Understanding financial literacy

The capstone project is of much significance to scholars since it provides information on the concept of domestic violence and its to help women gain independent financial stability. effects and analyzes the variables standard in such a study. The variables that play a part are gender, violence, and economic issues. Additionally, as per Sullivan et al. (2019), Thethe study project is significant to the broader community since it aids in discovering the interrelations that exist between the victimization of domestic violence and instability in housing. Typically, women who are victims of domestic and family violence are more likely to become homeless, and once lost, their lives frequently fall poorly dramatically. While some domestic violence survivors may need considerable and possibly long-term assistance to find secure and stable housing (mainly dealing with numerous complicated difficulties), others will be careful to circumvent homelessness if they are given quick, tailored, and flexible help (Sullivan et al., 2019).

The studyproject is beneficial as it recognizes the remedies available to domestic violence victims, especially in establishing homes for the ones rendered homeless by the violence. According to Sullivan et al. (2019), the brief intervention that involves flexible funding can restore a family's equilibrium and prevent the catastrophic ramifications of homelessness for domestic violence survivors whose housing has been otherwise secure but who are facing homelessness due to family crisis. The studyproject also informs the society of the benefits of having such agencies like the one in Southern Georgia to assist victims of domestic violence regain their welfare by securing a home. According to Samari (2017), more women, for instance, in Syria, had fled their homes due to vulnerability to domestic violence and sexual assault. Therefore, this studyproject provided that domestic violence intensifies among the women as opposed to men, and there was a need to offer homes for the homeless women. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Consider expanding beyond just housing as your main goal. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: I bet there's a US source for this information.

The goal of the cCapstone project was to look into the issue of family violence and sexual assault victims not being able to afford long-term accommodation. Financial victimization in intimate partnerships is becoming more widely recognized in the field of social work. As a consequence, the social service profession has worked tirelessly to develop financial empowerment programs to help survivors plan for their financial future (Sikorska, 2021). Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) sufferers who are financially disadvantaged are also part of the problem. Researchers have recently identified economic and financial abuse as a distinct type of abuse used by IPV abusers to establish and retain control of their victims (citations). Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Maintain consistency in yourgoal statements.

The Agency can thus meet victims'’ short-term necessities for up to three months, but once the short-term shelter ends, victims will have difficulty keeping their housing on their own. Many victims suffer because their partners have ruined their credit ratings or because they are unaware of the situation (Robin & Osub,2020). By pestering victims to utilize their social security cards, partners frequently ruin their credit. Because many abusers closely monitor the websites that their victims visit, victims are unable to acquire this information from their resources. Because a lack of access to security leads to a lack of financial security, the housing takes the initiative to teach victims how to safeguard their residences (citation).

Agency explores a variety of options through local resources and the needs of the victims (MacKenzie et al., 2020). The exploration helps Agency address the most affected people and use the available local resources, making access to affordable houses easier (Polvere et al., 2018). The primary goal is to ensure that everybody can live in a decent and affordable home (Benerjee & Bhattacharya, 2020). In response, the capstone is needed because such financial literacy training is required to help survivors of domestic violence gain financial independence. Yet a significant deficiency in the debate is empirical evidence that the proposed interventions seek to empower women so that they may be less likely to return to an abuser if they are to stay financially independent. The capstone fills the gap by examining the impact of improving the financial literacy of domestic violence victims. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Are there NO articles testing any DV financial literacy training? Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: This is great!

Given the sample The domestic violence victimization rate is 185 incidents per 100,000 population annually (Shinn & Khadduri, 2020);., these estimates suggest improving financial literacy can prevent between 6 to 20 domestic violence incidents per 100,000 population from occurring each year. The capstone will thus show how improving women's financial literacy can significantly reduce domestic violence. First, financial literacy in the female population is considerably lower compared to the male population. That is the gender gap in financial literacy (Hasler & Lusardi, 2017). Gender inequality makes women susceptible to financial abuse by their partners. Therefore, improving financial literacy can help women be aware of and identify financial abuse when it first happens and stop the cycle of violence. That is conditional on women's income level; by closing the gap in financial knowledge and preventing financial abuse, financial literacy re-establishes women's economic independence and bargaining position in the partnership, reducing domestic violence (citations?). Typically, the main emphasis for the capstone is to examine the Agency's role in the provision of long-term sustainable housing for the victims of domestic violence. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Be consistent with your terminology - financial literacy to enable victims to support themselves, including housing.

Evidence/Data Used to Establish Rationale for Deliverable

For financial planning for their clients, the Agency first collects and gathers financial information and conducts an economic survey to analyze the collected data. The data is then summarized based on the goals of the clients. The plan also involves meeting to discuss and review the plans to recommend short and long-term goals and achievements. Agency's financial programs to their clients give the clients options to consider their way forward based on their goals and objectives. The client is helped to stay organized and help them complete the tasks that align with their goals. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Can you get any information from the agency? Like the number of women that may be available for the training? Look at the literature for best practices for financial literacy for DV victims. But do consider whether the Haven can tell you about their preferences for training (one-on-one vs. group), etc. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Include what other resources or training The Haven provides (you don't want to repeat something they're already doing). How to establish credit. Once you have it, how do you maintain it? This is the gap that this training will correct. (Find someplace to discuss this gap).

Typically, most women struggle after divorce because they may have been used to staying at home most of the time and have limited financial literacy. After divorce, most some women have no savings and are left on their own. Even after divorce, some women may struggle with legal and economic issues. The major cause of homelessness is due to lack of affordable houses. Most of the people are low-income earners and with limited financial literacy. The Agency looks at various options through local resources and the needs of the victims (Mackenzie et al., 2020). The overview helps Agency address the most affected people and use the available local resources, making the construction of affordable houses easier (Muir et al., 2017). The major goal is to ensure that everybody can live in a decent and affordable home (Sikorska, 2021). According to Gan et al. (2017), the problem must be addressed urgently so that communities can have an effective caring system for providing for the needs of the homeless people. Comment by Amy Lyndon: Overgeneralization. Try not to say that women as a group aren't financially literate ☺️ Comment by Amy Lyndon: This sentence starts a new topic and should thus be a new paragraph. If you want to connect financial literacy, divorce, and the housing market, you need to fully explain it. Comment by Amy Lyndon: This is a new topic, too. You have the beginnings of three different arguments/points in this one paragraph.

Through proper leadership, the Agency can build affordable houses and ensure that the problem of homelessness is addressed (Quests et al., 2016). Housing can be considered reasonable if it is below 30% of the total income. According to the U.S. Department of Housing department and uUrban Ddevelopment (date), if a family is to pay for a house more than 30% of the total revenue earned, this becomes a burden to the family. The finding reveals a clear picture of the dire need for having quality housing globally (Ortiz-Ospina, & Roser, 2017). Most importantly, rapid urbanization necessitates more access to housing as more than half of humanity is now living in the cities (Morton et al., 2018). According to Kottke et al. (2018), there is, therefore, the need to examine the ways of enhancing the quality of housing, which means ensuring that everybody is capable of finding a safe, decent, and affordable house within the areas where they work, shop, study, and play. Comment by Amy Lyndon: This seems to be a discussion of the difficulty in finding housing for anyone. It's not about financial literacy or victims or the agency. It's good information about how hard it is for anyone, and thus even harder for victims, and harder for victims with less financial literacy - but you need to say that. And maybe in a separate subheading?

Historical Background of The Problem

By strengthening partnerships among various entities and setting unified goals and targets, it is easier to increase the supply of affordable housing, preserve the existing units, and ensure access for people at the biggest risk of homelessness (Kottke et al., 2018). Victims can learn to help themselves obtain a normal life by using the money given as the funding to help individuals start businesses and show them how to manage (Soibatian, 2017). Financial education provides the victims of domestic violence with budgeting skills, the know-how to balance checkbooks, understand how to prevent identity theft, understand the lending activity, and know how to manage their debts. Women are not given enough opportunities and properties to help them live a comfortable life and support their children. Such programs also help them get a stable job and get insurance through them (Oliver et al., 2019).

Strong and creative leadership is very important in helping and effectively engaging the public and surmounting barriers that are met while enhancing affordable housing. Financial literacy gives people the ability to understand the financial skills to help them fix their problems. With financial literacy, they can manage their money and finances effectively and afford their housing. Most people have limited financial literacy, leading to poor financial decisions. Most people struggle with investing and saving due to a lack of financial literacy (Bullock et al., 2020). The problem necessitates addressing two great challenges: defining the problem and creating a very strong and long-lasting solution (Fowler et al., 2019). In developing the problem and looking for the results, leaders come in and are required to articulate and create a compelling vision for the solution to the housing problem. If such action is not adhered to by the leaders, affordable housing efforts may get lost among the competing needs of the community (Mackenzie et al., 2020). Therefore, the leaders have a great role in assuring that their cause receives the attention that it deceives, as well as the necessary funding for the program

In most cases, the opponents of affordable housing projects will normally underestimate the affordability this housing can bring to the community (Benerjee & Bhattacharya, 2020). However, being worthy of trust is an important aspect that can help people put their trust in the people who have offered to solve homelessness (Morton et al., 2018). The process begins with open and clear communication with every person. Some of the ways resources can be mobilized to resettle the homeless include donations and partnerships (Shinn & Khadduri, 2020). Church donations and community funding are some strategies that can be used to donate to the homeless (Ortiz-Ospina & Roser, 2017). Through the public sector partnering with the private sector, funds can be collected for settling these people.

Organizational Context (Culture) Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: Discuss not just the Agency/Haven, but shelter organizations in general. That expands your pool of literature and who the training could help. Comment by Lyndon, Amy E: But still, do discuss the organizational culture of The Haven, citing personal communication - anonymized: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/personal-communications

The cultural understanding of organizational leaders and managers can help manage a company. Managing organizational culture necessitates concentrated efforts to maintain cultural aspects that enhance the organization's effectiveness. Identifying corporate culture qualities or "artifacts" is the first step in managing the Agency's culture. The essential business activities, procedures, and ideologies that characterize how a company does business daily are artifacts. When the Agency assesses its culture to provide better welfare to the victims of domestic violence, it may develop policies, programs, and strategies that support and strengthen its basic purpose and values (Magsi et al., 2018). The same basic characteristics or ideals motivate and unite everyone is aligned in the Agency, flowing down from the C-suite to individual donors. Hiring methods, onboarding activities, rewards and recognition, and management are all tools for building and maintaining high-performance company culture. The most difficult part is selecting how to use tools and allocating capital appropriately.

Theoretical Framework

The eEconomic empowerment theory was used in the studyproject and served as a lens through which the research problems and research questions were viewed. Economic empowerment theory involves promoting women in their social and economic development. More specifically, the women flushed out of their homes due to domestic violence find it hard to settle and continue carrying out day-to-day affairs. Women are often encountering challenges of social and economic welfare, which the theory of economic empowerment seeks to address. The approach is behind the efforts to give power to women. (Karaa, 2019). For instance, the poser would include giving financial literacy to the women and helping them manage their finances. They will have the ability to decide for their own lives and make decisions based on their objectives and goals. Most domestic violence is because of the traditional marriages where the man has all the power over the woman and the men control all the finances in the home. (Lee, 2017). In addition, traditional gender roles where women were expected to be just stay-at-home moms and were not mostly involved in the financial decisions.

Women have been for a long time been denied personal control over their finances. The denial is one of the main reasons women struggle after divorce to get affordable houses and manage their finances since they have no experience with finance compared to men. Economic empowerment for women removes the constraints to lack of opportunities for their development and confinement to household environments (Hejase, 2018). The Agency gives financial education to women to help them overcome the homeless problem. Additionally, the Agency provides personal attention to ensure that they have major success in their finances. They give their clients investment advice that is personalized based on their financial goals.

Review of the Literature

Women enduring domestic and family violence can benefit from informal and formal aid to improve their safety and physiological and psychological health. Approximately three-quarters of women who encounter domestic violence report the assault at some time. Still, confession may be restricted and comes after a significant duration of utilizing private tactics to cope inside the abusive marriage, such as alleviating or reframing their experiences. Women who are assaulted tend to have tiny networks with weak linkages, limiting their options for disclosure. The reason is partly due to duress from the abuse victim (Evans & Feder, 2016). Specialist services that provide advocacy and secure housing for domestic violence victims can increase functionality and resiliency while reducing violence.

Mental health counseling without an emphasis on domestic abuse and assault may not address the requirements of such women. Women sometimes doubt that their primary care physician can help them, and those who reveal violence appreciate the compassionate dialogue, confirmation of their situation, and possible referral for further assistance. However, revelation without appropriate referral might put women at risk. A large study found that Primary Care doctors require specialized training and a clear referral mechanism to specialist advocacy to detect abuse. The role of healthcare professionals in women's entire help-seeking practices is little understood. According to Evans & Feder (2016), women found suffering from domestic abuse require quicker access to specialized agency services. Many women needed the assistance of the Agency, but once this contact was made, disclosure to other professionals or relatives and friends was legalized in the women's minds.

Synthesis of Research Finding

From the literature, more than three-quarters of the women were experiencing domestic violence. Additionally, most victims experience some financial abuse, which reduces their financial literacy. Also, most of the affected women needed assistance maintaining the long-term shelter. Without many agencies willing to take care of the people's plight, the goals of a single agency on human services would not be easily fulfilled (Juing et al., 2021). Human service programs help victims through the programs put in place and hotlines that are focused directly on these issues. Housing is among the three most essential life requirements. Agency allows victims who have been financially abused to build a healthy, empowering, and strengthening them by looking into the cause of the situation and how they can come up with the idea that can change it (Soibatian, 2017). The Agency has many programs like housing and children support, and women support groups, income, and employment service groups.

The literature reveals that most women fail to disclose the sufferings they undergo due to domestic violence. Typically, they won't even inform of the abuse. As a result, the Agency and other supporting organizations offer aid to the affected women. The supportive services try to assist the individuals with materials and supplies that will help those with low income have daily needs. The victims sometimes are supported by social workers or churches that focus on stabilizing them and creating a budget that will finance their living. However, it is projected that over one billion people are today living in poor housing conditions in urban areas. "In most cities, more than half of the population lives in informal settlements in what can be described as life and health-threatening" (Ortiz-Ospina & Roser, 2017). More than 100 million people are homeless globally, and data shows increasing propositions of women and children. The statistics give a clear picture of the dire need to have quality housing globally.

Ethical Considerations

The safety of interviewees was paramount to ensure confidentiality. Typically, those who participated were identified as Participant A and participant B to prevent messing up the obtained data. Each response for every individual has to count. Participation in the research was strictly voluntary. All identities had to be confidential, both in the interview process and subsequent reports. The foundation of the study was based on international human rights. The monitors remained impartial, objective, accurate, and patient. Additionally, special considerations had to be addressed when survivors of domestic abuse were interviewed. Generally, privacy and safety had to be paramount. In addition to the ethical considerations, post-interview support services were already planned and were available upon request.

Assumptions of the Study

The study makes several assumptions concerning the economic empowerment theory as explained in the theoretical framework. The premises of the study are that all women are not financially literate and that men have more financial literacy than women. In society, most of the finances are handled by men. The other assumption is that all women struggle to get affordable houses and manage their finances after divorce (Lu, 2021). The study also assumed that most women are confined to home duties in the household environments. Typically, the broad assumption for the study was that only the women face domestic violence, and men were assumed to be the subject course of the violence. However, the study also thought that women could make decisions for their lives based on their objectives and their goals. Another assumption is that most domestic violence occurs emanating from traditional marriages. Typically, the study assumes and figures a conventional marriage as a union of a man and woman. Still, the man has all the power over the woman, and the man controls all the finances in the home. (Lee, 2017). In addition, the traditional marriage is typically referred to by the study as to where women were expected to stay at home and were not involved in the financial decision-making process.

Section 2: Process

Introduction to Project Design

The research methodology is based on a quantitative research design. Typically, the research involves collecting quantifiable data about the proportion of women facing domestic violence and those that require financial assistance to establish long-term housing. The method of data collection is through interviews and the use of archival data. The study is a case study in Southern Georgia to investigate the domestic violence cases and help the victims establish their financial independence to acquire long-term houses. The goal of quantitative research is to find out how many people say, act, or experience in a certain manner. Quantitative analysis uses huge sample sizes and focuses on the number of replies rather than the more robust or emotional understanding that qualitative research seeks (Bloomfield & Fisher, 2019). Data analysis involves using descriptive statistics analysis where the data is presented in terms of proportions.

Project Outcomes

The literature search reveals that domestic violence is diverse and may range from psychological abuse, actual assault, sexual assault, honor killing, dowry-related abuse, and murder (Ram et al.., 2019). Psychological or emotional abuse refers to insults, mockery, embarrassment, calling names, and frequent threats to cause harm to anyone the injured person is interested in. Physical abuse or the actual assault encompasses assault, criminal intimidation, and illegal force and includes any act or conduct that causes physical pain, injury, or risk to life, limb, or health, or impairs the health or progress of the injured person (Ram et al.., 2019). Sexual abuse is any sexual act that exploits humiliates, condemns, or otherwise undermines the dignity of a woman. Dowry-related abuse is the exploitation of a woman or her relatives through illegal dowry claims.

In line with the five elements that may constitute domestic violence, differing proportions of the affected in each aspect are possible to establish. The most common violence that the majority of the women suffer from is psychological abuse accounting for more than 50 percent of the total population investigated. Physical abuse takes almost 25 percent of the real domestic violence victims. The other types of domestic assault share the rest of the percentage in equal measures. Most women claim alcohol use by the man is the cause of domestic violence. The study benefits the proportion of women facing physical abuse since such women are susceptible to murder through the assault, and finding the other homes would save their lives. Typically, the research aims to improve the Agency providing shelter for domestic violence victims to offer financial independence and establish long-term housing.

The Development Process

The data sources for the research are secondary sources that include journal articles on domestic violence within a period not lasting more than five to seven years from the current year. Additionally, interviews also form primary sources of data involved in the study. The sampling plan involves snowballing, where one participant identifies another participant, and the sequence follows. Most of the victims of domestic violence find it difficult to disclose, and therefore the majority are not in the public domain. Getting a sample of the affected women is an uphill task, and thus, snowballing forms the best sampling plan. Additionally, snowballing aids in the scrutiny of journal articles to retain the ones dealing with domestic violence and exclude the others from the study. The study involves women subject to domestic violence and excludes men who are also victims of domestic violence. The Agency's name is identified as the Agency for the Provision of Shelter for the domestic violence victims in Southern Georgia.

The Agency operates as a non-profit organization, and the population served includes women that have been rendered homeless as a result of domestic violence. The human services provided by the Agency are financial independence and the establishment of long-term housing. The Agency is licensed and operates legally. Potential program participants will be contacted to complete a survey which may include person-to-person, telephone, email distribution, and zoom conferences. The survey will consist of different scenarios that clients believe will make housing needs more readily accessible through the Haven. The survey will also help convey what they think would be possible services for the Haven to render to victims of Domestic Violence. The Social Workers, Counselors, and board of trustees will be interviewed face-to-face as stakeholders to help with integration and process collaboration. Potential participants of the study may consist of two categories, professional workers and program participants.

Action plan and time frame

Section 3

Application and Implications of Findings and Conclusion

The findings are relevant to the Agency's execution of its role. The results reveal that although the Agency's role is to ensure financial stability and independence of the victims of domestic violence, there is a need to integrate other assistance to the individuals. Typically, the Agency focuses on improving the welfare of the victims of domestic violence through long-term housing, but there is a need to provide counseling. The study findings imply that other than physical abuse and sexual assault of the women, they also encounter psychological trauma from the domestic violence that will necessitate counseling. In conclusion. the study establishes that Agency's work is vital in providing support to the victims of domestic violence. Provision of shelters to the victims of domestic violence in Southern Georgia forms one of the assistances. However, considering the rising numbers of people living with mental illness, offering counseling would also enhance their welfare. Therefore. Institutions involved in providing such support need to be fully assisted in improving their delivery capacity.

References

Shinn, M., & Khadduri, J. (2020). Amid Plenty: Homelessness and What to do About it. Wiley

Sikorska, A. (2021). Housing Law in Poland-From the Cooperative Model to Flat Ownership. Sustainable Housing. DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.986444

Sullivan, C. M., Bomsta, H. D., & Hacskaylo, M. A. (2019). Flexible funding as a promising strategy to prevent homelessness for survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of interpersonal violence, 34(14), 3017-3033.