Feeling Trapped?
Getting Ahead Can Help
Free to those who qualify. Now available online. Lorain County Community Action Agency 936 Broadway Ave., Lorain, Ohio 44052 1-888-245-2009 www.lccaa.net
Getting Ahead Will Help You: Set goals that will really help you move forward. Figure out your strengths. Develop your resources. Improve your decision-making. Make a plan you can stick to.
Getting Ahead uses a group setting with mutual support to help participants find strengths, to learn skills to reach personal goals and move toward greater financial security. This workshop helps individuals living in poverty build their resources for a more prosperous life for themselves, their families and their communities. The program totals 16 sessions with groups scheduled on various days and times meeting once or twice a week.
About the Program Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World was created by Ruby Payne, Ph.D. and Phillip DeVol. Dr. Payne is a former high school teacher and principal who has educated more than 100,000 professionals about poverty. Her landmark book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty” has helped create a groundswell of responses to the challenges of poverty, including Getting Ahead classes across the U.S. and internationally. Program facilitators guide investigators through an assessment of their own resources and how to build those resources as part of their move to self-sufficiency. Getting Ahead puts the concepts, tools, and relationships in the hands of people in poverty to make a difference in their own lives and in the life of their community.
“This class focuses on our individual issues as well as issues in our community and how we can help make it better.”
What’s Holding You Back? Getting Ahead provides a safe place, customized to each person, to give them the time and space to figure out what’s holding them back. With guidance from a trained facilitator, men and women will work together to find strengths and identify their resources. Getting Ahead teaches participants how to handle a crisis - or what advocates call “the tyranny of the moment” - without compromising progress toward their goals. It helps people avoid making emotional decisions.
Topics Discussed in GA If you’ve spent part of your life—or most of your life—struggling to get by in the world, the idea of actually getting ahead might seem out of reach. But even if your story has been filled with barriers, vanishing opportunities, and setbacks, the next chapter can make life better. Yes, you have to write it, but you don’t have to do it alone. You will investigate: ● Conditions in your community and how they impact you. ● “Hidden rules” in today’s world. ● Skills that give you confidence. ● How to build resources and make connections at home and at work. ● Ways to deal with change and create stability in your life.
Who is Eligible? Participants must be 18 years of age or older. They must live at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. For 2021, 200% of the FPL is $53,000 for a family of four. These guidelines are updated annually. Call LCCAA to make certain you qualify. Documentation requirements include: ● Photo ID and Social Security card ● Proof of income for last 90 days ● Getting Ahead Application ● Contact Information
Classes Around the County Lorain County Community Action Agency partners with agencies around the county to offer Getting Ahead classes at various times, days and locations. Contact us today to find the next class nearest you. Classes are also now online!
Learn more by contacting Amy Steele, Client Services Coordinator, at 440-204-3121 or asteele@lccaa.net.