A seed of peace comes through a woman.
I have made some horrible financial decisions, some so bad that I nearly lost everything. Many of those decisions stemmed from my poor mental and emotional health. I would not wish this hell on my worst enemy. Then why was it okay to inflict it on me? While MOST people have not failed as grand as I have, I have learned that financial health can become a significant stressor and peace destroyer. I’m not the only one letting financial stress steal my peace. Many women face this year after year.
Nationally, more than one in three families headed by single mothers live in poverty. Among those with a householder who worked full-time throughout the year, 440,000 families headed by unmarried mothers (10 percent) were poor.
On Hawai'i Island, over 80% of the single-family mother households live at or below the poverty level or are Asset limited income-constrained employed (ALICE). Generally, Hawai'i island has the most significant percentage of identified ALICE households in the State of Hawai'i. ALICE households struggle to make ends meet, do not have a safety net savings, often work more than one job, and can still not afford necessities. With such a large percentage of single-parent Women households, Eve-conomics is focused on developing financial security for women and their families.
Supporting women to access quality work and improve their livelihoods is vital for the community's overall health. Empowering women with the knowledge and tools to make informed financial decisions can have a generational impact. Building and supporting our individual financial growth, we can change the narrative of our families and community’s economic and financial health through us and our seed of sound decisions and actions.
ChangeMakers is taking a step forward by creating EVE-conomics, a woman-centered personal finance education support group for those wanting to create financial stability. The goal of Eve-conomics is to empower women to establish peace and control through their finances. We accomplish this by giving them the information to make sound decisions while being supported by like-minded women. Eve-conomics is like a book club, except the topic is our financial health. Once a week, we learn a skill and then support each other to put that skill into action and share our successes and challenges. These sessions will be primarily on Zoom, but those who can meet will gather in a live session to share success and challenges once a month. Participants (Eve-conomist) will be each others' cheerleaders, crying shoulders, and kick-in-the-butt accountability team. Individually Eve-Eve-conomist will set financial goals and be held accountable to those goals by their fellow Eve-conomist.
