Empowering those in Poverty to be a Leader

Bohemian Foundation is partnered with Education & Life Training Center to offer Circles Larimer County as a two-year pilot initiative in coordination with Bridges out of Poverty Northern Colorado. Circles is a transformational poverty alleviation model designed to assist families who seek to lift themselves out of poverty. The Circles process begins with Getting Ahead classes.

Getting Ahead classes are where families spend 15 weeks learning about the causes of poverty and examining their own personal barriers to self-sufficiency. Upon graduation, families become Circle Leaders.

Circle Leaders are families who participate in an 18-month training and mentoring program where they create their own action plan for becoming self-sufficient. Families are partnered with Allies.

Allies are middle- and upper-income community members who volunteer to mentor Circle Leaders. Allies provide friendship, coaching, networking and other non-financial resources. Allies are trained in the Bridges constructs and the mental models of economic class.