Financial protection lessons offered to elderly PEI residents

The importance of financial literacy is being echoed in a new government scheme which seeks to educate the elderly residents of PEI.

The importance of financial literacy is being echoed in a new government scheme which seeks to empower the elderly residents of Prince Edward’s Island and protect them from financial abuse.

The news came yesterday when Minister of State Alice Wong announced the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) would receive funding worth more than $23,000 to support a project which, in her own words, “helps put partnerships in place, allowing seniors to become more informed about financial abuse and better equipped to deal with it.”

The project, rather lengthily dubbed the Elder Financial Abuse Resource Tool Project, will promote awareness, detection and prevention of financial abuse and will be tailored to suit the needs of seniors, their families and friends, as well as professionals who work with the elderly.

It’s encouraging to see a growing impetus to provide basic financial education to those who need it most and, following Jane Rooney’s appointment as Canada’s very first Financial Literacy Leader earlier this year, it certainly seems like the government are recognizing the importance of financial literacy and the positive impact it can have on individuals and communities.

Education specialist Ellan Dickieson said the project had been designed to “educate and empower seniors themselves, encouraging them to utilize available resources to take a proactive approach to protecting themselves financially.”

“When we increase financial literacy at any age, we decrease a person's vulnerability and subsequently help prevent financial abuse," she concluded. Sounds good to us.

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