Module Description

Module Inform

ation M

odule title: Talking about money

M

odule authors: Harrie van Haaster, Izabel Marin, M

ichele Sipala, Bram Vreesw

ijk

Number of sessions

3-5 Frequency 2x

Hours per session 3-5

Total Teaching hours: 15

Number of intended participants:

10 – 20

Justification for the module (e.g. W

hy is this module needed? W

hat are the reasons for offering this module? W

hat needs will it address?)

Most people in our target group, people w

ho deal with m

ental problems and use m

ental healthcare, do not have much m

oney. A lot of them don’t have paid w

ork and are dependent on an incom

e they receive from the state. Happily w

e live in a society which feels responsible for a subsistence m

inimum

for every citizen. It is a civil right to have access to a m

oney with w

hich you can manage your daily living. In Europe w

e find many differences in social w

elfare systems. At the sam

e time w

e see quite som

e similarities in the facilities created.

The relevant social systems in Europe w

hich address income and poverty on w

hich most people in our target group are dependent are:

1) Disability pensions for those w

ho are not able to earn money because of their disabilities.

2) Social security for those w

ho do not have an income from

labour, although they might be able to find a job.

3) Special m

easurements and facilities for poor people w

hich enables them to pay rents, pay insurances and pay for schools. The am

ount of the benefit depends on the person’s incom

e. 4)

A number of arrangem

ents for people who are not able to m

anage their own earnings and for people w

ho have (growing) debts w

hich they are not able to repay.

5) Inform

al support from friends and fam

ily mem

bers. In our societies there are quite som

e opposite ideas about poverty. On the one hand w

e have created a welfare state in w

hich rights on an income are guaranteed and

solidarity is asked from everyone. O

n the other hand people are held responsible for being poor, having no money or having debts. They are seen as w

eak persons, are m

istrusted and as possible abusers of the social system.

The welfare state is under pressure, budgets for social support are being cut back. People are under pressure to take responsibility for their ow

n income and if they do

not make enough efforts, they are punished by reductions on the support they receive. Critics of the w

elfare state stress that the welfare state is disem

powering

people, depriving them of their responsibility and m

aking them dependent on public services. In psychiatry the term

“hospitalization” is used for this kind of critique. In the area of earnings and spending m

oney, disempow

erment m

eans that you lose the capacity to make choices, to be m

oney wise, to control your expenses, to have

information about costs, to save m

oney, to run a household, to be critical consumers, etc. etc.

Experiencing the problem

People experience situations of poverty or loss of control over their income in m

any different ways. Som

e may feel guilty or asham

ed, they do not want to be

dependent but miss the opportunities to take care of an ow

n and better income. They feel even w

orse when society sees them

as abusers or profiteers. Others are

grateful for the support they receive and accept all help without feeling troubled about losing control, being supervised or leaving the responsibility for their paym

ents at a service or a budget m

anager. They may be glad that they do not have to face these troubles and that m

any things is arranged well for them

. Rent, healthcare and insurances are being paid for them

, meals are taken care of, and they get a sm

all amount of (pocket)m

oney for personal needs. W

hether feeling guilty, ashamed or grateful, people do have to deal w

ith the systems as m

entioned above. Most people do not understand fully how

these systems

work: m

any regulations and sometim

es also thresholds to enter. This creates a lot of discontentment about these system

s, their rules, and the mistakes that are m

ade. M

any people have the experience that they have to fight to get their rights realised in practice, although these are guaranteed on paper and by law. They are

discontent about the duties they have to meet - under the threat of cuts on their budget - and also discontent about ‘stupid program

s’ they have to attend and duties, for instance, on how

to keep a cash book. They feel paternalized. Capacities they do have are not seen and awarded. They are and feel disciplined and put aside or

excluded. Quite som

e people blame the system

. They recognize themselves in a m

ovie like “I, Daniel Blake”.

The needs of people in our target group in relation to money and w

elfare may be quite diverse:

•

To be dealt with respect.

• To have your rights guaranteed.

• To be trusted instead of m

istrusted. •

To get clear information.

• To have fair rules.

• No contradictory, com

plex or confusing regulations. •

Chances to be independent and in control. •

Personal budgets. •

Support in learning how to do your household.

• Support w

ith ones administration.

• Fair debt services.

• Etc.

Examples of courses

In many countries people are offered courses about how

to use the welfare system

s and budget courses. In GB, for example, in the Recovery Colleges they do a

number of program

s that deal with m

oney. They are all very practical and problem solving. Students get som

e comfort by finding out that other people are struggling

just like them. Ideas are shared for saving, cutting dow

n impulse spending etc.

+ Money w

ise is a course run by an accountant on managing your budget. It deals w

ith working out all of your regular paym

ents/money that go out and all of the

money that com

es in each month, and w

orking out how m

uch is left so that you can budget the costs of your food, incidental costs and maybe save som

ething for unexpected bills.

+ Another course looks at different ways of m

anaging debt. + A further course looks at cooking on a low

budget and exploring ways of eating w

ell with lim

ited funds. + Another course looks at m

anaging your bills and exploring ways you can pay for electricity, gas, oil, w

ater etc. + And there is a course on personal budgets – this course is about applying for self-directed funding from

social services. So the core of these courses is being w

ise with m

oney. The way these courses are done is not paternalizing. People w

ho attend them form

ulate a personal learning goal w

hich states that they want to learns about these things.

But little or no money is not all w

hat matters. Although it is true that it is difficult to deal w

ith situations of very little money or situations of debts, to deal w

ith all your financial obligations, m

onth after month, and to find out that often you are not able so, another problem

pops up, which is the problem

of being open about money

topics and have a fair conversation about it. In the course presented, the focus is on this topic: to facilitate the conversation about money by finding a com

mon

ground to talk about it. A conversation space where a discussion is possible w

ithout dominance from

one point of view. Sharing tips m

ay be part of it. Learning to adm

inistrate or to budget also. But speaking about shame, guilt, or speaking about the feeling of being forced, disciplined and not seen are equally im

portant. For m

ost people in our target group, there are other problems behind budgeting problem

s. There may be psychiatric problem

s or addiction problems w

hich lead to problem

s in dealing with m

oney. We do not w

ant to address these background problems directly. The first problem

which w

e want to address is that m

oney is a hard

matter to speak about. It is a subject full of sham

e and guilt. A subject in which personal and com

munal interests m

eet and conflict. A matter w

here trust and mistrust

are involved. It is a matter w

here people fight about. It is a matter of life. It is one of the m

ost difficult subjects to speak about. The course is about talking about m

oney, about using the social welfare system

and about spending money. Attendants w

ill be tempted to participate and share

experiences. The course facilitates open dialogue about realistic topics and themes, w

hich play a role in the lives of the participants.

Learning goals (maxim

um 6) (e.g. W

hat will the participants achieve by attending the course? W

hat will they be able to do after they finish the m

odule which they couldn’t do (as

well) before they started on the m

odule?) 1. Learning to talk about m

oney topics with relevant others, in a w

ay that you show that you feel responsible for it

2. Learning not to feel alone, ashamed or guilty about m

oney problems

3. Learning about which conversational context is safe for you to discuss m

oney topics and learning how to create such a context

4. Learning to talk about money topics is a w

ay that is sustainable

5. Increase awareness and give value to m

oney

6. Learn to manage better the m

onthly budget, purchases and savings

7. Learn where and how

to ask and who to address for aid

8. Know better about the role of the special support adm

inistrator

9. Improve the quality of life and know

more about rights

Sessions

Themes in the session

1. My relationship w

ith money

Introduction to the Empow

erment college, privacy sensitiveness of personal m

oney topics 2. Recognizing the problem

s Problem

s behind the problems, dealing w

ith guilt and hame

3. Support by services Being open about m

oney topics, dealing with institutions

4. Rights, Paternalism, Em

powerm

ent The w

elfare state; rights and the role and responsibility of the person 5. Budget m

anagement

Administering our incom

es or/and goods

Session 1 Them

es in the session 1. M

y relationship with m

oney Privacy-sensitiveness of personal m

oney topics and the reasons why

people avoid these topics or are blocked about it.

Introduction to the Empow

erment college: context, aim

s and presentation of the program

Discuss the goals of the module, the learning strategies, teaching strategies.

Introduction to the theme: “w

hat we can do w

ithout money”

People’s experience: a point of personal view.

Open dialogue about realistic topics and them

es, which play a role in the lives of attendants.

Discussion about how people deal w

ith their hesitations. How

do we build richness in term

s of relationships and social inclusion

Invitation to use moodle, e-learning

Them

es /exercises goals

content Skills.know

ledge and expertise required of trainers

resources

Discuss the goals of the module,

the learning strategies, teaching strategies.

Become clear about the goals

of the course and about the goals of the individual participants

Introduction to the m

odule O

pen dialogue about realistic topics and them

es, which play a role

in the lives of attendants.

Presentation of the course Tim

e managem

ent Assure that all get tim

e to present them

selves

Information sheet about the

module:

Introductory texts: Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 The texts are in the national language. Together they cover the content w

hich is presented above about the m

odule and the text in the m

anual about empow

erment

colleges

Session 2

Themes in the session

Recognizing the problems

Feel not alone with your problem

s of sham

e or guilt. “Being independent does not m

ean being alone”

Problems behind the problem

of having money or not having m

oney Create a sphere of openness and equality, respect and not any paternalism

Learning to be open about topics Create an environm

ent of openness, equality e respect without paternalism

.

Themes /exercises

goals content

Skills.knowledge and expertise

required of trainers resources

Personal money topics and the

reasons why people avoid these

topics or are blocked about it

Awareness about sham

e, guilt, etc

Discussion about how

people deal with their

hesitations. How

do we build richness

in terms of relationshiops

and social inclusion Invitation to use m

oodle, e-learning

Tempting to participate and share

experiences O

pen dialogue

Examples of avoidance: “I do not

want te be rem

inded of the fact that I have no m

oney and others have. Then I feel a looser.” Appendix 11 In the Netherlands one participant shared a text w

ith tips about how

to talk about money w

ith friends:

E-learning and blended learning The goals of e-learning and blended learning

Introduction about M

oodle Teaching M

oodle Technical instructions on M

oodle and e-learning

Recognizing the problems

Feel not alone with your

problems of sham

e or guilt.

Learning to be open about topics

Problems behind the

problem of having m

oney or not having m

oney Create a sphere of openness and equality, respect and not any paternalism

Facilitating recognition among

eachother Personal stories and experiences of the participants Songs about m

oney (in Italy)

Session 3 Them

es in the session

When can I be helped by the

institutions? W

hat we m

ean by "Managem

ent of econom

ic resources"? W

e transform the com

munity.

Practicing examples of m

oney talk in comm

unications with social w

orkers W

hat is paternalism in the relationship betw

een person and institution?

Themes /exercises

goals content

Skills.knowledge and expertise

required of trainers resources

Reading the report of the preceding m

eeting and

To remem

ber to the people w

hat has been done and

“what is liberty for m

e?”

-blackboard

distribution a copy to all the participants Exercise: w

hat is liberty for me?

every person writes in a post-it

his/her own thought; discussion

in group Division into sm

all groups with

questions related to the topic; Discussion in group all the feedbacks

said; to clarify possible doubts and questions To understand w

hat liberty is for every participant and to w

elcome the different points

of view about the

relationship among: rights,

liberty and power

What is paternalism

in the relationship betw

een person and institution? Discussion about the relationship am

ong rights, liberty and pow

er for every participant Team

work about this

topics: -co-building a plan of m

anagement of our ow

n m

onthly money

- my experience w

hen I have asked help: have I felt to have the pow

er to take the decisions for m

y life? - to find som

e strategies to give trust to the people that w

ant to help us w

hen we are badly

Expertise about the specific topics: -one peer support w

orker - one reference for the w

orking inclusion of the departm

ent of m

ental health - one technical of the psychiatric rehabilitation

- reading of a passage of the book “Cabaret M

istico” (Jodorowsky)

Talking about personal experiences about how

the system

s and regulations work?

Experiencing the problem

from a subjective point of

view

Showing the hom

ework:

performing the roleplays

that are prepared by participants via M

oodle

Leading the discussions about the roleplays and im

provisations Appendix 4: The m

ovie “I, Daniel Blake” is displayed. A sm

all introduction about the film

is shared: Hom

ework shared by the

participants via Moodle. Various

texts are delivered to read as hom

ework:

Appendix 6: information about

local courses for social workers

about how to deal w

ith troublesom

e persons Appendix 7: inform

ation about all local services w

hich are available for people w

ith short of money. It

shows how

complex the system

is and how

many counters and

services are available, easy to get lost in it. Appendix 8: Inform

ation about the use of special regulations for people living in poverty: They donot use m

uch these special regulations a for support Appendix 9: A special overview

of services and regulations for people w

ho have debts.

Improvisation and roleplaying

on money talk

Learn how to prepare a

roleplay Explanation on hom

ework to prepare a

roleplay for next session

Assistance at the exercise to work

out a case of a roleplaying game

like the improvisation

Instructions about roleplaying Instruction on M

oodle and roleplaying

How to deal w

ith the system?

(understanding of rules, threshold, burocracy etc.)

Improve the capacity of the

person to make choices,

become independent as

ingredients for the em

powerm

ent.

Showing the hom

ework:

performing the roleplays

that are prepared by participants via M

oodle

Discussing the roleplays and im

provisations Inform

ation on rights. Local inform

ation about violation of rights and on bad treatm

ent by social w

orkers: Appendix 5

Homew

ork shared by the participants via M

oodle

Session 4 Them

es in the session

4. “Rights, Paternalism,

Empow

erment”

Welfare State, national contexts

Is the system prom

oting empow

erment or disem

powerm

ent/assistenzialism?

When do I need to be helped by the W

elfare State? W

hat is the role of the person with respect to the w

elfare system?

Dependence and independence W

hat are the laws and the standards? How

do I tackle bureaucracy?

Themes /exercises

goals content

Skills.knowledge and expertise

required of trainers resources

Reading the report of the preceding m

eeting and distribution a copy to all the participants Group discussion w

ith Peer expert about dependence and independence, feedback Expert Ads ( adm

inistrator of support) that explains and does role planning w

ith participants

To remem

ber to the people w

hat has been done and said; to clarify possible doubts and questions To understand w

hat it means

for everyone to be independent To know

the function and the role of the adm

inistrator of support

What does it m

ean: being independent? W

hat is ads and how it

can become useful for

my personal project

Some m

ore notions about National W

elfare State Practical exercise w

ith an adm

inistrator (specific Law

) and an adm

inistered. Discussion on the current legislation.

Expertise about the specific topics: -one educator and peer support w

orker -one law

yer and administrator of

support (AdS) -one parent m

ember of the

parent’s association called “AFASO

P”

In Italy we used slides

-blackboard - m

aterial papery about the national law

(n. 6/2004) of the civil code In the Netherlands w

e did not use any background texts.

Session 5 Them

es in the session

5. W

hat do we m

ean by „budget m

anagement“?

Transforming the collective.

What do w

e mean by adm

inistering our incomes or/and goods.

The logic of control, individualism and the norm

alization of behaviours The difference betw

een us and them re-proposing the discrim

ination and stigma associated to the m

ental difficulties Practical exercise w

ith an administrator (Law

yer) and an administered. Discussion on the current legislation.

Elaborate on the concept of liberty, rights and power

How do w

e build richness in terms of relationships and social inclusion

Them

es /exercises goals

content Skills.know

ledge and expertise required of trainers

resources

What do w

e mean by

administering our incom

es or/and goods

Learn about practical tools for budget m

anagement

A practical exercise with

a budget manager on

managing your ow

n budget Discussing usefulness of the exercises and paternalization

Discussing a budget managers’

role Form

s for the exercise on budget-m

anagement are (in the

Netherlands) taken from N

ibud, the Dutch Institute for Budgetting. Appendix 12: practical advises about dealing w

ith money

Appendix 13: a weekplanner about

spending money

The logic of control, individualism

and the norm

alization of behaviours

Learn the difference betw

een us and them

reproposing the discrim

ination and stigma

Discussing the norms

behind the practical exercises of budget m

anagement

Leading a discussion Literature om

the logic of control Appendix 10: A reference for those participants w

ho are interested in

associated tot the m

ental difficulties

theory about poverty. It is based on the book of M

ullainathan and Shafir about scarcity and its repercussion for the functioning of the hum

an brain.

•

hand-outs, presentations, links to websites should be referenced here but added as appendices

Teaching Activity - Strategies suggested / needed Teaching M

ethods ✓

Learning Methods

✓ Assessm

ent Methods

✓ Resources

✓

Explanation of concepts / inform

ation✓

Research / ICT✓

Presentation – group or individual✓

Flipchart &

Pens✓

Idea Showering✓

Observation✓

Debate/controlled discussion✓

OHP/Projector/Laptop✓

Demonstration✓

Case Studies✓

Q

uestion and answer✓

White Board✓

Discussion✓

Handouts / sequenced exercises✓

Work sheet ✓

Documents✓

Power point ✓

Practical ✓

Verbal Feedback ✓

TV & DVD/Video

songs about money

Interactive ICT✓

Paired w

ork

Assignments✓

Internet access

Video✓

Group w

ork ✓

Q

uiz✓

Certificate of participation✓

Quiz / Gam

es ✓

Targeted w

ork with LSA or study buddy –

1-2-1

Self-evaluation✓

O

ther

Other ✓

Individual Work ✓

Observation✓

Role -playing

Other (perform

ance)

Exercises & activities✓

Special guests (expert on low, social

assistance, training, etc)

Display of knowledge – ideas, concepts,

products or demonstration✓

every session: report/restitution of what

emerged in the previous m

eeting

Other

Notes

* During the procedure of filling out the form

s, one or more tutors are available to help as support to explain the goals of the course and to invite people to

outline their personal goals in relation to their own experiences, needs, desires and interests. In these form

s each participant states his/her priorities in terms

of needs and goals. The Italians composed an abstract considering w

hat has emerged and com

prising the entries which w

ere suggested most frequently;

This preliminary has proved particularly helpful in organizing the single sessions, to outline the arrangem

ent of the chosen topics of the project with better

accuracy (for example: the presence of law

yer who w

orks a special support administrator w

as requested by some participants, and also concrete needs on

how to m

ove to ask support, discuss how the system

of services are organized to give support in economic term

s, and how to use suitable tools to m

anage their assets and econom

ic income).

Appendices * Docum

ents required to deliver the module: articles, exercises, pow

er point presentations, etc. numbered as in the resources colum

n in the tables above

In this module w

e do spread information on sheets, docum

ents atc. All docum

ents used, were about national or local situations. So in the N

etherlands and in Italy, w

here the module w

as tested, we both used different texts, adapting them

to our own national and local context. It is advised that, w

hen doing this m

odule, one chooses ones own erlevant texts, being the result of local coproduction in an em

powerm

ent college. In the references below about the

“appendices” we do suggestions about w

hat kind of texts could be used or produced.

Docum

ents for session 1: Appendix 1: background of the course, being a translation in Dutch of the justification of the course as form

ulated above

Appendix 2: an introductory text about the module: its goals and practical inform

ation about dates, location etc. These may differ depending on the results of the local

coproduction Appendix 3: O

ne page summ

ary about the problems people m

eet in relation to money. It can be taken from

the text about the justification but there may be local

variety. D

ocuments for session 2:

Appendix 11: tips about how to talk about m

oney with friends. Such a text w

as produced by one of the participants in the course and added to the e-learning tool of M

oodle. We suggest that participants produce such tips for each other as an exercise.

Appendix 4: a small introductory text about the film

“I, Daniel Blake”. The film has been obtained on CD and show

n on a big screen. The introductory text can be found on internet in each language. D

ocuments for session 3:

Appendix 5: a text about complaints from

users of social welfare system

s about how they are treated. It should be a text about local experiences w

ith social services and part of a discussion on their treatm

ent

Appendix 6: a text about how civil servants of the social services are trained in how

to treat their clients.

Appendix 7: an example of an overw

iew of all the services w

hich are available for clients ho are homeless. In the N

etherlands we used an exam

ple from Am

sterdam.

The idea is to show how

many services there are and how

difficult it mighty be for clients to find their w

ay. The overview in the N

etherlands was taken from

the Am

sterdam Journal clients of social services “M

UG”. Appendix 8: Inform

ation about special regulations for people who live in poverty to get som

e extra’s. Appendix 9: An overview

of regulations and services for people who have debts.

Docum

ents for session 5

Appendix 10: A

short reference to the book of Mulainattan and Shafir about the effects of poverty (scarcity) on the brains.

Appendix 12: Inform

ation, produced in own country, about how

to spend money and how

te deal with spending your m

oney. In the Netherlands w

e used a copy of the D

utch Institute on Budgeting (N

IBU

D) about spending m

oney.

Appendix 13:A

week planner for spending m

oney

At the end a certificate has been handed out to the participants as a proof that they ended the course successfully