St. Jude House has initiated a Financial Empowerment Program underwritten with grant support from The Allstate Foundation. The partnership of Centier Bank and the video production services of Lakeshore Public Media have been instrumental in bringing this program to fruition.
Most people think only of physical abuse when they consider domestic violence. Yet the number one reason victims stay in or return to an abusive relationship is that they don’t have the financial resources to break free. Financial control is the “weapon of choice” in 99% of abusive relationships.
The program will be offered onsite at St. Jude House and will be available to residential and non-residential clients. The three videos produced for this program cover the topics of budgeting, credit repair and insurance. These will be combined with worksheets and other lessons from The Allstate Foundation curriculum, “Moving Ahead Through Financial Management.” These videos and worksheets are also available to anyone who has financial issues on the St. Jude House website: https://www.stjudehouse.org/financial-empowerment/
“Domestic violence is an issue affecting every community in the country, including those in Northwest Indiana,” Allstate spokesperson Meghan Cass said. “We have a responsibility to ensure women facing domestic violence have the resources to get help and rebuild their lives and that’s why we are proud to support the important work St. Jude House is doing.”
“Centier Bank is proud to partner with St. Jude House on this important project. People often underestimate the financial component of domestic violence and how that can, often, exacerbate the issue and prevent those abused from leaving. I was honored to be asked to be the spokesperson for the videos and look forward to hearing about the impact of these financial empowerment classes!” said Anthony Contrucci, Vice President, Centier Bank.
“We also want to express our deep gratitude to Diana Bravo, a domestic violence survivor, who shares her powerful story on video to support this program,” said Val Lay, St. Jude House Director of Development. “We are proud to have Centier Bank support us in our Community Partners Program.”
Plans are to offer the videos on YouTube and provide this training at the Crown Point Library and for other groups as requested. For more information, please contact St. Jude House.
St. Jude House, located in Crown Point, IN, pursues a vision where all engage in healthy relationships characterized by the mutual sharing of resources and responsibility. St. Jude House is a catalyst in Northwest Indiana for the prevention, education and awareness of domestic violence and sexual abuse; providing quality, compassionate and effective services to those impacted by abuse.