For the past year we've been working to bring a nationwide poverty-reduction program to Pinellas, then COVID-19 struck. Now more than ever Pinellas needs a plan to address poverty. With layoffs, hospital bills, loss of housing, and food insecurity, situational poverty rates will continue to climb. At Learning Empowered, we believe Circles is the answer.
Circles is a two-on-one mentoring program where participants (called Leaders) are connected with a team of volunteers who support them as they develop the tools to rise out of poverty. Leaders set individual goals, and the support team helps them figure out how to get there. Across the country, Circle Leaders see a 30% increase in their income in just the first six months of the program, and a 72% increase after 18 months. Through the Circles program, Leaders obtain full-time employment, complete job certifications, earn degrees, start businesses, buy homes, and create stability for themselves and their families.
The Circles Two-Generation approach breaks generational cycles of poverty by engaging the whole family. As Leaders gain tools, their children explore those same themes with age-appropriate curriculum in the concurrent youth and child programs.
Read from our staff about What COVID-19 Teaches Us About Justice