National Financial Literacy Workshops for Women 55+

I've received the following notice from National Initiative for Care of the Eldlerly (NICE) for workshops in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Jul 08, 2011 
Reminder - Upcoming National Financial Literacy Workshops for Women 55+
Older Women and Financial Literacy: Groundbreaking National Project Targets Low Income Older Women and Immigrants:
Combined Research, Financial Tools and Workshops Designed to Empower Older Women
The National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE), at the Institute for Life Course and Aging, University of Toronto, has launched a new suite of national financial and legal tools along with workshops starting in June, designed to improve the financial literacy of older low income unattached and immigrant women in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Please click here for the press release for NICE's groundbreaking older women and financial literacy project.

Please click here for the Toronto workshop flyer for July; click here for the Vancouver workshop flyer for September; and click here for the Montreal workshop flyer for July.

Please circulate and post the attached workshop flyers to individuals and organizations suitable for this project.
For more information about the project's workshops, please see: http://www.nicenet.ca/detail.aspx?menu=52&app=236&cat1=676&tp=2&lk=no
The National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly's (NICE) Older Women and Financial Literacy Project is getting great media coverage. Please see Alison Griffiths, award winning financial journalist, article below:
http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/comment/article/895735--empowering-a-special-group

National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE) Initiative nationale pour le soin des personnes âgées (INSPA)
222 College St., Suite 106
Toronto, Ontario M5T 3J1 Canada
Phone: 416-978-0545 Fax: 416-978-4771 http://www.nicenet.ca

Materials & workshops for prevention of elder financial abuse

There are some materials available from the Canadian Centre for Elder Law that you might find useful if you are involved with financial affairs of seniors. We all know that elder financial abuse is on the rise but most of us don't really know where to start to prevent or stop it. It's fantastic to see that this organization is concentrating on educating both the seniors themselves and the community at large with these materials.

The first is Financial Literacy 101 - Protect Yourself. This is a self-contained train-the-trainer binder that allows agencies and communities to train their own volunteers to deliver educational workshops on financial literacy for older adults, following a peer education model. The binder includes the material for two workshops, as well as handouts for teaching volunteers to lead workshops. 

There are 2 workshops.  Workshop 1 is focused on powers of attorney and joint accounts, and workshop 2 discusses frauds and scams.  The trainer binder includes PowerPoint presentations for each workshop as well as participatory activities, handouts to highlight learning objectives, and evaluation forms.  The workshops were focus-tested in the Vancouver lower mainland area and have since been delivered at many locations.

The second is Financial Literacy 102 - A knowledge based approach to preventing financial abuse of older adults: a guide for professionals
This publication provides professionals who work with older adults with a general overview in relation to financial abuse of older adults as well as financial literacy and financial planning for older adults.  This publication is also intended to serve as a tool for in-house teaching of staff and volunteers.  

Click on the titles of the projects to go the CCEL website, where you will find more information. Some of the materials are downloadable from the site.