About Circles of Support - aha Creative Ink Home

About Circles of SupportCircles of Support is the newest outreach program ofthe Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ). Theprogram was adopted in 2004 to complete an array ofprograms designed to not only help people in crisis, butalso to lift them out of poverty.CCJ wants to help people not just when they are incrisis, but to give them a hand up and out of poverty. Ifthey have a Circle, it is more likely that they will be ableto break free from the cycle of poverty.Circles of Support asks people to come together tosupport, nurture, train, and gain by participating as anequal in a circle.Circles of Support:• Befriends motivated families in poverty,• Meets with the families on a regular basis,• Seeks to develop relationships based on friendship andtrust between a Circle and a family,• Responds to areas of concern expressed by a family,• Uses previously identified and committed communityservices (allies), and• Is always there for a family, like any good friend.C i rcles of Support provides effective and ongoingcommunity support for families in poverty who havee x p ressed a desire to emerge from their circ u m s t a n c e s .C i rcles of Support provides regular meetings andcoaching in the areas of job acquisition and re t e n t i o n ,medical and medical insurance, housing, nutrition,clothing, childcare, budgeting and finance, and automobileacquisition, maintenance, and insurance.Families exiting the Circles of Support program will beself-sufficient and participate in Circles surroundingother families who want to become self-sufficient.For more information about Circles of Support, tocontribute to our mission, or to volunteer, call CCJ at (928)445-8382 or visit our Website at www.yavapaiCCJ.org.

The Circles philosophyCircles of Support was founded to provide motivatedindividuals with hands-on instruction about how toget out of poverty within a supportive system that canhelp them do so. Our first Circle was formed in mid-2005.Our goal is to have 15 to 20 Circles by the end of 2006and 35 to 40 by the end of 2007.Circles of Support is a proven method to help peoplerise above poverty and overcome obstacles that stand intheir way to success. Participants are empowered, beliefsystems are challenged (among program participants aswell as community members), and lives are foreverchanged for the better.Program participants help identify obstacles that keeppeople stuck in poverty. They are encouraged to speak ontheir own behalf when working within the system tochange their circumstances, thus empowering themtoward self-sufficiency and higher self-esteem.People not only get off public assistance and becomeself-sufficient, but also use their experience to helpothers do the same, as each participant “gives back” byhelping newer families in the program.Circles of Support is modeled after “Beyond Welfare”that originated in Ames, Iowa, in 2000. The founder ofthat program, Scott Miller, was a keynote speaker at ourstatewide conference on poverty in Prescott in May 2005.Relationship-building is at the core of this program. Ifpeople in poverty are to achieve full integration andparticipation in the community, they need to besurrounded and embraced by people from all walks of lifeand sectors of the community. Interaction with others inthe community removes the isolation that is oftenexperienced by people living in poverty and brings theminto the mainstream of community life.Caring members of the community are matched to theunique needs of each program participant to act as mentorsand friends. The objective is to assist participants intheir efforts to overcome poverty.The Circles program seeks participation acrosseconomic, cultural, and social lines. We operate on theprinciples of inclusion, equality, and respect.Our goals include breaking down misperceptions, fears,biases and prejudice; fostering compassion; and creatingtrue “community” where everyone feels safe and valued;and acknowledging that every life has meaning.Circles of Support gives people hope and the assistancenecessary to change both their mindset and theircircumstances. Statistics from Iowa show a markedincrease in economic improvement as well as integrationinto community life by program participants.In Iowa, the average participating family had been onwelfare for almost five years before entering the program.It took an average of 18 months to help them transitionto self-sufficiency.Working with others locally and throughout the northernArizona region, Circles of Support will not only affectchange in our own communities, but also we will assistanyone wanting to start a similar program elsewhere.