Sustainable Livelihoods: Surviving to Thriving

Imagine...every person has a sustainable livelihood and contributes to their community. This is the vision that guides Momentum’s work.

At Momentum we understand that success for participants requires diving deeper than income. A sustainable livelihood is “the capabilities, assets, and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future”. Supporting participants towards a sustainable livelihood requires empowering participants to develop tools to weather the unknowns in life.

At the end of 2018, Momentum launched an evaluation project using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to measure the holistic and long-term impacts of our longer-term, high-touch programs. We wanted to understand how the programs offered at Momentum were creating a lasting difference in participants lives, and we wanted to apply those learnings to improve the work that we do. We also understand that it can take time to make changes in one’s life and move towards a sustainable livelihood, which is why we continue to follow-up with participants over a two-year period. We share a snapshot of the results of this work each year through our Sustainable Livelihoods Brief: Sustainable Livelihoods Report | Momentum.

When exploring the results and stories shared by participants during their follow-up surveys and interviews this past year, we saw that 2024 was the year of substantial sustainable livelihoods (SL) progress. Participants that have experienced growth has averaged between 60-65%, however in 2024 that jumped up to 75%. This brings our cumulative SL progress over the years to 66%, with a positive outlook on what we can accomplish moving forward.

Sustainable livelihoods progress is a broad number that captures accomplishments like:

• 86% of participants increased in skills and knowledge in money management, and
• 90% of participants were more hopeful about the future, 

We also heard many success stories from our graduates, such as;

“…I applied to hundreds and hundreds of jobs and it was basically impossible to get into the tech field. I would not have the opportunity and job that I have now without the program. It was very life changing for me” – AWS Re/Start 2022 graduate

“After years of losing self confidence and years of trying to dig myself out of that hole, this was really big for me. It was really great and my time at Momentum really helped me in building up the confidence for this to happen.” – Self-Employment 2022 graduate

Progress in achieving a sustainable livelihood was further strengthened by a growing number of graduates that increased their income after taking a Momentum program:

• 71% of participants increased their income,
• 90% increase in income ($26,900) was seen for those that grew their income, and
• Participants receiving income support halved from 30% to 14% in two years.

And, we heard many stories from participants about how a stable income has changed their current and future outlook on life:

“We can afford to pay for our needs, even with the cost of everything on the rise but it’s not as huge of a burden as it would have been before the program. Being able to work now has helpful relieve the stress and it has really made a difference. We are so grateful and I just have no words.” – AWS Re/Start 2022 graduate

Overall, participants have demonstrated impressive success, despite having to navigate the challenges of the post-pandemic world and all the economic challenges that followed. Momentum participants shared results that demonstrated growth in skills and knowledge, self-confidence, money management skills, and income, as well as improved debt management, living situation (housing), and employment.

Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, we are able to see the measurable impact of our work within the lives of our participants. It shows that our vision is something we can and should continue striving for: where every person has a sustainable livelihood and contributes to their community. With every program graduation, every new small business, and every participant empowered to manage their finances we move one step closer to creating a thriving local economy for all.

Read more here: Sustainable Livelihoods Report | Momentum