Family Development is Vital to Building a Strong Community

We Build Families and Strengthen the Community

Our Family Development Department works with low income families, empowering them to solve current crises while moving towards self sufficiency and sustainability. Based on the Bridges Out of Poverty strategies, we recognize that poverty is defined as a lack of resources, and our programs aim to work with individuals to increase their resources, primarily through our Getting Ahead group. Our family development specialist is a licensed social worker.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” ~ 1 John 3:17-18

Getting Ahead and Bridges Out of Poverty

Getting Ahead is a group facilitated by our Family Development Specialist. It is based on the Bridges Out of Poverty curriculum, written for people in poverty and implemented in multiple cities across the Midwest. Getting Ahead provides a way to examine the impact that poverty has on individuals, families, and their communities. The group is a seven weeks long program, meeting twice a week, and investigates topics such as theories of change, the rich and poor gap, hidden rules of economic class, resources needed to get ahead, and personal plans for getting out of poverty. Around 10 individuals are in each group, learning about building their resources while providing support to one another.

The aim is to provide a safe, agenda-free learning environment where adults can reflect on and examine their lives, investigate new information that is relevant to them, assess their own resources, make plans for their own future stories, offer ideas for building a prosperous community, and choose a team to help them fulfill their plan.  OPEN M has already graduated seven classes and 65 individuals as of January 2012.

After individuals graduate from Getting Ahead, they are invited to attend monthly meetings at OPEN M. All Getting Ahead graduates from Akron are invited to come together once a month, share a meal, build community and encourage each other towards making positive changes. This makes Getting Ahead much more than just a seven-week group. Rather, it is a community that is constantly growing. Moving out of poverty takes time and relationships. These monthly meetings are the second Tuesday of every month, at 5:30 p.m., at OPEN M.

We are currently working on recruiting individuals from the middle class who would each be paired with a Getting Ahead graduate as a partner. This is designed to be an intentional relationship, where mutual learning and encouragement takes place. If you are interested in joining a Getting Ahead group or becoming a partner for a graduate, please contact Hannah Nitz at (330) 434-3250 or family@openm.org.

Interested in learning more about working with those in poverty and working to make Summit County a sustainable community? The Bridges Out of Poverty Summit County steering committee meets every last Tuesday of the month at OPEN M at 8:30 a.m. Anyone is invited to come and hear more about how to eliminate poverty in the county and best understand how to serve low income families, Click this link for additional information about Bridges Out of Poverty, Summit County.

Look at a speech by one of our Getting Ahead graduates:

Christmas for the Love of Children

Christmas is such a beautiful time of year, and families are often caught up with daily tasks and everyday stressors to stop and celebrate. Each year, OPEN M runs a program for Christmas where we turn to our supporters, friends, covenant churches and donors for assistance and inviting them to sponsor a child. Sponsoring low income families from our neighborhood, schools, and community, last year we helped 905 kids have a joyfully Christmas. As with our other programs, we are confident “Christmas for the Love of Children” positively impacts every child and their families with our supporter’s help.

Community Programs

Part of the mission of OPEN M is to strengthen the community. The Family Development department of OPEN M does this throughout the year, with events like Project Homeless Connect and National Night Out. Project Homeless Connect is hosted by The Chapel in Akron, where many agencies and services come together to provide support and resources for the homeless in the area.

Another event, National Night Out, is a nationwide event to stand up against crime within the community. The past three years, National Night Out has been sponsored by the city of Akron and the Summit Lake Neighborhood branch has been held at OPEN M. Both of these events, among others, help OPEN M to reach out to the community.