Christmas at the Market
BRIDGES TRAINING

Training
This 2 day training offers a new perspective for understanding and addressing the dynamics which characterize life in instability and why it is so difficult for people to break out of this cycle.
Bridges offers insight into the different world of people in crisis, revealing how the survival-based mentality of poverty impacts learning, work habits, and decision-making.
Recent research has provided a deeper understanding of how people living in instability face challenges virtually unknown to those in middle class or wealth – challenges from both obvious and hidden sources.
You will learn the hidden rules of poverty, middle class, wealth and the assumptions which people in middle class bring to encounters with people in this economic class. You will discover how grief and trauma have long term effects that keep many people locked a vicious cycle of just barely surviving. You will begin to explore practical ways and compassionate strategies for engagement that can have a positive impact on people's lives without creating a system of dependency.
This training will take place on Oct. 10th & 17th


HOPE TEAM
Be a small part of a BIG investment:
A Different Kind of Volunteering: Hope Teams are one of the most meaningful and engaging volunteer experiences. It is the best way to provide intentional, sustained personal investment in families and offer social capital to promote economic mobility and long-term positive outcomes. Serving on a Hope Team involves a one-year commitment to walk beside a family that has graduated from Getting Ahead. The Hope Team model involves the interaction of several volunteers with a family to provide well-rounded support.
A Hope Team generally consists of two to three volunteers who partner with a family to provide love, encouragement and hope to families on their path to self-sufficiency. Hope Teams are the “cheerleaders” who provide friendship and support that these families often desperately need to walk toward their future story.
Prospective volunteers must attend a Bridges Out of Poverty class that incorporates information on the impact of poverty and trauma, and promotes self-awareness to assist in ensuring a positive experience for both families and volunteers.