appearance of contrast between the higher
and lower prices along with obligation to give
back because of the concession given by the
salesperson (aka “lowballing”)

There is a principle called
consistency (if we do a
behavior, we will feel
compelled to believe and act
as if it was right and follow
through with similar
behaviors. This is also a
strong urge
The first behavior you do, requires your brain to
create a rationale or justify why you did that
behavior and then makes you much more ready
to behave consistently, thus creating a new
“automatic” behavior pattern. Sales people will
have you make a small, easy behavioral
commitment, e.g. sign up for a company or
project newsletter to receive discounts and you
will be much more likely to purchase items
related to that company or project

There is a principle called
social proof (we look to
people around us for
acceptable behavior,
especially if there aren’t
clear instructions or rules
available:
if everyone we see has an
item or stops to look at
We take our cues about what to do from
behavior of people around us, especially if there
is uncertainty in a situation we haven’t come
across before. Sales person tells you that 10
other people already bought this item today
because it is such a good deal. We tend to
model what others are doing, even when it may
be dangerous or harmful (believing that they
must know something we don’t)

Similarity/familiarity (we
respond positively if we
know someone, find
something in common, like
them, or find them
Sales people often express liking, give
compliments, and highlight areas they have in
common with us to sell their products.

Authority (we are
automatically obedient
to authority- even if only
authority by association)
For example, an actor playing a doctor in a
commercial will produce higher sales than
one playing an office worker

Scarcity creates urgency
(especially paired with
competition or in
comparison to items with a
big contrast in appearance,
For example, seeing only 5 tickets left, will
motivate many to purchase immediately,
especially if we think others are waiting for them
also.

False negative (offer
something of less value
first)
Person will appear to argue against their own
self-interest to build trust and get us to feel like
they are on our side, setting the stage to offer
more expensive items

TIPS TO PROTECT AGAINST SALES MANIPULATION
(Adapted from Cialdini, 2007)

It is possible to become familiar with each of the fixed behavior patterns that your brain comes
equipped with so you can interrupt it and protect yourself when necessary. Here are some ways
to do that. Please add other ways that you have used, observed, or created during discussion.

Fixed behavior pattern Tip to Protect Yourself Fill in other
suggestions
Give a reason with a
request or instruction
(Can I go to the front of
the line? I’m in a hurry!)
Notice the reason being provided and think
about whether it is being used to cue you to do
something you really don’t want to do and
evaluate benefit or harm before doing it

Stereotypes (all items that
cost more are better quality)
Double check value of item by taking a time
out to find what others have paid, identify
qualities that independently demonstrate
value, and consider if reasons to buy it are due
to needing function vs. attention

Reciprocation: obligation
to give back if given to-
think
free samples or
compliments- if we get an
item (even an uninvited
handout) or a compliment,
we feel pressure to give back
Accept an offer being given freely or with
special value and think that we have now
obligated ourselves to return a favor of equal
value. Watch to see if the first favor was in fact
a trick and remind ourselves that the
reciprocation rule doesn’t apply under
conditions of trickery so we are off the hook
and its ok not to respond

Consistency (if we do a
behavior, we will feel
compelled to believe and act
as if it was right and follow
through with similar
behaviors: sign up for a free
gift from a company and
then end up buying
something from them)
Be aware when we do a behavior that we
didn’t start out to do. Look for staged cues
around us and question if the behavior was
right for us, evaluate benefit and harm, and
pay attention to how we justify our behavior
with reasons that we didn’t have in our minds
before.

Social proof (we look to
people around us for
acceptable behavior,
especially if there aren’t clear
instructions or rules
Don’t take others’ word for things. Look for
rigged social proof where you are being tricked
into believe that most people like you are
doing or want to do the same thing. Use your
own judgement to check in and verify social

if everyone we see has an
item or stops to look at
something, we feel pressure
to do so also)
proof you see- sometimes there aren’t valid
reasons (think flocks of geese and lemmings)

Similarity/familiarity (we
respond positively if we
know someone, find
something in common, like
them, or find them
attractive)
Watch for undue liking or sense of connection
to someone with whom you didn’t feel that
before and may not stem from the person but
from the way the person manipulated their
interaction with you. Separate the person from
the product to see if you actually like the
product, rather than just associate the liking
for the person with that product.

Authority (we are
automatically obedient
to authority- even if only
authority by association
Increase you awareness of the power of
authority. Question if the person is really an
expert, has relevant information on the topic at
hand, and deserves to be believed or are they
using an authority position to set you up

Scarcity (especially paired
with competition or in
comparison to items with a
big contrast in appearance,
creates urgency)
Ask yourself, is this really scarce or is it just
being made to look scarce. Consider if you feel
an emotional sense of urgency or anxiety
because it looks like you will lose out if you
don’t act now. Remember it is likely that the
scarce product may not have any real
differences from others that are easily
available and that it’s good to always verify.

False negative (offer
something of less value
first)
Remember that, if someone provides a first
offer that appears to be against their own
interest, they are often using that as a trick to
make you think they are on your side and stop
questioning their further offers.

SELF-PROTECTION ACTION PLAN

1. Which of the fixed behavior patterns bother me the most?

2. Which of the fixed behavior patterns are easiest to avoid?

3. Which of the fixed behavior patterns could I benefit most from protecting myself against?

4. What is one thing I can do to start protecting myself in this area?

5. How can I help my friends or loved ones protect themselves?

Comments/Notes:

PHASE 2: STEP 6

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Researching and understanding key financial
concepts and products
• Review a worksheet on conducting
research and discuss 10 minutes

• Brainstorm with group a list of topics
related to finances such as budgeting,
life insurance, compound interest to
list on the worksheet 10 minutes

• Brainstorm how to conduct research
by internet, telephone, in-person,
networking, etc. to list on worksheet
15 minutes

• Assign each of the topics to teams of
group members to locate info during
workgroup using one or more
research techniques 20 minutes

• Teams will present results of their
research and identify what they will
work on to find over the next week
10 minutes

• Share and commit to self-care goal for
each member
10 minutes

PHASE TWO: STEP 6

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to expand your skills for doing research, so you have all the
information you need to make good financial decisions. This includes understanding the types
of financial products that are available, the concepts you need to know when purchasing those
products, and the background to assess the business practices, product value, and possible
options that are available. This information will arm and prepare you to make truly informed
decisions. We will describe the research process, identify the things you can do, and give you
time to practice on topics you are interested in learning more about. As usual, we will end with
a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the
activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next
topic.

Handouts:
Research Skills
Master List of Concepts/Products
Information Gathering Worksheet

RESEARCH SKILLS
(Partially adapted from Matthews, G, 2018, Wikihow, 2019)
Research is a learned skill. It will open up your world!
Here are some tips for conducting research that will help you learn what you need to know:
• Places to research: library, internet, people with knowledge through career/work
1. Is info current?
2. Is info based on fact or opinion?
3. Is source sponsored (do they have something to sell?)
4. Always verify key info with other reliable sources
5. Do I learn best reading, hearing, seeing, doing? Find tools to meet your style
• Start with Wikipedia online (user generated website with info on almost everything)
1. Read intro on topic, then skip to sections you are interested in
2. Check references and related sources section for links to more info
• Then do a google search using keywords, based on your Wikipedia review
1. Open a new window, keep it open, and open another one each time you search a
different term so you can go back faster
2. Try different terms until you find just what you are looking for
3. Make sure to bookmark sites so you can find them again later
• Use multi-media resources like video, podcast, slideshows
1. TED talk archive
2. Free educational courses through colleges and online open education sources
• Itunes U
• Library of Congress
• Wall Street Journal
• ODEO (educational category has 500 channels, 67,000 episodes)
• For tutorials, add word “tutorial” or “instructions” after key words in
google search: step by step with pictures and diagrams
o WikiHow (user edited how to manuals)
o Tuts + (lots of good technology info)
• Use organizer tools to help keep info you collect
1. Zotero (Firefox add on)
2. Wired marker (Firefox permanent highlighting tool)
3. Download Comment (notes added for spotlight in Mac)
• Use websites that have lists of specialized sites on various topics
1. Intute
2. Find Articles
3. Library of Congress
4. LA County Center for Financial Empowerment
5. Cal CPA Financial Literacy Resources
6. Sage Sistahs (Black Women’s Health and Future Planning)

MASTER LIST OF FINANCIAL CONCEPTS

Here is a list of the types of financial information you can learn about. Please review it and
select one that interests you the most to start working on. Use the research skills guide.

• Checking and savings accounts
• Balancing a checkbook
• Check cashing services
• Importance of saving
• How to obtain and use credit effectively
• How to build or repair credit
• How to set up and use a budget
• Interest and compound interest
• Payroll, property, and sales taxes
• Life insurance
• Wills and trusts
• Types of investments (stocks, bonds, treasury bills, commodities, options, futures)
• Financial planning (retirement, estate, education, property purchase, disasters or
emergencies, recreation)
• Consumer protection agencies and laws
• Charitable giving
• Tax reporting, tax returns, and tax credits
• Health insurance
• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure
• Identity theft, other fraud or scams
• Other (your choice)

INFORMATION GATHERING WORKSHEET

Topic:

1. Questions I have/Info I want to know/purpose of learning about this:
#1:

#2:

#3:

#4:

#5:

2. Where I looked to get the answers:

3. Key things I learned:

4. Next steps/comments:

PHASE THREE
GOAL SETTING AND ACCOMPLISHMENT
CREATING MY FUTURE

Summary

Step 1: Develop basic financial literacy behaviors through game experience
Step 2: Assess financial issues/challenges and develop a plan
Step 3: Identify need for partners with special expertise
Step 4: Engage in problem solving with experts
Step 5: Create a group financial activity to implement
Step 6: Set realistic expectations and celebrate successes

Phase Objectives:
By the end of phase 3, members will:
• Have learned basic financial literacy behaviors
• Understand their personal financial issues and create a plan to resolve
• Identify outside resources and build linkages/connections for financial self-care
• Implement a realistic financial plan that can protect them in their older years
• Develop a financial activity with group peers, such as a group savings or cooperative
business to increase income
• Celebrate success

Advance Preparation:
• Provide a meal for the group to start with
• Gather and bring materials for specified group activities
• Identify music to play during appropriate portions of sessions

PHASE THREE: STEP 1

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Play a financial literacy game to learn key
concepts
• Provide overview and rules of game
and divide people into teams (can run
2-3 games at once with 4 persons
each) 5 minutes

• Play the financial literacy game
45 minutes

• Provide a set of small prizes to pick
from for the winners as well as
something for those that played their
best 5 minutes

• Members to list in their workbook
what they learned from game, then
share what they learned with group,
add to their lists from others input
15 minutes

• Share and commit to self-care goal for
each member 5 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 1

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to let you experience some of the decisions and activities
that are part of good financial self-care in the form of game, The Money Game. You will practice
planning ahead for basic bills, choosing what to spend money on, finding ways to expand your
income, and making it all come out good at the end. It will be fun, allow you to help each other,
and show you some things you may have taken for granted or done automatically that either
help or hurt you financially. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of
the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week to complete
everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Money Game:
To rent a copy of the Money Game, please contact:
Maxanna Brooks maxannabrooks@yahoo.com

PHASE THREE: STEP 2

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Financial assessment worksheet activity • Complete financial assessment
worksheet to identify financial
challenges 15 minutes

• Sharing 1-2 feelings and concerns
about challenges 10 minutes

• Work with a partner to review and
guide each other in goal setting and
planning 15 minutes

• Write up one area for improvement in
financial behaviors and a simple plan
for current situation with starting
point and timeline 10 minutes

• Members will share their plan and
receive group encouragement
15 minutes

• Members will commit to one starting
action during the next week along
with a self-care activity 10 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 2

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to give you the opportunity to identify the issues in your
financial life that are holding you back. The life assessment for financial issues will guide you to
think about the big picture in your financial situation so you can identify priorities and decide
where to start for improvement. Then you will develop a simple plan that focuses on where to
start and identifies actions you can take. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an
evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week
to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Life assessment for financial issues
Worksheet for financial goal setting

LIFE ASSESSMENT FOR FINANCIAL ISSUES
(Moxley, 2019)

This assessment will help you to think about the issues you face in your financial situation that
may hold you back, stop you from getting ahead, or increase your financial insecurity. You can
think of an issue as something that you must resolve in order to move forward in your life. For
each area listed, please identify if you feel this is an issue for you right now and then describe it
in writing.

HOUSING AND HOUSEHOLD

Is there an issue you face with housing? Yes No
If yes, how would you describe this issue?

Possible issues in this area:

Living with someone who won’t pay or live up to agreements for rent or expenses

Moved one or more times this year

Received an eviction notice

Lived temporarily with family members

Worried about paying the rent or rent increases

Other

HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES Yes No

Is there a financial issue you face in taking care of your health or in getting health or social services?
How do you describe this issue?

Possible issues in this area:

Paying for medication or getting required equipment

Paying for appointments with medical doctor or other providers

Dealing with a major health issue or disability that disrupts lifestyle

Other challenge re: health or social service providers

CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR Yes No

Is there an issue you face with clothing or footwear? How do you describe this issue?
Possible problems in this area:
Clothing for season

Clothing for work

Footwear

Other challenge re: clothing

WORK AND INCOME Yes No
Is there an issue you face with work? How do you describe this issue?
Possible problems in this area:
Low pay

Need more income

Need skills training

Need skills training or career counseling

Starting a small business

Other

LEGAL AND CREDIT Yes No

Are there legal issues you face? How do you describe these issues?
Possible problems in this area:
Legal issue with credit or loan

Dealing with a court order

Dealing with debt (e.g. old utility bills)

Fixing credit

ARE THERE OTHER ISSUES WITH FINANCES OF IMMEDIATE IMPORTANCE TO YOU

1

2

FINANCIAL ISSUES GOAL WORKSHEET

1. Goal Statement #1: I will

• Why is this goal worthwhile:

• How will I measure this goal:

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

1. Goal Statement #2: I will

• Why is this goal worthwhile:

• How will I measure this goal:

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

• Action (baby step) 1 (mini goal):

Comments/Reminders:

PHASE THREE: STEP 3

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Complete Partnering for Success Worksheet
Identify experts required for special sessions
• Complete assessment of financial
challenges or barriers, choose one to
work on 15 minutes

• Work with a partner to brainstorm
what information and expertise is
needed to move forward, conduct
research as needed 20 minutes

• Facilitate sharing by all members to
identify challenges and expertise
required 15 minutes

• Pick 1-2 trustworthy experts to invite
to a group session and identify
networking/actions needed to
arrange 15 minutes

• Members will commit to help with
arrangements and to a self-care
activity 10 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 3

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to identify barriers to your financial goals, especially as it
relates to special skills or knowledge required that may be beyond your ability to provide for
yourself. Then, you will be able to select the type of experts you want to attend our group
sessions to share in their special areas. These may be experts in legal, insurance, or other
topics that will help you overcome your personal barriers. As usual, we will end with a check-in

that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities
into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Partnering for Success Worksheet

PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS WORKSHEET

Pick one financial issue listed on your life assessment for financial issues worksheet.

List here:

Describe the barrier:

1. What do you need to accomplish?

2. What information do you need and who might best provide it?

3. What would you like to gain from consulting this person?

4. Who else might be helpful to solve this issue?

5. How might I prepare for an expert consultation?

6. Comments?

LIST OF POSSIBLE EXPERTS TO CONSULT

• Lawyer who specializes in:
1. Bankruptcy or Debt
2. Tax Law
3. Estate Planning, Wills, & Trusts
4. Real Estate
5. Consumer
6. Disability
7. Eviction Prevention
8. Employment and Labor
9. Protection of Civil Rights

• Insurance Professional:
1. Broker who works independently on behalf of clients, receiving a commission
2. Agent who works on behalf of one or more companies selling their products
3. Health Insurance
4. Life Insurance
5. Homeowners/Renters Insurance
6. Long Term Care/Long Term Disability Insurance

• Banking Professional:
1. Credit Union Representative
2. Bank Representative
3. Credit Repair Company

• Small Business Development Professional
1. Consultant- starting or growing a small business
2. Consultant- starting or joining a cooperative business
3. Consultant- how to use preferences for women and minority owned business

• Other

PHASE THREE: STEP 4

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Expert Partner Presentation and Discussion • 1-2 experts will present on a topic of
interest to group members
20 minutes

• Problem solving with experts for
group members 30 minutes
Planning for Action • Each member will write down their
highest priority financial challenge
and a plan on a worksheet for their
workbook 15 minutes

• Group members will each share their
plan and receive feedback with lots of
encouragement from group
10 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 4

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to give you an opportunity to meet with experts that you
have chosen as a group. It is hoped that this (these) professionals who can provide information
to help you solve a financial issue. You will have a chance to listen and ask questions. You may
be able to get linked to other resources or follow up with this professional outside of the group.
You will then develop a plan for action on the issue you have identified as a priority. As usual,
we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would
like to extend the activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to
move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Planning for Action Worksheet

PLANNING FOR ACTION WORKSHEET

My highest priority financial challenge is:

Today I learned from the expert consultant presentation and discussion:

In order to resolve this issue, I plan to take the following steps

Preparation (Materials, Forms, Information, Appointments)_

Action #1:
Possible Barriers:
What I Can Do:
Action #2:
Possible Barriers:
What I Can Do:
Action #3:
Possible Barriers:
What I Can Do:
Notes:

PHASE THREE: STEP 5

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Group financial activities

Prepare for group actions
• Review sheet on description of
possible group activities to consider
and potential benefits for members
5 minutes

• Group will discuss interest to identify
consensus, then rate and prioritize
options for a joint financial activity to
launch 15 minutes

• Group will break up into teams to
develop a plan for the activity
15 minutes

• Teams will share their plans, jointly
evaluate, and develop consensus for
next steps 15 minutes

• Group will jointly write up a group
action plan 15 minutes (group activity
will launch through phase 4, with
each member committing to support
for implementation)

• Members will commit to
responsibilities and to a self-care
activity 10 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 5

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to provide an opportunity for you as a group to enter into a
group-based financial activity that will support your individual goals. There are some options to
choose from and you may choose to decline this activity. Often, a cooperative activity with
peers will provide extra support, help keep you on track when starting something new, and
provide greater rewards than you might be able to get on your own. As usual, we will end with a
check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the
activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next
topic.

Handouts:

Possible Group Activities and Benefits
Group Activity Planning Worksheet

POSSIBLE GROUP ACTIVITIES AND BENEFITS

Women’s Savings Circles
How it works:
• Cycle time is usually 6 months
• Group members decide on a weekly savings amount that goes into a common account
• At the end of the cycle, the account is closed and each woman gets her share returned
Benefits:
• Group reinforcement and peer pressure for regular savings
• Can get higher interest return with larger account balance
• Can use funds at the end to make greater progress on a financial goal or for self-care
Resource:
• Beneficial State Bank

Women’s Lending Circles
How it works:
• Group members agree on a weekly savings amount, loan amount, and loan order
• Members rotate to take a share of the accumulated funds for use as needed
• Some groups agree that members will pay back the loan with minimal fee or interest
within the cycle so there will be a larger balance to distribute to members at the end
Benefits:
• Group reinforcement and peer pressure for regular savings
• Can get small loans for immediate needs
• If paying back feature is in place, this can be used to build credit also
Resource:
• Grameen Bank
• Mission Action Fund

Women’s Cooperative Businesses
How it works:
• A group of women organizes a small cooperative business to sell a particular type of
product or provide a specific service
• The group is run in a democratic fashion by the cooperative business owners

Benefits:
• The cooperative business can access materials and supplies at lower costs than an
individual owner
• The resources, cooperation, and support can help a new business avoid costly mistakes
and share the different roles that might overwhelm one person
Resource:
• Collective Remake
• PACE Women’s Small Business Initiative

GROUP ACTIVITY PLANNING WORKSHEET

Group Members:

Group Business Activity:

Group Planning Guide

Preparation (Materials, Forms, Information, Appointments)

Action #1:
Possible Barriers:
What We Can Do:
Action #2:
Possible Barriers:
What We Can Do:
Action #3:
Possible Barriers:
What We Can Do:
Notes:

PHASE THREE: STEP 6

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes

Dealing with expectations and baby steps for
progress

Celebrate Successes

• Review sheet on dealing with
expectations of self and others,
focusing on baby steps for progress
5 minutes

• Facilitate discussion on information
10 minutes

• Each member will share at least one
baby step they took in the previous
week and validate their own efforts
15 minutes

• Each member will then take turns
acknowledging them and sharing
feelings of pride at their capability
and strengths 15 minutes

• Members will create a collage and/or
journal entry for their victory
portfolio to capture the experience,
and feelings 15 minutes

• Members will share their collage,
associated feelings, and commit to
self-care activity related to their
financial needs 15 minutes

PHASE THREE: STEP 6

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to explore the expectations you have for yourself and for
others to assess how realistic they are and how to ensure expectations that will support your
success. We will also help you recognize the baby steps that you have taken and to celebrate
how those are leading to your success, one step at a time. You will have an opportunity to
create a collage and journal entry that will become part of your “Victory Portfolio” to capture
and reward yourself for what you have accomplished. As usual, we will end with a check-in that
includes an evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into
another week to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:
Expectations
Baby Steps

EXPECTATIONS
(Partially adapted from Johnson, 2018)
How to Create Positive Opportunities from Expectations:
• Take time to create clear expectations that can be explained to yourself and others
• Identify where it will be helpful to have expectations identified
• Be specific about why you need these expectations
• Discuss expectations with others where they are involved
• Identify expectations of others for you as well as you for others
• Write down your expectations because this helps you make them clear and communicate
them more successfully
• Make sure that all parties are in agreement and are committed to accomplishing the
expectations

Successful Expectations for Collaboration:

• Ensure common agreement on roles, boundaries, ways to measure quality, ways to
measure task completion
• Lay out communication process for what, where, when, how often, method
• Identify specific timelines and deadlines for all tasks
• Explain world view (norms for interaction, styles, and setting) to all parties

Behaviors Around Expectations that Harm Relationships:

• Expect others to know how you feel or what you are thinking
• Expect consistency that things will stay the same once calm or smooth
• Avoid conflict to preserve expectations
• Expect relationships to work without effort
• Expect perfection from self and others

Warnings About Expectations:

• Expectations can lead to resentments and disappointments when unfulfilled
• Magical thinking is expecting something to happen without doing anything
• Fulfilled expectations don’t automatically bring happiness

How does this discussion of expectations relate to your group activity development?

BABY STEPS
Please list your baby steps toward self-care, relationships, and finances since starting WISER:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18. _

19.

20.

CONGRATULATIONS! LETS' CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

PHASE FOUR
CREATING WAYS TO INVEST IN COMMUNITY
GIVING BACK

Summary

Step 1: Develop a vision, picture, written story, and timeline for future vision
Step 2: Create allies, support networks, and cheerleaders to help and appreciate you
Step 3: Work to heal past damages for yourself and your community
Step 4: Build resources for your own and your family/community’s future well-being

Phase Objectives:
By the end of phase 4, members will:
• Have a vision for their future that is uplifting
• Have a network of support to meet needs now and in future
• Experience healing for themselves, their family, and their community
• Be involved with projects and activities that build resources for the future well-being of
people they care about
Advance Preparation:
• Provide a meal for the group to start with
• Gather and bring materials for specified group activities
• Identify music to play during appropriate portions of sessions

PHASE FOUR: STEP 1

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Cooperative Financial Activity • Conduct business related to group’s
cooperative financial activity
10 minutes

• Problem solve and plan for ongoing
needs related to cooperative financial
activity 10 minutes
Future Vision Board • Review and discuss description of
vision board 10 minutes

• Start to work on a future personal
vision board that includes pictures,
written story, and timeline, using
scrapbook and collage 15 minutes

• Pick a fellow group member as a
teammate and co-create a vision to
add in to the personal vision for the
group and community 10 minutes

• Identify strengths and value in all
members’ visions for self, group, and
community along with assessment of
how to improve it 10 minutes

• Members will commit to self-care
activity related to their vision board
10 minutes

PHASE FOUR: STEP 1

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to explore how to create a personal future vision. You will
be introduced to that concept and then work on developing your vision board as a part of your
life scrapbook and victory portfolio. As a group, you will help each other recognize the
strengths and values of your visions and work on how to make it a reality. We will include a
meeting of your group for the cooperative financial activity, which you can record minutes for
with the Business Worksheet. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation
of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week to
complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Business Meeting Worksheet
Vision Board
Vision Board Worksheet

Materials:
Poster board
Magazines
Construction paper
Scissors, Glue
Ribbon, buttons, decorative items

BUSINESS MEETING WORKSHEET

Topic Preparation Proposed Process
1. What changes should we
make to this agenda?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: Rotated through group
in agreed order
None Leader polls team
2. What suggestions were made
during last meeting to improve
meeting or address today?
Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Review previous meeting
notes to see identify
suggestions and pending
items
Leader reviews suggestions and
pending items
3. What was one suggestion
and how do we address it?
Time: 5 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify options that you
want or agree with to
achieve objective
State problem: 1 minute
List options: 1 minute
Discuss options: 2 minutes
Select option to implement: 1
minute
4. What has been our progress
since last week?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Information
Leader: as above
Identify in one sentence
progress each member made
Members report progress items: 1
minute
5. What is a barrier or challenge
we need to work on?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify the primary barrier
or challenge and next step
from each member’s
perspective
Members report their take on
barrier or challenge and next step
they recommend: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick best
option: 1 minute
6. What business issues do any
members want to raise?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify business issues from
each member’s perspective
Members report business issues
they have identified: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick issue to
work on for next meeting: 1
minute
7. What went well and what
should we do differently next
meeting?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify 1 thing that went
well and 1 thing to do
differently from each
member
Members report 1 thing that went
well and one thing to do
differently next meeting: 1
minute
Leader polls group to pick
something to try differently next
week and team agrees: 1 minute
(Adapted from Schwartz, 2018)

VISION BOARD

A vision board is a collage of pictures or words that represent the life you want to live
from now on. It is a way to bring something from your imagination into the real world. You can
make it with cut- out pictures, words, hand drawn images, photographs, and/or items that
symbolize the pictures and feelings in your mind. With this activity, you are being challenged to
create a vision that represents what you want your life to be like in the future. The power of a
vision board is that you are putting your attention and energy into something, bringing it in
your immediate awareness and making it more likely that you will find ways to make it happen
for yourself. The more you are surrounded with a vision of what you want, the more
opportunities there will be for you to obtain it.

Steps for creating a vision board:
1. Meditate, daydream, write in your journal about the things you want to be, do, or have (as
specifically as possible).
2. Think about how to bring the ideas you have created into a form of a collage and either
picture or sketch out what you want it to look like.
3. Find and attach items in a display on a poster board.
4. Consider your vision board a work in progress, that will become part of your “victory
portfolio”.
VISION BOARD WORKSHEET

1. Theme for my future:

2. Song for my future:

2. Ways to describe my future:

3. Who will be part of my future:

4. What will be part of my future:

5. Where will my future take place:

6. Feelings I will experience in my future:

7. Colors, sounds, sensations that I will experience in my future:

8. My vision board will be organized by/with:

PHASE FOUR: STEP 2

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Cooperative Financial Activity • Conduct business related to group’s
cooperative financial activity
10 minutes

• Problem solve and plan for ongoing
needs related to cooperative financial
activity 10 minutes
Developing a personal support team • Review description of a support team
and discuss 15 minutes

• Complete personal support team
worksheet with list of purpose,
potential members, how they will be
used, and plan to invite them
15 minutes

• Engage group discussion on
challenges such as fear of rejection or
lack of trust and benefits such as
having a champion or cheerleader
15 minutes

• Members will identify baby steps
toward building a team and self-care
behaviors for next week 10 minutes

PHASE FOUR: STEP 2

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to understand the value of and start to create a personal
support team. This is a group of people who knows what you want to accomplish and stands
ready to support your efforts in ways that are meaningful to you. We will plan and develop a
team of people who can act as our very own personal champion, prepared to provide support
under various circumstances and timeframes. We will identify what might hold us back and
explore how to overcome those issues. We will include a meeting of your group for the
cooperative financial activity, which you can record minutes for with the Business Worksheet.
As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you
would like to extend the activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready
to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:

Business Meeting Worksheet
Support Team
Support Team Worksheet

BUSINESS MEETING WORKSHEET

Topic Preparation Proposed Process
1. What changes should we
make to this agenda?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: Rotated through group
in agreed order
None Leader polls team
2. What suggestions were made
during last meeting to improve
meeting or address today?
Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Review previous meeting
notes to see identify
suggestions and pending
items
Leader reviews suggestions and
pending items
3. What was one suggestion
and how do we address it?
Time: 5 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify options that you
want or agree with to
achieve objective
State problem: 1 minute
List options: 1 minute
Discuss options: 2 minutes
Select option to implement: 1
minute
4. What has been our progress
since last week?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Information
Leader: as above
Identify in one sentence
progress each member
made
Members report progress items: 1
minute
5. What is a barrier or challenge
we need to work on?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify the primary barrier
or challenge and next step
from each member’s
perspective
Members report their take on
barrier or challenge and next step
they recommend: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick best
option: 1 minute
6. What business issues do any
members want to raise?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify business issues
from each member’s
perspective
Members report business issues
they have identified: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick issue to
work on for next meeting: 1 minute
7. What went well and what
should we do differently next
meeting?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify 1 thing that went
well and 1 thing to do
differently from each
member
Members report 1 thing that went
well and one thing to do differently
next meeting: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick
something to try differently next
week and team agrees: 1 minute
(Adapted from Schwartz, 2018)

SUPPORT TEAM

The purpose of a support team is to enlist support from people you know in a way that lets
them know when and where to provide you help when you need it. Successful people ask for
help along the way to achieving their goals and dreams because they know they can’t do it all
themselves. After all, “it takes a village! Preparing ahead can make it a lot easier to get help at
the time you need it most. There may be different types of support you will need, so think
about a “go to” person for each type. Examples include:

Confidant: someone you can tell your true feelings to and trust you won’t be judged and will be
accepted unconditionally. With this person, you can vent and have someone to help you listen
to yourself. This person’s role is to listen and reflect what they hear.

Coach: someone who can help you learn from your mistakes, sort through what has happened
or is happening to gain perspective. This person will guide you or walk with you on the path.
You can ask this person to tell you what you need to hear, e.g. “you are doing the best you can,
you did the right thing, you will be okay, you’ve got this, etc.”

Fixer: someone who can see things in a practical, logical, less emotional way to help you see
past your intense feelings, so you can start find potential solutions and direct yourself toward
them. They can help get you on a positive direction and motivate you to keep going.

Mentor: someone who has been there before, can be a role model, has experience to share,
and can show you how what to do to overcome obstacles or understand what is happening
better. This person can offer advice and direction.

Accountability Buddy: someone to whom you can commit your intentions and has similar ones
so you can both help each other stay focused and motivated to finish your course of action.

STEPS TO CREATE A PERSONAL SUPPORT TEAM

o Writing the script: Identify the roles that will be most helpful to you
o Casting the parts:
o List all the people you can think of who might fill those roles
o Approach the people on your list, ask them to join your team, select those with
mutual interest
o Directing the actors: Explain to each person exactly what their role and part requires
(including when you might ask, what you might say, and what you want them to do)
o Performing the production: Seek out actors best suited to current scene and shout,
“Action!”
o Positive reviews: thank your support team actors who performed and let them know
what you liked about their performance

“So, who is on your team to support, encourage, challenge, and correct you?” Dr. Ryan Hartwig

SUPPORT TEAM WORKSHEET
Personal support team purpose:
Confidant Names:
o

o

o

Coach Names:
o

o

o

Fixer Names:
o

o

o

Mentor Names:
o

o

o

Accountability Buddy Names:
o

o

o

Challenges:

Benefits:

Plan for Building My Team:

PHASE FOUR: STEP 3

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and conversation 30
minutes

• Read written purpose and review of activities
scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with their self-care
commitment and action step progress from
previous week 10 minutes
Cooperative Financial Activity • Conduct business related to group’s cooperative
financial activity
10 minutes

• Problem solve and plan for ongoing needs related
to cooperative financial activity 10 minutes
Behaviors for community
healing and resiliency
• Review sheet about community healing and
resiliency
5 minutes

• Group discussion- what is my community, how
does trauma apply to my community, how can I
contribute, what life vests can I help with,
10 minutes

• Members will each create and share a collage to
demonstrate collective healing and their own role
in it
15 minutes

• Members will identify healing or resilient
behaviors and how they can expand these; what
does it look like to reinforce them 15 minutes

• Members will commit to finding and reinforcing a
resilient behavior to work on during the following
week
10 minutes

PHASE FOUR: STEP 3

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to consider what it means for a family and community to be
engaged in healing and strengthening their resiliency to withstand and fight the conditions that
create traumatic stress. The impact of external threatening events for a whole community will
be explored. Then, we will look at how empowerment and community-building can become
protective factors. Group members have told our stories, practiced self-care, and educated
ourselves. It is time to consider how we can give back, where we can contribute something of
value for the next generation. We will create a collage to make a visual picture of community
health, healing, and the role we want to play We will include a meeting of your group for the
cooperative financial activity, which you can record minutes for with the Business Worksheet.
As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an evaluation of the session and whether you

would like to extend the activities into another week to complete everything or if you are ready
to move on to the next topic.

Materials:
Magazines
Scissors, Glue
Construction Paper
Other materials for decoration

Handouts:
Business Meeting Worksheet
Community Healing and Resiliency

BUSINESS MEETING WORKSHEET

Topic Preparation Proposed Process
1. What changes should we
make to this agenda?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: Rotated through
group in agreed order
None Leader polls team
2. What suggestions were
made during last meeting to
improve meeting or address
today?
Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Review previous meeting
notes to see identify
suggestions and pending
items
Leader reviews suggestions and
pending items
3. What was one suggestion
and how do we address it?
Time: 5 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify options that you
want or agree with to
achieve objective
State problem: 1 minute
List options: 1 minute
Discuss options: 2 minutes
Select option to implement: 1
minute
4. What has been our
progress since last week?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Information
Leader: as above
Identify in one sentence
progress each member made
Members report progress items:
1 minute
5. What is a barrier or
challenge we need to work
on?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify the primary barrier
or challenge and next step
from each member’s
perspective
Members report their take on
barrier or challenge and next
step they recommend: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick best
option: 1 minute
6. What business issues do
any members want to raise?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify business issues from
each member’s perspective
Members report business issues
they have identified: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick issue
to work on for next meeting: 1
minute
7. What went well and what
should we do differently next
meeting?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify 1 thing that went
well and 1 thing to do
differently from each
member
Members report 1 thing that
went well and one thing to do
differently next meeting: 1
minute
Leader polls group to pick
something to try differently next
week and team agrees: 1 minute

COMMUNITY HEALING AND RESILIENCY
(Adapted from Weinstein, Wolin, & Rose, 2014)
We are all part of a community, belonging to at least one group which shares culture, identity,
historical experience, and common sources of strength. What communities do you identify with
and what are the sources of strength for that group? Unfortunately, communities as a whole
can also have trauma when there is shared experience of a threatening event, such as one
group harming another (e.g., taking homelands, forced relocation, servitude, or ongoing
exposure to violence in the community). This type of trauma is often sent from one generation
into the next. People who have experienced trauma, particularly those who belong to groups
that historically have been marginalized, may feel very little power, which produces depression
and hopelessness. Empowerment helps people to experience their own personal power and
strength. People become resilient by building protective factors or wearing “life vests” when
they learn how to heal from trauma and practice skills that reduce the risk of future harm.

Protective factors (life vests)= A community which
o is welcoming to members: accepting, understanding, and caring without judgment
o is able to help members identify trauma as it relates to the other issues in their lives
o has safe + brave places to maximize stress de-escalation and support
o has a wealth of peer support providing hope, connection, not having to suffer alone
o has opportunities to problem solve and be celebrated for their successes

Building resilience happens through:
§ Advocacy/Activism
§ Being active in community improvement efforts
§ Promoting your culture and getting involved politically
§ Communication
§ Sharing your voice/story with others
§ Guiding others to ask for help
§ Building community
§ Inviting people into homes and sharing with friends
§ Volunteering, joining, leading community activities, giving back to community
§ Creating healing
§ Making others laugh and smile
§ Involving traditional healers within community
§ Witnessing and supporting the healing of others
§ Learning and education
§ Knowing one’s rights
§ Having and sharing knowledge about the system, brain, and trauma
§ Self-care
§ Having your own support network
§ Seeking out role models
§ Creating and maintaining a range of support groups

“if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” African Proverb

PHASE FOUR: STEP 4

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Cooperative Financial Activity • Conduct business related to group’s
cooperative financial activity
10 minutes

• Problem solve and plan for ongoing
needs related to cooperative financial
activity 10 minutes
Identify legacy projects for Family and
Community
• Review information on legacies and
discuss 10 minutes

• Group members will complete a
worksheet on types of family and
community projects that they are
interested in 15

• Group members will each identify
potential activities for family and
community that will use their
strengths and allow each one to send
her legacy into the next generation,
receiving feedback and support
20 minutes

• Members will commit to taking one
step on their legacy project during the
following week 10 minutes

PHASE FOUR: STEP 4

Purpose and Activities

The purpose of our session today is to understand what it means to leave a legacy to our family
and community. We will identify potential ways we can use individual or group strengths,
talents, and passions to contribute to a better world for those who come after us. Then, we will
narrow it down a vision of the ways we want to give back and how we can start now. We will
include a meeting of your group for the cooperative financial activity, which you can record
minutes for with the Business Worksheet. As usual, we will end with a check-in that includes an
evaluation of the session and whether you would like to extend the activities into another week
to complete everything or if you are ready to move on to the next topic.

Handouts:
Business Meeting Worksheet
Your Legacy
Legacy Worksheet

BUSINESS MEETING WORKSHEET

Topic Preparation Proposed Process
1. What changes should we
make to this agenda?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: Rotated through
group in agreed order
None Leader polls team
2. What suggestions were
made during last meeting to
improve meeting or address
today?
Time: 3 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Review previous meeting
notes to see identify
suggestions and pending
items
Leader reviews suggestions and
pending items
3. What was one suggestion
and how do we address it?
Time: 5 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify options that you
want or agree with to
achieve objective
State problem: 1 minute
List options: 1 minute
Discuss options: 2 minutes
Select option to implement: 1
minute
4. What has been our
progress since last week?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Information
Leader: as above
Identify in one sentence
progress each member made
Members report progress items: 1
minute
5. What is a barrier or
challenge we need to work
on?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify the primary barrier
or challenge and next step
from each member’s
perspective
Members report their take on
barrier or challenge and next step
they recommend: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick best
option: 1 minute
6. What business issues do
any members want to raise?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify business issues from
each member’s perspective
Members report business issues
they have identified: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick issue to
work on for next meeting: 1
minute
7. What went well and what
should we do differently next
meeting?
Time: 2 minutes
Purpose: Decision
Leader: as above
Identify 1 thing that went
well and 1 thing to do
differently from each
member
Members report 1 thing that went
well and one thing to do
differently next meeting: 1 minute
Leader polls group to pick
something to try differently next
week and team agrees: 1 minute

YOUR LEGACY (Adapted
from Bosak, n.d.)
"I will plant seeds to grow in springs I will not see." F. Scott Fitzgerald

The dictionary defines “Legacy” as a gift that is handed down to another person. However, as
noted by S. V. Bosak of the Legacy Project, it really includes sharing what you have learned and
bequeathing values, not just material wealth. The concept of legacy leads people
to think about life from a generational perspective. It involves the human need to live beyond

ourselves and our desire to make a difference in the lives of others. Clarifying and creating a
purposeful legacy allows us to find a sense of significance and feel that our life matters or has a
deeper meaning. Legacy includes learning from the past, living with self-awareness in the
present, and building for the future.

Bosak (legacyproject.org) tells the story of why a young tree actually grows better when planted
around older trees than in an open clearing. The roots of the young trees can follow the
pathways of the older trees and implant themselves deeper for longer lasting survival. Over
time, the roots of many trees create a strong underground foundation that allows sharing of
resources so the whole forest community becomes healthier. This interconnection across time,
which links us to those who have come before, also demonstrates our responsibility for those
who come after us. When we create a legacy, adults gain meaning in their life, illuminating a
need of the spirit. It is part of a human desire to leave something behind that can live when we
are gone, especially based in hope that the future can be better than the past. It gives us an
opportunity to leave behind a good world for our children and grandchildren.

LEGACY WORKSHEET

My strengths:

My talents:

My passions:

Project Ideas for my family and community:

•

•

•

•

•

In order to prepare for my legacy project, I plan to take the following steps

Preparation (Materials, Forms, Information, etc.)

Action #1:
Action #2:
Action #3:
Notes:
________________

PHASE FOUR: STEP 5

Meeting Activity Procedures
Opening • Sharing a meal with music and
conversation 30 minutes

• Read written purpose and review of
activities scheduled 5 minutes

• Check in- input on experience with
their self-care commitment and
action step progress from previous
week 10 minutes
Graduation Ceremony:
Review of achievements
Sharing scrapbook and portfolio

Completing assessments

Receiving certificate of completion
• Each member will share their
progress, achievements, successes,
future plan, and portfolio with the
group 30 minutes

• Each member will have an
opportunity to provide written
messages in their peers’ portfolios
15 minutes

• Each member will complete
assessments for program evaluation
15 minutes

• Each member will receive a certificate
of completion 15

PHASE FOUR: STEP 5

Purpose and Activities

Today we will hold a graduation ceremony to acknowledge program completion and celebrate
your success with a graduation ceremony. Each member will have an opportunity to share their
life scrapbook and victory portfolio with peers and loved ones, as well as sharing how the
impact of the program, your vision for your future, and the legacy you plan to leave. You each
have unique value and gifts to use for yourselves and those who come after you. We
congratulate you on your accomplishments and encourage you to carry forward the WISER
lessons.

Materials:

Graduation Certificates
Program assessments for evaluation
Food and housing insecurity surveys
Well-being survey
Individual interviews (to be conducted within the month post-graduation)

"!@

PROGRAM EVALUATION

It is highly recommended that a WISER program budget includes funding to conduct a mixed
methods evaluation, consisting of qualitative participant interviews for experiential feedback
and quantitative surveys to measure improvements in financial status objectively (see
Appendix).

The evaluation design for qualitative data collection, at program exit, will consist of a 30-minute
semi-structured interview based on formative evaluation questions including design feedback
(Moxley, 2019; Interaction Design Foundation, 2019).

The quantitative data at program entry and exit, will include three brief self-report surveys, the
8-item New General Self Efficacy Scale (Chen, Gully, & Eden, 2001), the 3-question Financial
Chronic Stress Scale (Lantz, et.al, 2005), and a 2 item Health and Well-being Assessment
(Tucker-Seeley, 2018) to quickly and effectively measure combined financial and health status,
in addition to a 3 question Financial Literacy assessment (Lusardi, 2011) to measure key
financial literacy concepts. These instruments will provide a picture of curriculum impacts on
self-efficacy, financial stress/well-being, and financial literacy.

All evaluation instruments are included in the Appendix of this manual. The evaluation process
will allow programs to monitor and report results to the community and funding sources as well
as engage in continuous quality improvement.

USE OF PARTICIPANT ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH
This manual represents a structured program that was developed with a participant action
research approach in mind. Persons with lived experience of housing insecurity and
homelessness were consulted and provided guidance. It is expected that ongoing input from
participants will help to modify and improve the format and content going forward. It is
recommended that users include a process to allow participants to take ownership of their
WISER groups, building leadership and providing guidance for the groups. Please note, the
format was developed based on theory and research for maximum impact, an order and
content that builds upon itself for maximum impact. The group format and structure has a
purpose and intent related to the program goals. However, ongoing improvements are
expected as formative research occurs through the pilot and initial program development. The
full curriculum will continue to be modified, based on use and experience.

POPULATION ADAPTATION
For adaptation to different groups or subpopulations, it is recommended that a participant
advisory group is formed to review and co-design an adaptation that allows development of
maximum cultural, regional, gender, and other identity relevance, while adhering to the basic
goals and structure. The adapted program will then require formative and outcome evaluation
to ensure validity and reliability for the newly intended population.

APPENDIX

Evaluation Instruments: Post Intervention Qualitative
Survey

This survey is designed to be part of a semi-structured 30 minute interview.

1. What benefits did you receive during your participation?

2. Were those the benefits you expected or different ones?

3. Did the sessions cover the content as promised?

4. Do you feel more hopeful about your life than when you started the program?

5. Do you feel more able to set and achieve important life goals than when you started?

6. What did the program help you to do or learn?

7. Was the program location easy to get to and comfortable?

8. What was your impression of the group leader?

9. What did you value most and least about the sessions?

10. I liked…..

11. I wish…

12. What if…..

Statement 1-
Strongl
y Agree
2-
Agree
3-
Neither
Agree
Nor
4-
Disagre
e
5-
Strongly
Disagre
e
I will be able to achieve most of the
goals that I have set for myself

When facing difficult tasks, I am
certain that I will accomplish them

In general, I think that I can obtain
outcomes that are important to me

I believe I can succeed at most any
task to which I set my mind

I will be able to successfully
overcome many challenges

I am confident that I can perform
effectively on many different tasks

Compared to other people, I can do
most tasks very well

Even when things are tough, I can
perform quite well

Evaluation Instruments: Pre/Post Quantitative

New General Self Efficacy Scale

Participant ID: Date:

Please check or put an “x” in the box under the rating that most closely fits your experience,
based on ratings of: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly
disagree.

Disagre

Thank you for completing this
survey.

Developed by Chen, Gully, & Eden (2001)

Financial Chronic Stress Scale

Participant ID: Date:

Please check or put an “x” the box under the rating that most closely fits your situation

Question 1-
Completely
satisfied
2-
Somewhat
satisfied
3-
Not
satisfied or
dissatisfied
4-
Somewhat
dissatisfied
5-
Completely
dissatisfied
How satisfied are you
with your present
financial situation?

Question 1-
Extremely
difficult
2-
Somewhat
difficult
3-
Difficult
4-
Not too
difficult
5- Not
difficult at
all
How difficult is it for
you to meet monthly
payments on your bills?

Question 1- Some
money left
over
2- Just
enough
money
3- Not
enough
money

In general, how do your
finances usually work
out at the end of the
month?

Thank you for completing this survey.

Developed by Lantz, et.al (2005)

Financial Questions

Participant ID: Date:

Please answer the following questions by circling the answer that seems most right.

1. Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per
year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the
money to grow?
a. more than $102
b. exactly $102
c. less than $102

2. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 percent per year and
inflation was 2 percent per year. After 1 year, would you be able to buy with the money
a. more than today
b. exactly the same as today
c. less than today

3. Is the following statement "Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer
return than a stock mutual fund."
a. true
b. false
c. do not know
d. refuse to answer.

Thank you for completing this survey.
Developed by Lusardi, et.al, 2011

Well-being Assessment (Financial + Health)

Participant ID: Date:

Please answer the following questions with a check mark or x on the line that best corresponds
to your situation.

1. Did you have trouble paying your bills or spend time worrying about your finances in the
last 30 days?
Yes No

2. How would you rate your health?
Excellent
Very Good
Fair
Poor

Thank you for completing this
survey.

Tucker-Seeley (2018)

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APPENDIX 4 : GANTT CHART PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE
GANTT CHART FOR WISER
# TASK TITLE YEAR MONTH Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7
1-12 1-12 1-12 1-12 1-12 1-12 1-12
1 Exploration Phase 1 & 2 1-12; 1-6
1.1 Project Concept Development 1 1-12
1.1.1
Project concept research
(focus, stakeholder, CAB)
2 1-3

1.2
Project revisions and tailoring
final design to consumers
2 4

1.3
Initial Projections re: budget,
staffing, timing and funding
research
2 5

1.4
Project partnership
assessments (host agency, site
fit/risks/barrier mgt)
2 6

1.5 Community advisory board 2 6

2 Preparation Phase 2 & 3 7-12
2.1
Fund development and
acquisition-
2 7-9

2.1.1
Funding plan (public/pvt/fund
raising/financing, in-kind)
2 7

2.1.2 Locate funding opportunities 2 7
2.1.3 Prepare and submit proposals 2 8-9
2.1.4
Secure minimum 1 year pilot
funding
3 1-3

2.2 Develop partnerships 2 8-9
2.2.1
Identify barriers and
facilitators
2 9

2.2.2
Create leadership team
(ID/prepare champions,
directors, others)
2 9-10

2.2.3
MOUs with host agency,
2 11-12

partners, group sites
2.3 Finalize Initial Budget 2 11-12
2.4 Communication Plan 3 1-3
2.4.1
Identify internal/external
targets (in agency/local
opinion leaders)
3 1

2.4.2
Create messages and
materials
3 2

2.4.3
Develop communication
actions and process guide
3 3

2.5 Project launch preparation 3 4-6
2.5.1 Schedule and timeline 3 4
2.5.2
Resource development for
program (banking, legal,
business dev)
3 5

2.5.3
Curriculum dev for program
(revise existing materials to
reflect modified design)
3 5-6

2.5.4
Arrange for IT, facilities,
supplies, insurance
3 5-6

2.5.4
Develop Risk Assessment and
Management Procedures
3 5-6

2.6 Business development 3 5-6
2.6.1
Revised organization chart for
host agency
3 5

2.6.2
Clarify developer, host, and
evaluator roles/resps.
3 6

2.7 Evaluation plan 3 7-9
2.7.1
Finalize and secure
measurement tools
3 7

2.7.2
Identify responsibilites and
train for data collection
3 8

2.7.3 Schedule and timeline 3 8
2.7.4
Identify quality monitoring
systems for process eval
3 9

3 Implementation Phase 3 - 5
10-12; 1-
12

3.1 Assess for readiness 3 10
3.2
Create and implement record
systems
3 11

3.3 Hire and orient staff 3 10-12
3.4
Develop and provide initial
training
3 12

3.5 Provide clinical supervision 4 1-12
3.6
Recruit, screen, enroll,
prepare, and serve
participants
4 1-2

3.7
Ensure quality and quantity
deliverables/contract
compliance
4 1-12

3.8
Develop and utilize quality
monitoring systems
4 1-12

3.9
Adapt to changing
external/internal factors
4 1-12

3.10
Maintain, update, & distribute
marketing materials
4 1-12

3.11
Create/use learning
collaborative (share/assess
lessons learned)
4 1-12

3.12
Update and add resources
based on consumer input
4 1-12

3.13
Conduct data collection for
formative outcome evaluation
4 1-12

3.14
Analyze data and prepare
outcomes report
4 12

3.15
Utilize data to inform
continuous quality
improvement
4 1-12

3.16 Track effort and costs 4 1-12
3.17
Conduct data collection for
summative outcome evalution
4-5 1-24

3.18
Analyze data and prepare
summative outcomes report
5 1-12

3.19
Monitor and adapt objectives
for CQI based on process data
5 1-12

3.20
Monitor and adapt program
objectives
6-7 1-12

3.21 Hire staff and access facilities 6-7 1-12
3.22
Conduct ongoing staff
training/supervision
6-7 1-12

3.23
Meeting required
quantity/quality of deliverables
ongoing; CQI based on data
6-7 1-12

3.24 Track effort and costs 6-7 1-12
3.25
Maintain visibility and political
alliances
6-7 1-12

3.26
Institutionalize program within
county and federal govt.
6-7 1-12

4 Sustainment Phase 7+ 1-12
4.1
Stage implementation scale up
through expansion
7+ 1-12

4.2
Measure implementation
process and summative
outcomes
7+ 1-12

4.3
Consultation to export model
build dissemination
organization
7+ 1-12

182

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the support received from staff, faculty, and peers at the
University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work’s Doctorate
in Social Work Program for ongoing inspiration, encouragement, and guidance during the
process that led to the conceptualization and realization of the WISER Program. David Moxley,
PhD, University of Alaska, also provided valuable guidance for the model and evaluation
design. Additionally, the author wishes to recognize the partnership of Cheryl Branch, C.E.O.
and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches organization for input related to the preparation,
planning, and incubation of the program at a community level.

Please note that the dissertation and WISER manual are registered for protection:
© 2019, Brenda Wiewel, all rights reserved

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The numbers of older adults losing their homes have risen in recent years, leading to an increasing inflow to the streets even as public efforts have been directed to housing those already there. WISER, a new intervention addressing the Social Work Grand Challenge of Homelessness, focuses on preventing the most vulnerable low-income women from becoming homeless in their later years, especially African American women. The program consists of a 6 month structured support group intervention intended to include trauma-informed principles, cultural perspectives, and support group concepts. These are combined with a financial empowerment approach that provides access to key resources and builds self-efficacy to achieve improved financial stability. WISER can be used to assist women who are unstable financially and also be paired with emergency resources for those at imminent risk of housing loss.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Wiewel, Brenda (author)

Core Title WISER women’s program: well-being innovation with support and education for resilience—a homelessness prevention intervention

School Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work

Degree Doctor of Social Work

Degree Program Social Work

Publication Date 09/11/2019

Defense Date 07/25/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag homeless African American women,homeless women, well-being and women,Homelessness,homelessness prevention,OAI-PMH Harvest,older adults and homelessness

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Mandersheid, Ron (committee chair), Mistrano, Sam (committee member), Rank, Michael (committee member)

Creator Email bwfranken@verizon.net,frankens@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-216926

Unique identifier UC11673483

Identifier etd-WiewelBren-7811.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-216926 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-WiewelBren-7811.pdf

Dmrecord 216926

Document Type Capstone project

Rights Wiewel, Brenda

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA