As a community that is well-known for rallying together to help those in need, it is no surprise that Carbon County is beginning to implement the Circles program.
On Wednesday afternoon, a meeting took place to introduce the program to the community. Geri Gamber with the Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments is a part of this new program and opened the meeting by speaking on its behalf.
“We have an amazing team, staff, volunteers and community,” Gamber said.
She then welcomed Jen Nibley, the director of Arrive Utah. Arrive is based out of the Provo community and is a hub of service initiatives in Utah. There are currently six counties involved in this program, including Carbon County. Nibley earned her degree from Brigham Young University and has been one of the main components of the Circles program for several years.
Circles is a program that is geared toward aiding those that are in situational or generational poverty and assisting them in learning to become more self-reliant. This program is community based and wants to see residents of the area moving forward.
Nibley asked the listening crowd first what some things were that those in poverty face as challenges. Answers thrown out were childcare, housing, medical, education, food and more. She then asked the audience what steps one can take to end their poverty. Among those answers were education and desire.
Nibley then informed all that poverty is a deep issue and one that can’t be taken lightly. According to Nibley, if it is made to be simplistic, it cannot be fixed. Circles goal is to have 200% of the federal poverty guideline. Circles strives to create a circle of support, to build social capital and to improve systems in order to remove barriers.
“It’s ambitious and I am never going to apologize for it,” Nibley stated.
As an individual that has worked in non-profit organizations and various communities for over 16 years, Nibley has quite a bit of experience under her belt. She stated that she has witnessed this program be successful and watched it work for families and change their lives permanently.
Once Nibley completed her presentation, the local members behind Circles conducted a handful of demonstrations. The first began with the game Jenga and demonstrated that their are many tiers of support that those in poverty need, and as those are taken away, the structure becomes weaker.
Another demonstration involved a game that was similar to bingo. Starburst candies were passed out to those in attendance, as well as a sheet of paper and all were then instructed to utilize the Starburst like currency to choose the lifestyle they wanted. They were urged not to run out.
For more information on the program, or if you would like to volunteer, please click here.
