CCMC holds 67th Getting Ahead graduation

Eight students graduated from Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic’s Getting Ahead Spanish and English classes sponsored by First Baptist Church on Sept. 23 at The Garage Church.

It was CCMC’S 67th Getting Ahead graduation. Over 600 people have graduated since the start of the Bridges Out of Poverty Initiative in Hot Springs in 2015.

“For generations, my family had passed down all the wrong tools for which I learned to measure all of the areas of my life,” Brandy Hughes, one of the graduates, said in a news release.

“My path for destruction seemed to be paved in stone. Through Getting Ahead, I was shown that poverty is not permanent and allowing it to continue to be my way of life is only a choice,” she said.

Getting Ahead is a free, step-by-step, 14-week class to help people discover what keeps them financially distressed or in poverty and then helps them to develop a practical, workable strategy to create a more stable life and future for themselves and their families, the release said.

During the classes, students investigate the following 11 areas in their lives to determine what changes need to be made in order to change their life direction: finances, emotional well-being, language, cognitive abilities, social capital and connections, physical health, spiritual connection, motivation and persistence, integrity and trust, relationships and role models, and knowledge of the “hidden rules.”

The classes are coordinated by CCMC and offered at a variety of venues throughout the community.

For more information, call Starla Bleifus, CCMC’S Getting Ahead Coordinator, 501-318-1153, ext. 303 or email sbleifus@ccmchs.org.

Submitted photo Getting Ahead held its 67th graduation on Sept. 23. Front, from left, are Daleth Gonzalez, Elissa Patton and Marla Fahrney, and back, from left, are Suzy Mamirez, and Margarito Ramirez, both facilitators, Rita Lozano, Jose Espinoza, Israel Santos, Brandy Hughes and Scott Langford and Mike Prince, facilitators.