Financial Empowerment Program
MSP’s Financial Empowerment Program offers personalized 1:1 financial and credit counseling, financial education workshops, and small group cohorts focused on building financial skills and independence. Clients work with MSP’s in-house Financial Empowerment Lead to establish a personal budget, develop a financial plan, and address financial challenges, such as repairing damaged credit and eliminating barriers to financial independence. MSP’s Financial Empowerment Lead works directly with MSP’s Case Managers and Workforce Development Specialist to ensure survivors have the tools, resources, and supports they need for long-term self-sufficiency.
Workforce Development Program
MSP’s Workforce Development Program offers personalized 1:1 job readiness and employment counseling, workshops on a variety of employment-related topics, and assistance with identifying and securing employment. Clients work with MSP’s in-house Workforce Development Specialist to improve their overall employability through job readiness training, resume development consultations, interview skills coaching, and connection to job training and certification programs. Clients also receive referrals, assistance, and support with identifying and securing paid internships, apprenticeship programs, and employment opportunities, including access to two annual Career Fairs that are held exclusively for MSP clients. MSP’s Workforce Development Specialist works directly with MSP’s Case Managers and Financial Empowerment Lead to ensure survivors have the tools, resources, and supports they need for long-term self-sufficiency.
Housing Navigation
Identifying and securing safe, stable housing can be challenging, especially when a survivor is dealing with the aftermath of financial abuse or having to abandon a lease or mortgage when fleeing an abuser. MSP’s in-house Housing Navigator offers personalized 1:1 assistance to support clients in identifying housing opportunities, submitting applications and RFTA packets, reviewing lease agreements, navigating the inspection process, and addressing housing barriers, such as past evictions and credit issues. MSP’s Housing Navigator also assists clients in building successful relationships with their landlords – providing support in responding to complex billing and maintenance issues – and works directly with MSP’s Case Managers and Financial Empowerment Lead to ensure survivors have the tools, resources, and supports they need to maintain safe, stable housing once they have signed a lease.
Resilient Futures Program (Aftercare)
At My Sister’s Place, we believe that our clients benefit from ongoing access to case management and supportive services to assist them in maintaining their independence. Clients exiting MSP’s housing programs receive access to ongoing support, including advocacy, supportive services and programming, and referrals to government and community-based resources. Resilient Futures clients have access to MSP’s Financial Empowerment Lead and Workforce Development Specialist, and they are invited to continue to participate in MSP workshops, Career Fairs, events, and Peer Empowerment Groups.
Our goal is to stay connected with our clients, enabling them to build long-term, supportive systems within their communities and reduce the likelihood of future victimization. By keeping in contact with our clients after they have exited our residential programs, we let them know that they are cared for and have people to call on when they need assistance or support, helping them to maintain stability and independence.
Fresh Start Fund
The long-term effects of financial abuse and the instability that often results when a survivor flees an abuser can be a major barrier to the clients we serve maintaining safety and stability for themselves and their children. Many of our clients live paycheck to paycheck; an unexpectedly high bill or an unforeseen expense can be extremely stressful, and in a worst-case scenario, may prompt a survivor to leave safe housing and return to their abuser. MSP’s Fresh Start Fund provides clients with financial support for emergency expenses that may destabilize their ability to remain safely housed, as well as eligible educational and employment training expenses that support their path to self-sufficiency.
If you would like to contribute specifically to MSP’s Fresh Start Fund, please click on our donate link and choose to allocate your donation to the Fresh Start Fund.
The following programs and services are available to some MSP clients:
Children’s Programming (Some Programming Available to Sanctuary Clients Only)
At My Sister’s Place, we view the children we serve as survivors, too. Children who live in a home with domestic violence frequently suffer from trauma, even if they do not witness the abuse firsthand or are very young when the abuse happens. Therefore, MSP provides specialized programming to support children and help them develop healthy behaviors and relationships through activities such as structured play groups, reading hours, art therapy, and educational outings. Through volunteer support and partnerships with organizations such as Playtime Project and Community Family Life Services, MSP can offer weekly structured play groups, parenting classes, and a variety of activities and events to benefit the children who reside in MSP’s emergency housing facilities, Sanctuary Plus and Sanctuary II. The children and parents in MSP’s community-based programs also have access to events and online programming related to trauma-informed parenting and raising healthy, happy children.
Interested in volunteering? Please visit our Volunteer page to learn how you can be involved.
RISE Trust (RISE and RISE Plus Clients Only – Not Currently Accepting Applications)
MSP’s pioneering RISE Trust Program provides guaranteed income through unconditional cash transfers to selected clients, supporting survivors of domestic violence in achieving long-term financial self-sufficiency. Clients who have applied and been selected for this 24-month program receive monthly unrestricted cash transfers to assist them with establishing and maintaining stability. They also receive dedicated access to 1:1 financial and credit counseling with MSP’s Financial Empowerment Lead and specialized small group cohorts focused on building financial skills and independence. MSP’s RISE Trust program has proven to reduce financial stress and improve stability, with clients reporting consistent satisfaction of basic needs, higher employment rates, and reduced debt.