Circles of Support helps families work way out of poverty.

By JEFF FRANTZ

Adrienne Camel and Paula Ray sat side by side at a table in the basement of the We Care Learning Center.

Camel volunteered to go first in "what's new and good," which is how Circles of Support begins every meeting.

"The new and good thing is I got my brand new furniture," Camel said. Her eyes beamed. "Brand new. That's the first time I've ever had new furniture."

Sitting to her left, Ray said her new and good thing was the $100 bonus a credit union gave her for opening a new account. She rolled it straight into her money market account, instead of taking the cash.

"This is something I wasn't expecting, so it's not something I need," said Ray. "It wasn't in my budget, so I put in my savings."

The other nine women around the three tables nodded. This was new and good.

Circles of Support is designed to partner families in poverty, called circle leaders, with allies, usually middle-class volunteers, to help the families work their way out of poverty and educate the allies about the reality of being poor.

The program, which is sponsored by South Central Community Action Programs Inc., is based on a similar operation in Ames, Iowa. That model has since been used in communities across the country to aid and educate families.

The Gettysburg circle started with five circle leaders, including Camel and Ray, last April. All five were single mothers who worked, including some who worked two or three jobs, but still found themselves falling behind.

They met once a week, learning about fiscal literacy, the hidden rules of class, support systems and the meaningful work relationships that those in poverty often lack, said Megan Shreve, SCCAP's executive director.

Three weeks ago, allies first came to the weekly meetings. In the coming weeks, three allies will be paired with each family. Later this spring, SCCAP said it hopes another 10 families will start in the program.

"I never really considered myself as being in poverty even though the money levels are only so high," said Carrie Small, another circle leader. "I have a hard time keeping the utilities on sometimes. Sometimes the TV or the gas goes off. Or the phone. That's when it hits you.

"I've always known I've been broke, but when you hear the word poverty, you think of living in bad neighborhoods and roach-infested places."

Understanding what it means to be in poverty is the first step toward working your way out, said Small, who works two jobs, at a Gettysburg College eatery and at the YWCA. Once you know how some elements of the financial system - such as the high interest rates charged those with bad credit or no collateral - work against those in poverty, you can work around them, Small said.

Circles has also taught the circle leaders that they are not alone.

"Coming in here, it was good to hear that other people were going through the same things," Camel said. "I even held two jobs and I never saw the kids. It was just to make ends meet. Just to put gas in the car."

Everyone in the circle is supposed to learn.

Seven students from Gettysburg College's Center for Public Service have been involved in the program since last summer. Most of them come from middle- or upper-class backgrounds, said Kim Davidson, the Center for Public Service's associate director, who is also an ally.

Attending meetings has taught them that most poor people are not shiftless city-dwellers who leach off the government, Davidson said.

"All of the women in the program are wonderful people, wonderful mothers, they hold down two or three jobs," Davidson said. "(The allies) can see how it's all inter-connected. If the car breaks down, how does that affect work, child car, bills, everything?"