KACS
Reducing the social costs of poverty, strengthening the workforce, and building a more prosperous and sustainable community are goals on which most communities agree. The Bridges Out of Poverty community support program at KACS provides a family of concepts, workshops, and products to help employers, community organizations, social service agencies, and individuals address and reduce poverty in a comprehensive way.
The Bridges Out of Poverty community support program helps communities:
Bridges is a set of concepts, strategies and tools that have been used in communities across the country to tackle the roots of poverty, from the individual to the systemic levels. It is based on a 2001 book published by Dr. Ruby K. Payne, Philip DeVol, & Terie Dreussi Smith based on their experience in the fields of education and social services, and has now grown into a continuously evolving community of practice.
The Southern Chester County Opportunity Network (SCCON) is a local, community-wide initiative, made up of a growing group of people who want to see poverty addressed in comprehensive, collaborative ways. SCCON’s work is based on the Bridges Out of Poverty model. It asks all sectors of the community – business, nonprofit, education, local governments, etc. – to come to the table and engages those in poverty as problem solvers.
If you are interested in joining SCCON or being a member of a discovery team within SCCON please contact Leah M. Reynolds, M.S.P.L. at Leah@KACSImpact.org
Getting Ahead is a 16-session curriculum that helps individuals in poverty build their resources for a more prosperous life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
We have over 100 people that have completed our Getting Ahead classes and have improved their circumstances with the help of this program.
We offer the Getting Ahead evening classes weekly for 16 weeks in both English and Spanish.
Staying Ahead is a program at KACS for people that have successfully completed our Getting Ahead classes. Staying Ahead offers key resources to obtain and maintain self-sufficiency.
NEW in 2023! The Financial Empowerment Workshop is a five-week program for those who graduated from Getting Ahead with perfect attendance. In this program, the participants studied and had relevant, personalized practice making the best financial decisions for themselves and their families. They also made connections with local financial resources. Upon completion of this workshop, all eight participants became eligible to qualify for a savings match program of up to $1,000!
