Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World

For people in poverty, a today focus is necessitated by their situation. Survival means making it through

today…each day. But to move from poverty to self-sufficiency requires a future focus, an ability to look

beyond today and even beyond tomorrow. The Getting Ahead in a Just Getting By World program

provides assistance with motivation, educational attainment, job skills and budgeting. It demands an

investment of time. The program requires an investment of thought and a willingness to change.

Participants, called investigators, attend 16 sessions lasting three hours each. They are compensated for

their efforts and are required to study, question and problem solve. They learn that life really is a series

of choices and thoughtful choices have positive impacts on their health, lifestyle and employment. They

learn that having resources – family, role models, medical facilities, transportation, support systems, etc.

– expand and reinforce those choices. A lack of resources can narrow choices or even, in effect, make the choice for an individual.

The Getting Ahead program provides access to resources, mentors to coach every step of the way, and a

different way of looking at life. It is a roadmap, training and support system for an individual’s move

from poverty to self-sufficiency. Poverty will not be eliminated. But Getting Ahead gives an individual the tools to become self-sufficient.