here - Education Management Corporation

Chicago
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty
and Homelessness in Chicago
For more than seven years, Argosy University, Chicago Doctorate of Clinical Psychology graduate Brandon Crow has
been working to end homelessness and poverty in Chicago through The Cara Program (TCP). Since 1991, the agency
has placed more than 2,700 homeless and at-risk adults into quality, permanent jobs.
According to the 2010 Report on Illinois Poverty produced by the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on
Poverty, more than 400,000 people in the state of Illinois have fallen into poverty since 2007. As a result, 20.6% of
Chicago residents live in poverty and another 20.7% are at risk of falling into poverty.
TCP prepares and inspires motivated individuals to break the cycles of homelessness and poverty, transform their lives,
strengthen communities and forge paths to real and lasting success. Founded in 1991, the agency was inspired by the
work of Mother Teresa and moved by the global challenges affecting the poor. The agency, which was founded by
entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Owens, today serves hundreds of Chicago residents each year at one of its three
facilities – a main training center and two community centers
In addition, the agency has two social enterprises, Cleanslate
Neighborhood Beautification Services and 180 o Properties (a joint
venture with Mercy Housing Lakefront), which serve as a property
preservation business for homes in foreclosure.
Crow, now the vice president of programs for the agency, is a
member of the senior management team, working on traditional
programs that service the community. Those programs include
admissions, job and life skills training, job placement, supportive
services and clinical services. “I am fortunate to have had professors
and training supervisors who helped me develop the skills that I use
in direct service and in managing and training others. With this, we
are able to provide Chicago’s homeless and at-risk population with
the best possible support and services that put them on the road to
self-sufficiency,” said Crow.
After one year of employment, 75% of those who had enrolled in
TCP remained in their initial jobs and more than 82% lived in
permanent housing – a radical improvement from the 19% that had
permanent housing when they entered the program. “Being a part of
literally seeing the end of the cycle of poverty for an individual and
his or her family has, and always will be, the high point of my work
here,” said Crow.
According to the agency, “The goal of TCP is not simply to see each
student gain quality employment, secure permanent housing and
establish sustainable financial habits. It is to know that they have
built a solid foundation for the future and that they are setting and
achieving goals. We want our graduates to have the self-knowledge,
the inner strength and the practical skills that they need to create
lasting success and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.”