Place Based Healing Circles
Precis
Breaking the cycle of generational poverty for individuals and families is one of the most difficult challenges society faces. Research and direct experience suggests that existing development programs, outreach efforts and additional partnerships continue to fail in disrupting this cycle.
In fact, all it takes is one missing piece in a systemic approach to thwart an effort to escape generational poverty. Recognizing this, the Sto-Rox community has developed a collective impact strategy called Grow Sto-Rox which merges the local public school district, social service nonprofits (Focus on Renewal and Zellous Hope Project), community development organizations (McKees Rocks CDC) and regional intermediaries (Communities in Schools, Forbes Funds, and New Sun Rising). This has led us to consider a cradle to career approach to workforce development. Workforce readiness begins in elementary school through robust, industry driven programming that allows youth to explore interests and possible careers that match that is age appropriate, gaining skills and ultimately preparing a plan for their post graduation career goals. This is not a novel approach, in fact, it is one that has been sanctioned by the PA Department of Education and defined through a pilot framework. But it requires other intersectional systems that augment it: particularly addressing trauma and providing tangible opportunities without barriers.
The Place Based Healing Circles project proposes to prepare marginalized populations to be able to take advantage of socio-economic opportunities by deploying trauma-addressing social-emotional programming, and to create a place-based opportunity zone that is geographically local and will afford the creation of pathways to family-sustaining careers.
Place Based Healing Circles, building on an established curriculum, would address the barrier imposed by trauma that keeps people from pursuing the opportunities that are available to them. The pilot will be launched with individualized cohorts that are representative of our most marginalized populations and most persistently experience generational poverty. The programming will be 8-weeks in duration and include nutritional behavior information, yoga and other elements of self-care. Completion of the program will enable participants to better use the provided direct wayfinding for additional career programs.
The Place Based Healing Circles project will develop a detailed strategic plan for the creation of the Opportunity Campus, a physical space in Sto-Rox, that provides the above discussed wayfinding and opportunities for technical training and for family sustaining jobs in a highly spatialized, workforce-specific manner.
