In 2006, 52% of female-headed households in Florida were considered at or below the poverty level and 70% of births to Haitian women in Florida occurred within families with incomes of $15,600 or less.
Many of these Haitian women face linguistic and cultural challenges that hinder them from utilizing financial institutions and tax benefits to increase their fiscal independence.
With the support of a $10,000 grant from the Women's Fund of Miami-Dade, Sant La Haitian Community Center empowers Haitian women through a financial literacy initiative called “From Saving to Asset Building.” This program teaches Haitian women how to grow their resources through free Creole-language financial literacy workshops, trained Prosperity Ambassadors that outreach to the Haitian community and free tax preparation services.
In addition to bringing women closer to financial self-sufficiency, the program also resulted in 313 low-income Haitian women gaining over $534,340.38 in tax returns for 2006. Furthermore, a television broadcast of “Women and Finance/Tips on Getting a Small Business Loan/Income Tax Preparation Updates” aired on Teleskopi, the local Florida Caribbean channel, and reinforced the financial literacy initiative by enhancing the program’s visibility, which increased participation and empowered both women and their communities to be more financially independent.
