Marion Matters will host a day-long Bridges Out of Poverty training on Friday, March 30, 2012 from 8:30am to 4:00pm. The group is inviting anyone interested in helping to reduce poverty in Marion to attend. Jodi Pfarr, a national facilitator, will lead the training and will ask attendees to ponder the question, “Has poverty become an acceptable lifestyle in Marion?”
While pondering the question, Pfarr promises to show you how you can become part of the solution and make a difference.
Marion Matters, a local non-profit organization that works to help people help themselves out of poverty, offered the following statistics:
- 22% of Marion County residents are on Medicaid (ODJFS)
- 20% of Marion County residents receive Food Stamps (ODJFS)
- Marion experiences the 4th highest criminal recidivism rate in the state (ODRC)
The training is designed to:
- develop a mental model of poverty and see how relationships and “Tyranny of the Moment” trump all;
- learn the hidden rules of survival for poverty and the middle class and how these skills – critical in one context – can mean failure in another;
- understand the difference between formal and informal language register and how to make our communications meaningful;
- identify resources needed to achieve middle class status (it’s not all about money) and the barriers that limit their acquisition; and
- commit to making Marion a more successful community.
The training will be held at TRECA, 100 Executive Drive in Marion, and is free. The event is sponsored by Marion Matters, Inc., Marion General Hospital, and TRECA.
You can reserve your place by visiting http://march2012bridgestraining.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Joey Sink-Oiler at 740-802-0748.
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