LIFT Annual Report 2015: Creating A Better Way | Page 13

Building Financial +
Mental Health in LA
LIFT-Los Angeles launched a Financial Coaching Pilot
to help Members learn the basics of personal finance,
including skills like creating a budget and opening a
savings account.
The team started with a five-week program for 20
Members and our goal was to help these Members
strengthen their financial foundations.
After concluding the program it became clear that not
only was this service necessary, but also that LIFTLos Angeles could do more in support of Members’
personal finances. With the support of Dr. Adam
Schickedanz, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Fellow and practicing pediatrician on sabbatical, we
decided to ask a more provocative question: is there
a correlation between financial literacy and mental
health?
Research shows that anxiety and depression are side
effects of living in poverty and that these issues deeply
exacerbate the stressors already faced by families
living in poverty. In order to help mitigate this, LIFT and
Dr. Schickedanz hypothesized that by offering a more
robust financial coaching program, we might be able to
help Members’ gain greater control over their finances
and alleviate financial burdens that are causing stress.

________
“Listening to the heartbeat
of the city reveals so much
about Members’ lives – their
hopes and fears and sorrows
are propelled forward by the
beat of the city.”
-Eduardo Gonzalez,
Advocate at LIFT-LA

________

Designed by Dr. Schickedanz, the Financial Coaching
Pilot aims to investigate the potential of financial
counseling and a matched savings intervention to
improve individuals’ economic conditions, mental
health, and health-related quality of life.
The pilot will involve up to 150 program participants.
Participants will receive one-on-one financial coaching
from LIFT-Los Angeles staff and AmeriCorps Fellows,
who have all received professional training. In
addition to the individual support, participants will be
incentivized to use a match savings program through
the EARN savings initiative. To assess progress we will
administer quarterly surveys that help us understand
the validity of our hypothesis. Based on what is learned
from this pilot, we may adopt the approach nationwide
in the coming year.

5200%
LIFT-LA achieved a whopping
200% increase in Members’
achievement of their goals last
year. This means that many more
LIFT-LA members secured safer,
more stable housing, better
jobs, and greater educational
opportunities for themselves and
their families.

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