Strengthening Economic Mobility Support

March 10, 2026

Meeting Families Where They Are: How Center for Transforming Lives is Strengthening Economic Mobility Support

Holistic approach gives families improved access to financial, employment & business coaching

At Center for Transforming Lives, staff are always asking: How can we better serve the families who walk through our doors? The answer increasingly points to integration and delivering the right support at the right time, within relationships families already trust.

For years, Center for Transforming Lives has offered financial education, employment support and small business assistance through a dedicated department. While this model served many families well, it also created barriers. Participants had to navigate referrals, schedule additional appointments, find transportation and, perhaps most significantly, open up about their financial struggles to yet another person.

“There are certain topics that are extremely difficult for people to talk about, and one of them is money,” explains Carlye Tyler, Chief Program Officer at Center for Transforming Lives. “It’s a vulnerable thing for people to get into, no matter what your circumstances are. Trust is a huge piece of that.”

By integrating economic mobility services into existing housing and early childhood education programs, a significant barrier to financial stability is reduced. Participants will now work with the case managers and family advocates they already know. These are the people who already understand their stories, their strengths and their challenges. There’s no need to retell painful experiences or add another appointment to an already overwhelming schedule.

“It’s not a referral, it’s not another step, it’s not another conversation,” Tyler says. “It’s really working with the family advocate or the case manager that you’re already connected with who already knows your story, and layering those essential services on top of that.”

To train case managers and family advocates in financial coaching, Center for Transforming Lives is partnering with LIFT, a national nonprofit specializing in economic mobility work. LIFT has successfully implemented this embedded model within Head Start programs across the country, recognizing that parents of young children benefit most when support is woven seamlessly into the services they’re already accessing.

Under the new model, family advocates will meet with participants, typically on a monthly basis, to set financial goals alongside other personal goals. They’ll talk about savings, income, debt, credit and asset building, then check in on progress over time. Because these conversations happen within the context of existing relationships, families are more likely to engage and follow through.

Also new in 2026, Center for Transforming Lives is adding an employment specialist to its staff. This position will work within the housing program and support participants across the agency, focused specifically on helping families gain and retain employment. The goal is to ensure participants receive consistent support, making it more likely that they will secure and keep a job.

“We see a lot of families that are one crisis away from homelessness, or they’re living paycheck to paycheck,” Tyler reflects. “Adding an employment specialist will allow us to focus more on resume building, interview skills and connecting participants with job opportunities in the community.”

From budgeting and credit building to debt reduction, all participants will have access to this personalized job coaching. Similar to integrated financial counseling, this holistic approach to employment removes barriers parents would have faced otherwise, such as transportation and scheduling conflicts.

For entrepreneurs building small businesses, Center for Transforming Lives is also enhancing their dedicated support by moving all small business programs under the vibrant entrepreneurial community of Riverside Coworking.

Now, new entrepreneurs and those ready to level up their businesses have access to a small business manager who can help them navigate the ups and downs of self-employment. They will also receive personal finance counseling, such as reducing debt and building savings, to better position them and their businesses for long-term success.

Center for Transforming Lives’ leaders like Tyler say this evolution isn’t about taking away services but making them more accessible to the people who need them most.

“Financial wellbeing is a pillar of what we do,” Tyler emphasizes. “We’re adding more emphasis on that as we spread it across all of our services… just like we focus on being trauma-informed and two-generational, finances are foundational.”

Contact:
Trish Rodriguez
Director for Communications
trodriguez@transforminglives.org
817-996-7330

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