Domestic Violence and Turning The Corner – Frequently Asked Questions Why was Turning the Corner founded? Turning the Corner was founded to help women survivors of domestic violence break the recurring patterns of domestic violence by providing exercises in healthy self-esteem and tools to develop and maintain financial health and independence. Is there a cornerstone program? The cornerstone program is "The Business of Me". How is "The Business of Me" different from other workshops in budgeting and financial management? "The Business of Me" takes a holistic approach to helping women survivors of domestic violence achieve personal financial health. The program addresses abused women's fears of money-fears that can be crippling and acute, and that can often block their paths to financial stability and health. What are some of the financial aspects that are addressed? The program deals with the fears about money that often keep women survivors of domestic violence in the abusive relationship and provides them with methods to overcome those fears. The program then outlines a series of tools and action steps to develop a workable budget, the importance of an emergency fund and how to calculate it, how to handle debt and how to talk to children about money. What are some of the other issues addressed in "The Business of Me" workshops? The workshop addresses issues relating to self-worth, or as its called in "The Business of Me", "self-ability". "Self-ability" is one's perception of what one is "able" to do. These women survivors of domestic violence are so mired in what is "wrong" with them that they carry that way of thinking into the area of managing money. This is usually reinforced with negative self-talk and the myth that "postponing dealing with money" brings ease and buys time. "The Business of Me" helps participants understand positive ways of thinking about money - how to deal with negative self-talk - identify their values - and create a future based on the rewards that "self-ability" allows. What is the makeup of the audience in "The Business of Me" workshops? The workshops include women survivors of domestic violence from diverse ethic and socio-economic backgrounds in varying stages of establishing new lives. Some have recently left their domestically violent abusive relationships and are living in a shelter, while others are about to move from the shelter to their own residence. In addition, there are some women who are still in the abusive relationships that attend the workshop as preparation to leave the domestic violence relationship. How is the program evaluated? In order to ensure the impact of our program and continually improve our services for survivors of domestic violence we conduct quantitative and qualitative evaluations of all of our workshops. Prior to participating in a workshop, each participant is asked to complete an anonymous survey that has been designed in tandem with the local shelter or outreach group. The pre assessment is designed to assess knowledge level in certain areas. Upon completion of the workshop, participants are asked to complete another survey, asking many of the same questions, enabling our program staff to ascertain the key areas of financial management skills; self-esteem building and their ability to take control of their finances and personal life as a result of their participation in the "Business of Me". What are some of the workshop results? Workshop participants (1) acknowledge how important a budget is to their future and have the tools to calculate a workable one, (2) learn not to be afraid of money and how to think positively about it, (3) learn how to counter the negative self-talk and the importance of staying focused on the future they are creating, (4) understand the importance of creating an emergency fund and can use "The Business of Me" tools to create a budget, track expenses and handle debt to aid them in breaking the recurring pattern of domestic violence in their lives. Can the workshops be adapted to each audience? At Turning the Corner each audience's composition can differ. So we adjust "The Business of Me" program to suit each clients' needs. How can I sponsor or participate in a "The Business of Me" program? Contact Client Care at for more information.