Bridges out of Poverty is a national program designed to bring together sectors of the community, (schools, emergency operations, faith community, and more), to assist the homeless and at risk children and families. Santa Rosa County’s chapter is directed by Dr. Karen Barber with the SRC school system. At a Bridges out of Poverty steering committee meeting December 9, she said, “We’re all about building bridges to prosperty and in that serving as a blessing every day.” On December 15, Bridges celebrated five graduates from its fourth graduating class of its Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By program. Getting Ahead teaches participants, called “investigators,” how to build their own resources to move toward self-sufficiency. While Getting Ahead’s success continues, Bridges is looking for mentors post graduation. Barber said, “What we’ve heard consistently from every class, when they do the self assessment to determine which 11 resources they need to build, Relationships and Role Models is usually one of the lowest.”
Mary Kinney was a graduating investigator from this year’s class. She said she and her family found themselves in a homeless situation after her husband needed his hip replaced, lost his job, and they were evicted. Kinney said after getting in touch with Barber and getting into the One Family One Year One Home program for transitional housing, as well as the Getting Ahead class, she’s obtained a car, taken and passed two GED tests, and plans on getting a better job. Her husband, she said, can’t go back into window installation, so is starting at Pensacola State College in the summer for radiology.
To anyone facing homelessness, Kinney said, “Take the class. It’s very beneficial.”
Kenny Wilson was a graduate of the first Getting Ahead class four years ago. He said he’s serving with Bridges now helping new members and is going back to school to study computers. Wilson said to those in poverty, “They need to go try (Getting Ahead). Don’t be afraid. People are willing to help.”
Dawn Stone, on the Bridges Advocacy subcommittee, said over 40 people have graduated from the class total and they need mentors. Stone said, “We have four mentors. That’s it for the 40 so far.”
At the Bridges Steering Committee meeting, Stone discussed mentor expectations. “This is not a lot of time. It’s not like you have to go to a lot of weekly meetings. These folks have been through and are very motivated participants in their classes and groups but there comes a time where they they’re going to make a choice one way or another and they want to talk to somebody about it. Discussing what the mentors do, it’s a phone call, maybe a coffee. It’s all dependent on the individual that you’re mentoring for.” Stone said a short curriculum is in the works going over expectations, boundaries, enabling and more.
To find out more about Bridges out of Poverty, the Getting Ahead class, or becoming a mentor, contact Dr. Barber in her office at 983-5001 or send an email to barberk@mail.santarosa.k12.fl.us.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Getting Ahead program celebrates five new graduates