UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

ATHENS — A team of University of Georgia faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences aims to provide Georgia couples with healthy relationship skills and financial guidance with the help of a five-year, $6.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The team will collaborate with UGA Cooperative Extension and a network of established state and local partners to deliver the evidence-based Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education programming to couples in 60 counties across Georgia who are experiencing economic stress and are relationally vulnerable, including those who are military-connected.

Among the community-based partners is the Georgia Center for Opportunity in Gwinnett County, a nonpartisan organization that conducts public policy research and mobilizes community resources to address education, employment and family issues.

“A collaboration of this magnitude will put us in the position to transform lives and create a blueprint for families in the near future,” Joyce Mayberry, vice president of family for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said.

Read the full article here

 

UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

Virtual learning isn’t working. Gov. Kemp, we need your help | THE CHAMPION

Virtual learning isn’t working. Gov. Kemp, we need your help | THE CHAMPION

Gov. Brian Kemp is in a unique position to help families like mine during one of the most challenging times in our lives. My wife and I have two school-aged children, a son and a daughter. Both are being educated within the Decatur City Schools district. Our son, Wyatt, happens to have Down syndrome. He is in the fourth grade.

When the public school system shut down in March, we didn’t know what to expect. Unfortunately, the struggles of virtual learning with our son have exceeded what we thought was tolerable…

Read the full article here

 

UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

UGA receives $6.2 million grant to provide relationship, financial training | UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

UGA receives $6.2 million grant to provide relationship, financial training | UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

A team of University of Georgia faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences aims to provide Georgia couples with healthy relationship skills and financial guidance with the help of a five-year, $6.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Among the community-based partners is the Georgia Center for Opportunity in Gwinnett County, a nonpartisan organization that conducts public policy research and mobilizes community resources to address education, employment and family issues.

“A collaboration of this magnitude will put us in the position to transform lives and create a blueprint for families in the near future,” said Joyce Mayberry, vice president of family for the Georgia Center for Opportunity.

Read the full article here

 

Welfare Without Dignity Doesn’t Work

Welfare Without Dignity Doesn’t Work

Welfare Without Dignity Doesn’t Work 

 

 

By Corey Burres

 

 

I drove through my neighborhood and saw dozens of tents lining the wooded area near my home. I realized there were families and single mothers living in these tents. My heart broke. How did we get here? When did we start to accept this for those in our communities?

I know from our work at Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) there are local and governmental services available. I know there are many community groups and philanthropic organizations working to address the basic needs of shelter, food, and health. But I question if these systems address the issue of dignity.

Dignity is a word we throw around a lot at GCO. It’s a core value for our team, but it is also a core component of how we choose to view others. It is a driver, yes, but more importantly, it is a goal. We can address needs and make some headway, but until we restore dignity to individuals we will continue to fight an endless battle. Government safety-net programs are not designed to restore dignity. That is a problem.

Without finding self-worth and dignity in what we do, we continue to seek “just enough.” If we truly want those around us to thrive, we must create systems that seek to do more than simply appease a need. We must create systems that see the value of peoples’ humanity and desire for them to move into a vibrant and thriving future.

The fact of the matter is that systems like Medicaid, food stamps, and other programs are not designed to move people into a better life. Instead, they are a stop-gap that simply meets an immediate or temporary need.

If we truly want those around us to thrive, we must create systems that seek to do more than simply appease a need. We must create systems that see the value of peoples’ humanity and desire for them to move into a vibrant and thriving future.

In the case of temporary unemployment or hard times, this is sufficient and works as intended. It’s why many people tout the effectiveness of these programs. They do work—for some.

However, in the case of intergenerational or long-term poverty, the result is marginalized groups systemically stuck—trapped in dependency and without hope.

And that is what I see when I pass these tent cities. These are our neighbors who have surrendered to a way of life, one that we desperately hope our own loved ones will never experience. The tragedy is that our political leaders have done just enough to appease them.

True compassion says we should hope for them to move off government assistance programs and feel the sense of dignity and belonging we want for everyone.

Over the next month, we are going to highlight changes to assistance programs that will remove the traps in our safety-net systems. We will highlight local support networks that view the individual through the lens of the dignity that they deserve. And we will bring together the business and community leaders leading the charge at Breakthrough.

Will you join us?

 

UGA grant will help Georgia couples improve relationship skills | KPVI

Georgia groups push Kemp for virtual-learning microgrants | WALKER COUNTY MESSENGER

Georgia groups push Kemp for virtual-learning microgrants | WALKER COUNTY MESSENGER

ATLANTA – Several groups are pressing Gov. Brian Kemp to start divvying out small federal grant funds aimed at helping families pay for school supplies, child care and other expenses while their children are taking online classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In a letter sent Tuesday, Sept. 15, groups including the American Federation for Children, the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta and GeorgiaCAN urged Kemp to reserve more than $20 million in federal COVID-19 funds for microgrants, which cover small one-time expenses.

 

Along with several educational and disability-advocacy groups, the letter was also signed by a handful of conservative-leaning organizations including the Americans for Prosperity’s Georgia chapter and the Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia.

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation and the Georgia Center for Opportunity also signed the letter.

Read the full article here