COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FUND

A single mother of seven, Stephanie P. was in crisis with little hope. A struggle to find work, serious depression, and other hardships had resulted in her five youngest children being removed from her care. In early 2016, unsure of where to turn, Stephanie, received a life-changing referral from the American Indian Family Center to a new program offered by Community Action Partnership of Ramsey & Washington Counties known as “Getting Ahead”.

“Getting Ahead” is based on a nationally renowned curriculum developed by Philip DeVol. The course is designed to take co-investigators (as program participants are called) on a journey of empowerment that begins with a self-assessment and concludes with creating an action plan to fulfill a “future story” for themselves, their family, and their community.

“One of the first things we do as a group,” says Program Coordinator Damon Drake, is to “shatter the prevailing myth of poverty, which is that people choose to be poor.” Another early step is for participants to talk about who they are and what brought them to the program. So Stephanie, along with the rest of her classmates, shared her personal story which Drake adds “was heart wrenching.”

While completing the course was a challenge, Stephanie notes “for the first time in my life I saw poverty as something more than simply my own personal situation.” Adding that she didn’t have many role models growing up, Stephanie says “Getting Ahead provided me with a sense of community and being part of something positive and bigger than myself.”

Respected and admired by her peers, Stephanie rose to become a leader. Drake, as the program coordinator, also saw something special in her so upon graduation he invited her to help facilitate the Spring 2017 course. Initially afraid that she wasn’t truly qualified, Stephanie took the invitation as a compliment and decided to take a risk. She dedicated herself to supporting the new class while growing her own self-confidence and personal mission to make a better life for herself, her children, and her community. 

Today, Stephanie is reunited with all of her children and has drastically changed the course of her future. Her immediate plans include enrolling in the City of Saint Paul’s Emerging Leaders Academy and supporting civic projects to improve her community. Of her experience at Community Action, Stephanie says, “I don’t know where I would be today without this program. It has restored my courage, my dreams, and the faith that a better life exists for my children and me.”

Stephanie’s new story is one of optimism and hope. You can invest in a brighter future for more people like Stephanie who are seeking to participate in the Getting Ahead class or another asset-building educational program by making a donation to Community Action’s Community Engagement Fund.