The Alliance Community Task Force has a new program coming up that we are really excited about! We will be offering classes for Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World. Applications are being accepted now, with classes starting in the next month.
Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World is a series of classes for adults struggling with poverty. Class members will investigate the impact poverty has on them and on our community. Living in chronically unstable conditions or in persistent poverty can make it hard for people to change. Poverty traps people in the tyranny of the moment where the problems they face demand immediate solutions. It can be difficult to see a better future.
If you’ve spent part of your life struggling to get by in the world, the idea of actually getting ahead might seem out of reach. Even if your story has been filled with setbacks, barriers, and vanishing opportunities, the next chapter can change all that. You have to write that chapter, but you don’t have to do it alone.
In a facilitated group setting, Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World will take participants step by step through a discovery of themselves. It’s not just about how each of us got where we are. now. It’s also about what comes next to build the life we want.
Some of the things that will be investigated:
• The realities of conditions in our community and how they impact you
• Some of the “hidden rules” for getting ahead
• Skills that give a person confidence to do what it takes to get ahead
• How to build resources and make connections at home and at work
• Ways to deal with change and create stability in your life
We have a trained teacher/ facilitator and child care provider on board for classes on Thursday afternoons at the Masonic Center. They’ll meet for 16 weeks, 2 1/2 hours each week. Workbooks will be provided. Because we recognize the value of everyone’s time, participants will be paid a stipend of $25 for attending each session; however, payment won’t be received until the next class meets.
Applications are currently being taken by United Way for people who would like to be in the Getting Ahead classes. For more information, contact United Way at 308-763-8031, or email kbenzel@uwwn.org. To sign up for the class, go to www.uwwn.org/gettingahead.
Getting Ahead teaches people to move from solving their concrete problems to abstract thinking. They’ll be able to analyze their situations, learn new information, and plan changes for a better future. If you are interested, or know someone who would like to participate, please reach out!