Inspiring & Equipping Communities To End Poverty The mission of Move the Mountain Leadership Center (MTM) is to inspire and equip communities to end poverty. Move the Mountain Leadership Center provides transformational leadership and planning programs to align leaders and their organizations to high impact strategies that can reduce and eventually end poverty. The Circles Campaign™ was initiated by Move the Mountain to provide transformational leaders a structure to engage the community in ending poverty. Join us on Facebook
 

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Local families in Circles campaign make 18-month obligation to break out of poverty

Posted: Friday, Mar 28, 2008 - 03:03:02 pm CDT
By Michelle Brooks mbrooks@newstribune.com

Change can be difficult.

Eight local families have volunteered to dramatically change their lifestyle, their relationships and hopefully their future.

The Circles campaign sponsored by the Central Missouri Community Action, Inc., expects an 18-month commitment from families living in poverty. In return, the program offers training, alternatives and relationships to help them develop a plan to move out of poverty.

Teresa Diotte, president of the program's Guiding Coalition, knows the value of having a network to help one through a difficult stretch in life.

A couple of decades ago, Diotte found herself shift overnight from “the boss' wife” to “single mom of two.”

“I understand how you can be on top of the world, then have the rug pulled out from underneath you,” Diotte said. “I've been there, done that, and now I want to help.”

The eight selected families are in the midst of a 22-week training. At the end of this intensive training, the family will have developed a specific plan for them to move out of poverty.

In conjunction, about two dozen community members from faith, business, human resources and industry sectors have joined together in the Guiding Coalition to identify ways to raise awareness of and increase involvement in eliminating poverty. One in 10 people in Cole County live in poverty.

At about the 15th week, these families will need deliberate allies. The rest of the families' commitment period will be executing their plan with the background and experiences of these volunteers - from middle class, upper class and even others who have risen out of poverty.

“It's not an option to not have allies,” said Cindy Thornton, Vista employee with Central Missouri Community Action. “Without that support, there is no circle.”

The program currently has about five allies signed up and will need more than 30 to commit about seven hours per month to a Circles family.

Linda Thompson has agreed to be an ally because she thinks her background in community development could help a family come out of poverty.

“I know I'll be paired with someone who is serious about making a difference in their own lives and I'm serious about wanting to help make a difference,” Thompson said.

But allies are not expected to give money or items to a Circles family, Thornton emphasized. Volunteer allies are linked with families by common interest, not by need.

“They befriend them and build a relationship,” Thornton said.

Another type of member allies comes through ad hoc involvement, where people may donate a specific job or service, such as car repair.

Organizers hope that churches and civic organizations will find this program fits with their ideas of supporting fellow humans in need. That has worked well for the Circles Initiative in the Missouri Valley area, said Brenda Stegeman with the Missouri Association for Community Action.

“Our goal is for people to get out of poverty,” said Theresa Verslues, vice president with the United Way of Central Missouri.

One of the biggest challenges for the Circles program overall will be overcoming the misconceptions about people in poverty.

“These are people working full-time, who cannot pay their bills,” Thornton said.

Through this program, families in poverty find deliberate friends in the allies. But the allies also learn to overcome their fear and judgmental tendencies.

“I don't hesitate now to talk with people of a low-income,” Stegeman said.

Ultimately, the Circle families are responsible for designing their own plan to get out of poverty, Thornton said. That makes the program unique in that it is not an agency or governmental body telling them what to do, she said.

The volunteers admire the courage it took for the Circles families to choose to participate in this project.

“They're changing their social circles and lifestyle, not just moving out of poverty,” Diotte said. “They may be giving up the only lifestyle they've ever known to improve themselves.”

Call 443-8706 for more information.

Web link:   www.showmeaction.org