WHAT IS CIRCLES?

Circles® is a Nationwide Campaign to End Poverty using an innovative model based on a body of research.

The research demonstrates that in order for families or individuals with low income to improve their livelihoods, the journey must include expanding and building upon their social capital (relationships with higher income networks, usually across class lines) within the community. The evaluations also show that individuals/families benefit from investigating and identifying the obstacles within their community that keep people in the environment of poverty. Participants then share their findings with the greater community, which helps initiate changes in the community that result in eliminating barriers to economic sustainability.

Circles® provides reasons and opportunities to engage the community in solving the local poverty issues and empowers people in poverty to sit at the decision making table to ensure real-time solutions.

The Larimer County Initiative is funded by the Bohemian Foundation and developed by the lead agency, The Education & Life Training Center, a non-profit agency dedicated to improving lives through education.