As a result of a grant from the The Central New York Community Foundation earmarked to support financial literacy programs, Nancy Salamone, the CEO of Turning the Corner, brought her curriculum, The Business of Me, to Syracuse, New York in April, 2004. There she did two workshops: one for the staff of three community organizations and one for the survivors enrolled in Onward and Upward, a community outreach program run by Yvette Borne from Vera House.

“It’s sad for all of us that the grant has come to an end. We would love to bring her back,” Yvette told me in a telephone interview.

Vera House is a comprehensive domestic violence agency, which was founded in 1977 as a shelter. Since then, the shelter has expanded to meet the changing needs of the community, adding outreach programs, and alternative healing programs, programs for children exposed to domestic violence and for men who have been abusive, and one-on-one direct work with clients.

“One of the greatest gifts that Nancy brought us was her real life experience. She didn’t arrive announcing, ‘I am an expert in finance.’ She brought her own life experience along with her expertise in finance and was willing to share her own struggles along with what, she found, worked for her. It was incredible, Randi Bregman, Executive Director of Vera House, recalls her experience with The Business of Me.

“We brought Nancy in for an interview and immediately recognized that she had a lot of great energy,” Yvette explained. “I knew in the beginning that she had a lot of passion for this. So many of the women that we deal with need that because they don’t want to think about money. If you can get them to feel safe enough, they can do it. Finances are scary; many of the women we serve don’t understand a lot of it often never having been in charge of their money. In most cases, their abuser took that over. Their greatest fears are that they’ll never make enough money, they can’t survive on their own, or they won’t be able to support their kids’ needs. The situation just becomes overwhelming. When you add the fact that there may have been a lot of debt accrued during the marriage or the relationship, even glancing at finances takes enormous courage. Nancy is really able to create a safe enough environment while maintaining her enthusiasm and this combination was inspiring for the women who took the workshop.”

Twelve women attended each workshop. During that time they received information about how to calculate variable expenses, develop a workable budget, understand credit and how to handle it. They learned what a credit report is and how to use one, and how to talk with their children about money.

“Nancy creates a very safe environment; her approach is accepting and the content she presents is easy to understand. I also think the fact that she had personally struggled with similar problems helped shape the environment. If we had invited a banker or somebody who was not a survivor, I don’t think they would have felt the same comfort level. These women always carry so much shame with them.”

“Nancy helps the women understand their views about money and where they came from. She does a lot of work around the negative self talk. She uncovers all those yucky messages: you can’t do this; you’re not smart enough; you can’t succeed; you can’t do it by yourself. They keep a list of their own. Then she helps them replace those with ‘here’s what we do know; here’s who can help you do this; here’s how can you be a support to yourself. With this information they really get the feeling they can move forward. She really gives them the message, ‘You can do this. You may not make a million dollars; but you can survive.  Nancy really transmits confidence to them.”

“We had one woman that found the courage and applied for college. She was afraid about the financial aid packet and what it all meant. Before the end of the course, she not only applied but she actually was able to get financial aid and the next month she started classes. We had two or three women get new jobs through the program. It was such a self-esteem boost for them. It was a joy to observe these women turn towards the future and away from the past. They got a lot of support from Nancy, the work, and each other.”

“I sat in on some of the classes and it was just absolutely beautiful to watch the women in the group—watch them not only come up with solutions they might not have thought were in them but also to see them create a support network for one another,” Yvette reminisced. “It’s hard to get to that place but when someone like Nancy comes in and says, ‘Hey, I’ve been there. This is what happened to me. There’s a program that I’ve developed. Here are some of the challenges that I know that all of you are facing right now or will be facing soon and here’s a way to get through this. I think it gave them inner strength and a belief in themselves. Plus, so much of the work we do is focused on the past. But this program is about the future. It provided a kind of hope that I have never seen created in quite this way before.” Renewed hope is what it’s all about.