The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Getting Ahead marks graduation
Cake was sliced and certificates were received Sept. 20 during the Lorain County Community Action Agency’s Getting Ahead program graduation at 936 Broadway in Lorain.
The program, in its second year, is designed to help people living in poverty discover the resources and tools they need to get back on their feet.
“When you’re in poverty, you live in the tyranny of the moment and you become overwhelmed by your circumstances at times,” said Jackie Boehnlein, CEO and president of the Community Action Agency. “But, you are never powerless. Never.”
This year’s graduates Sherri Bennett, 55, of Lorain, Silvia Macovetchi, 31, and Maygan Hubert, 28, both of Elyria, gave many hugs and thank-yous to Boehnlein and the Getting Ahead’s facilitator and coordinator Amy Steele.
“I thank you guys for having the program, because I definitely needed it for every aspect of my life,” said Hubert, who plans to take advantage of the Tech Connect program to kick-start her business.
“I appreciate everything and
everyone,” Bennett said. “I’m grateful for something like this.”
Getting Ahead takes applications from Lorain County residents and holds three-hour classes twice a week for eight weeks.
Participants are required to complete homework for every class.
“I ask them to do a lot homework-wise, and every single one of them came in after every time with their homework done,” said Steele, who added that any confusion about assignments was resolved within the first 15 minutes of class.
The class is held in a dining room table learning format, where participants reflect and discuss their life’s events and what cycles need to be broken.
Steele said a part of these classes discusses “hidden rules,” which are social expectations to follow during a job interview or on the job.
Participants also are educated on how to avoid certain loans and lending scams that “prey on the poor,” she said.
The class’s last project is a “My Life Now” collage, where each participant makes a collage about their life and their future goals.
Steele said solidifying a new program like Getting Ahead has been difficult, but is necessary to fill the gaps were employment may be lacking.
“Lorain County as a whole, there’s a lot of poverty because there’s not a lot of jobs around here,” she said. “The steel plants are gone, the Ford plant, the GM plant. The plants that you can get jobs at out of high school and get $20 an hour jobs, are over.”
“Lorain County as a whole, there’s a lot of poverty because there’s not a lot of jobs around here.”
— Getting Ahead’s facilitator and coordinator Amy Steele