Circles of Allen County is a journey to better life for local folks disparaged by poverty. MASTERSON said Circles was a learning experience for her. PROGRAM reach has snowballed.
On Monday nights at Wesley United Methodist Church they celebrate and reinforce successes previously foreign to them. Participants have completed one of two 15-week courses, with weekly follow-up steeped in tutorials in life skills and with opportunities to share with others what has occurred.
“They’re like a family,” Georgia Masterson told Iola Rotarians Thursday, outcome of her dream to help those who’ve suffered from poverty, often so long that another avenue seems beyond their grasp.
The Circles program came about two years ago. A third class will start soon; 26 have applied.
Poverty comes in many forms and pinning it on a single cause is difficult. For a few it is a choice, Masterson said, and for many low rates of pay are a barrier difficult to surmount.
An over-arching problem is the income gap in the nation — very much a reality in Kansas — which also is a precursor of a corresponding societal gap.
Allies help those in Circles.
“We don’t want to call them mentors because that has a negative connotation,” Masterson said. More are needed, and may volunteer by contacting Masterson at the Thrive Allen County office.
Allies not only help enrollees through their classes, but also by association and in subtle ways relate the differences between being poor and having economic means. That leads to the dual result Masterson wants to achieve: Helping those who are poverty stricken and for those who aren’t to empathize.
Of the 20 who have completed the two 15-week classes, five were working when they started, although their incomes were at the low end. Six who weren’t are working now; three aren’t working.
The other six suffer from disabilities that prevent them from holding a job, but Circles still has been a godsend by putting them in an environment where hope and success are more than abstract terms.
A poignant lesson, she said, is that publicity about success isn’t always an advantage, or even desired. The Register reported about four people helped by Circle classes. They had trouble coping with revelations of their successes, she said.
One’s world crashed down with an arrest and time in jail.
Now, Masterson said, “I very weary of publicity.”
She also found that even with class graduation and a new outlook on life, some of the people were burdened by having had drug problems in the past. Some employers will overlook past indiscretions, but far from all, she said.
Donations supplement grant money for the program, and are used to help participants. Masterson recalled a passage in Paula Dail’s book “Hard Living in America’s Heartland,” about a woman whose car was towed from overtime parking and by the time her paycheck came the tow fee was $1,500, or more than she earned in a week.
Locally, Masterson used donated money to help a woman who completed classes retrieve her car after it was towed, long before the charge too great.
A meal and child care are part of Monday night classes and ongoing sessions afterward.
In addition to allies, leaders and helpers for the weekly get-togethers are a constant need.
Many people in Allen County struggling economically and trying to assimilate into mainstream society want to change their lives, Masterson said.
If she were to write a legacy for the program, it would be that initial successes would compound themselves for years to come — and become a way of life.
Program comes full ‘Circle’
