thought I would share this with you all. I don't know I may vlog
about it, but I would want to check with the principals invloved
first....
anyway this article was in the local paper and it strikes a cord with
me because this is were my wife has worked now for over 7 years and I
am proud of her and of the work that she does. I know the people and
I know the organization and with everything else that is going on, I
felt we all could use a bit of "good" news for a change....
Small steps in march on poverty
Poverty as a social problem often looks insurmountable. It is so
numbingly vast that we tend to think it can be approached only in the
most gargantuan ways, as in "The War on Poverty." Success in such a
war is limited - there always seem to be new waves of poverty arising
with every generation.
A more pragmatic approach to the problem is to realize that poverty
is the lot of individuals, and when you can help an individual become
self-sufficient, you have won a battle that may last for generations.
Such is the approach that has been taken in Greater Cincinnati by
Cincinnati Works, a private, nonprofit organization that, in the
words of founder Dave Phillips, works "to break the back of poverty,"
one person at a time. The organization was founded 10 years ago next
month. It's an anniversary worth noting.
Working on an annual budget of $865,000 that comes from private
donors and the United Way, Cincinnati Works has helped more than
3,000 people find jobs and, more important, stability. The stability
is the program's mark of success.
Phillips founded the organization with his wife, Liane, after
retiring from Arthur Andersen. At first they thought their goal was
simply to get people jobs, but after five years they realized most of
their clients never seemed to advance much. "We realized we were just
creating working poor, so we started asking, 'What's keeping them
down?'"
The answer was many of the same stresses affecting the non-poor -
depression, worries about families and health, lack of education and
training - compounded by the lack of resources to do much about it.
Sixty percent of the unemployed poor are estimated to suffer from
chronic depression or anxiety.
So Cincinnati Works kept working with its clients after they found
jobs. The program now calls for a commitment from the workers to
stick with their initial placements for one year. After that, the
organization will help with training to enable them to advance in the
workplace. Meanwhile it also offers such support as counseling, legal
advice, a chaplain and referrals to social services.
The goal now is not just to find people jobs, but help them keep
those jobs and eventually rise higher in the work force. Over time
the program has found that achieving stability for these clients may
take 18 months after they first get a job; advancing to economic self-
sufficiency is likely to take five years.
It's a long path, but Cincinnati Works' statistics seem to indicate
it is a successful one. It cites an 84 percent job retention rate
after one year, compared with an industry average of 25 percent.
Cincinnati Works is a baby step on an enormously long trip. On
average it places just more than 600 people in jobs per year.
According to Phillips, it has a target population of working poor and
unemployed in this metropolitan area of more than 80,000. But the
success is being noticed. Houston and Washington, D.C., both are
starting pilot programs this year based on Cincinnati Works' methods.
"We don't have all the answers," Phillips said. "But it is possible
to systematically drive poverty down in this community."
Small steps - but small steps can eventually add up to significant
strides.
Here is the link on the web if you are interested
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060508/EDIT01/605080318/1090
Heath - The Batman Geek
http://batmangeek7.blogspot.com
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