Someday I'll Step into the Circles

I recently heard of a program that is underway in my hometown to assist people to get out of poverty. As in all cities, there is one section of town that has become the center of poverty and so that is the focus of humanitarian service both of churches and government.

Circles Initiative is the name of the project that teaches people how to take responsibility for where they are, see prospects for achievement, set goals, and see themselves as capable of attaining their goals. The program is more than just listening to a motivational speaker but it starts with a 15-week course called "Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin'-by World".

Once a participant graduates from the course, they are paired with two or more "allies". Allies are middle-to upper-class individuals who check in with them about once a week to mentor and monitor how they are doing on their goals.

I was invited to be an ally and I am interested but there are just too many other things going on in my life right now. I do want to keep track of this group and I hope to work with them some time.

The local paper did an article on the project and published a chart from the "Getting Ahead..." class called "Hidden Rules Among Classes". The chart was, for me, very thought-provoking. When I began to poke around the internet, I found an excerpt from a book published by Aha Publications and it seems to be widely used among universities. I think I'll look for the book.

This weekend I heard from my daughter who is working with a start up foundation to address unemployment in Jordan. There are cultural issues in working with people in faraway countries but I wondered if there were pieces of the Circles Initiative that would work with the people there. I wondered if she had seen the sort of material that Circles is using in their course.

The other thing that the chart made me think about was how much of the popular media was aimed at poverty culture. Obviously, merchants advertise with the concept that money is to be used and spent on their products. Besides this, advertisements for many of the chain restaurants focus on the quantity of their food (super-size it!), a lot of television humor is based on people and sex, and language is casual and often crude. I think it is sad that popular media so often presents the lowest class standards. No wonder those in poverty feel validated in their situation!