Sprouts: Circles out of Poverty

“You’re so busy surviving that you don’t have the wherewithal to even think about next month, it’s all about today, tomorrow, the next day.”

Tracey Jones is a mother, a full time worker and a member of the community in Longmont. Jones is a Circle Leader in Boulder County. She says the Circle program has given her a pathway out of poverty. 36.5 million Americans currently live in poverty, the Circles campaign is a nationwide anti-poverty campaign.

The Circles model was developed after the organization discovered that social service agencies could reach only a small portion of the population living in poverty with real long-term solutions.

Since that time, Circles has worked to address poverty by increasing the capacity of communities. Our approach combines best practices in several disciplines including community organizing, case management, grassroots leadership, S.M.A.R.T. goal setting, financial literacy, mentoring, peer-to-peer counseling and learning, and child/youth development.

Tracey Jones went to the National Circles Conference in Atlanta and she brings us her story and voices from the National Circles Conference.