Changes at "Breaking Barriers: Community Workshops for East New York"
Body
-["<xml><dl class=\"decidim_awesome-custom_fields\" data-generator=\"decidim_awesome\" data-version=\"0.12.0\">-<dt name=\"textarea-1756922998878-0\">Idea Submission for The People's Money:</dt>-<dd id=\"textarea-1756922998878-0\" name=\"textarea\"><div>We propose a structured series of professional‐development and empowerment workshops and one-on-one individualized coaching sessions under the “Breaking Barriers” banner. The objective is to remove structural, educational and social barriers for low‐income parents and individuals, survivors of trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals and equip them with tools to achieve economic independence, stability and leadership in their community. This initiative will take place in the neighborhood of East New York. Recent figures underscore the critical need for stable employment, economic empowerment and supportive services for residents of East New York. We will offer workshops focused on building businesses, business credit and staffing- from idea to exit. They will be held at local public libraries, community centers and virtually. Each workshop will be facilitated by subject‐matter experts: a career coach with experience in re-entry employment services, a certified financial counselor and a local small-business entrepreneur, educator and community advocate (from East New York) who will speak on entrepreneurship and trauma-informed care. Workshops will include interactive exercises, peer‐networking, goal‐setting worksheets and action plans.-Following each group workshop, participants will be offered two one-on-one coaching sessions. These sessions will be scheduled within two weeks of the workshop and will be led by organization staff and contracted coaches (career coach, financial counselor, peer mentor) in a private setting at an East New York office or virtually.-The coaching will help participants personalize what they learned in the workshop: e.g., develop an individualized employment or business plan, map out finances, identify barriers and strategies to overcome them and link to other resources (child care, wraparound services, support groups). Participants may continue beyond these two sessions if needed.-We will partner with a local library/community center in East New York for workshop space, local re-entry service agencies, local support groups and local employers open to hiring formerly incarcerated individuals.-We will recruit participants through our existing program rosters, referrals from partner agencies, flyers in the East New York neighborhood and outreach at local public housing sites and community events.-We will schedule workshops in evenings (6 pm-8 pm) to accommodate working parents; we will provide on-site childcare (at our partnering childcare facility) during the workshop to remove a participation barrier.-Transportation assistance will be provided for participants who need it.-We will build a peer‐alumni network. After completing the core program, participants will be invited to join a “Breaking Barriers Alumni Circle” to meet quarterly, share progress and serve as peer mentors for new cohorts, further embedding community leadership.-----</div></dd>-<dt name=\"textarea-1758648114412-0\">What is the problem your idea aims to address?</dt>-<dd id=\"textarea-1758648114412-0\" name=\"textarea\"><div>East New York is a community with pressing needs and tremendous opportunity. With a median household income (~$42,060) below city average and poverty rates over 20%, many residents face economic instability. Unemployment remains comparatively high in certain reports (11.1% for 11207). Our initiative addresses multiple intersecting challenges: employment readiness, childcare and special-needs support, trauma recovery and re‐entry from incarceration.-Our idea aims to break barriers faced by low-income parents and individuals, those living with trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals. We seek to drive measurable gains in employment, entrepreneurship and family stability among East New York residents. We aim to create a sustained peer-led network in East New York that builds local leadership (not just one-time training) while strengthening our community trust by delivering culturally competent, trauma-informed programming in the neighborhood where we are already rooted.-Participants will gain empowerment and resilience. Survivors of trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals will gain peer support, trauma-informed coaching and pathways to leadership rather than isolation. We will foster community leadership and network. Participants will join a cohort of peers, build local networks of support, transition into mentor roles and strengthen community ties in East New York. The long-term outcomes include improved employment retention or entrepreneurial ventures, improved family stability, stronger connections to community support systems and enhanced self‐efficacy.-By anchoring the project in East New York, we are investing in a neighborhood that has community strength, local ties and under-invested potential. The community has a resilient, culturally rich population and an established network of grassroots organizations and community institutions, showing the capacity for local mobilization, mutual support and collective improvement.-Our workshops and coaching directly target the workforce and family stability gaps, bolstering participants’ capacity to secure and retain employment, start small businesses, advocate for their children and contribute to the local economy. This creates ripple effects: stronger families, higher incomes, improved child outcomes, reduced recidivism and increased neighborhood cohesion.-We are especially excited about seeing participants transform their lives. For example, a formerly incarcerated parent who completes the program, secures a job with a local employer or establishes their own business, stabilizes income and becomes a peer mentor to new cohorts in East New York. We are excited about building an alumni network of “Breaking Barriers Leaders” in the neighborhood who will not only benefit individually but also uplift others. We are excited about the increased capacity of our organization to scale our services and deepen our community roots.-Participants will gain not only tangible skills and employment outcomes but also intangible outcomes including increased confidence, stronger networks and a sense of belonging and leadership. We believe this will transform lives and contribute to a stronger East New York.-</div></dd>-<dt name=\"checkbox-group-1756922140917-0\">Which groups does your idea focus on? Select all that apply</dt>-<dd id=\"checkbox-group-1756922140917-0\" name=\"checkbox-group\">-<div alt=\"youth\">Youth (under 24)</div>-<div alt=\"public-housing\">Public Housing Residents</div>-<div alt=\"justice-impacted\">Justice Impacted People</div>-<div alt=\"disabilities\">People with Disabilities</div>-<div alt=\"veterans\">Veterans</div>-<div alt=\"parents\">Parents</div>-<div alt=\"unhoused\">Unhoused People</div>-</dd>-</dl></xml>"]- +["<xml><dl class=\"decidim_awesome-custom_fields\" data-generator=\"decidim_awesome\" data-version=\"0.12.0\">
- +<dt name=\"textarea-1756922998878-0\">Idea Submission for The People's Money:</dt>
- +<dd id=\"textarea-1756922998878-0\" name=\"textarea\"><div>The Hope for Humankind Foundation (HFHF) propose a structured series of professional‐development and empowerment workshops and one-on-one individualized coaching sessions under the “Breaking Barriers” banner. The objective is to remove structural, educational and social barriers for low‐income parents and individuals, survivors of trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals and equip them with tools to achieve economic independence, stability and leadership in their community. This initiative will take place in the neighborhood of East New York. Recent figures underscore the critical need for stable employment, economic empowerment and supportive services for residents of East New York. We will offer workshops focused on starting and structuring a business the right way, mindset shifts that turn hustlers into CEOs, habits that separate doers from dreamers, simple steps to structuring hustle so it's legal, fundable and scalable with an increased focus on business credit and staffing. Participants will be guided from idea to exit. These workshops will be held at local public libraries, community centers and virtually. Each workshop will be facilitated by subject‐matter experts: a career coach with experience in re-entry employment services, a certified financial counselor and our founder and local small-business entrepreneur, special educator and community advocate (from East New York) who will speak on entrepreneurship and trauma-informed care. Workshops will include interactive exercises, peer‐networking, goal‐setting worksheets and action plans.
- +Following each group workshop, participants will be offered two one-on-one coaching sessions. These sessions will be scheduled within two weeks of the workshop and will be led by HFHF staff and contracted coaches (career coach, financial counselor, peer mentor) in a private setting at an East New York office or virtually.
- +The coaching will help participants personalize what they learned in the workshop: e.g., develop an individualized employment or business plan, map out finances, identify barriers and strategies to overcome them and link to other resources (child care, wraparound services, support groups). Participants may continue beyond these two sessions if needed.
- +HFHF will partner with a local library/community center in East New York for workshop space, local re-entry service agencies, local support groups and local employers open to hiring formerly incarcerated individuals.
- +We will recruit participants through our existing program rosters, referrals from partner agencies, flyers in the East New York neighborhood and outreach at local public housing sites and community events.
- +We will schedule workshops in evenings (6 pm-8 pm) to accommodate working parents; we will provide on-site childcare (at our partnering childcare facility) during the workshop to remove a participation barrier.
- +Transportation assistance will be provided for participants who need it.
- +HFHF will build a peer‐alumni network. After completing the core program, participants will be invited to join a “Breaking Barriers Alumni Circle” to meet quarterly, share progress and serve as peer mentors for new cohorts, further embedding community leadership.
- +
- +
- +
- +
- +</div></dd>
- +<dt name=\"textarea-1758648114412-0\">What is the problem your idea aims to address?</dt>
- +<dd id=\"textarea-1758648114412-0\" name=\"textarea\"><div>East New York is a community with pressing needs and tremendous opportunity. With a median household income (~$42,060) below city average and poverty rates over 20%, many residents face economic instability. Unemployment remains comparatively high in certain reports (11.1% for 11207). Our initiative addresses multiple intersecting challenges: employment readiness, childcare and special-needs support, trauma recovery and re‐entry from incarceration.
- +Our idea aims to break barriers faced by low-income parents and individuals, those living with trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals. HFHF seeks to drive measurable gains in employment, entrepreneurship and family stability among East New York residents. We aim to create a sustained peer-led network in East New York that builds local leadership (not just one-time training) while strengthening our community trust by delivering culturally competent, trauma-informed programming in the neighborhood where we are already rooted.
- +Participants will gain empowerment and resilience. Survivors of trauma and formerly incarcerated individuals will gain peer support, trauma-informed coaching and pathways to leadership rather than isolation. We will foster community leadership and network. Participants will join a cohort of peers, build local networks of support, transition into mentor roles and strengthen community ties in East New York. The long-term outcomes include improved employment retention or entrepreneurial ventures, improved family stability, stronger connections to community support systems and enhanced self‐efficacy.
- +By anchoring the project in East New York, we are investing in a neighborhood that has community strength, local ties and under-invested potential. The community has a resilient, culturally rich population and an established network of grassroots organizations and community institutions, showing the capacity for local mobilization, mutual support and collective improvement.
- +Our workshops and coaching directly target the workforce and family stability gaps, bolstering participants’ capacity to secure and retain employment, start small businesses, advocate for their children and contribute to the local economy. This creates ripple effects: stronger families, higher incomes, improved child outcomes, reduced recidivism and increased neighborhood cohesion.
- +We are especially excited about seeing participants transform their lives. For example, a formerly incarcerated parent who completes the program, secures a job with a local employer or establishes their own business, stabilizes income and becomes a peer mentor to new cohorts in East New York. We are excited about building an alumni network of “Breaking Barriers Leaders” in the neighborhood who will not only benefit individually but also uplift others. We are excited about the increased capacity of our organization to scale our services and deepen our community roots.
- +Participants will gain not only tangible skills and employment outcomes but also intangible outcomes including increased confidence, stronger networks and a sense of belonging and leadership. We believe this will transform lives and contribute to a stronger East New York.
- +</div></dd>
- +<dt name=\"checkbox-group-1756922140917-0\">Which groups does your idea focus on? Select all that apply</dt>
- +<dd id=\"checkbox-group-1756922140917-0\" name=\"checkbox-group\">
- +<div alt=\"youth\">Youth (under 24)</div>
- +<div alt=\"public-housing\">Public Housing Residents</div>
- +<div alt=\"justice-impacted\">Justice Impacted People</div>
- +<div alt=\"disabilities\">People with Disabilities</div>
- +<div alt=\"veterans\">Veterans</div>
- +<div alt=\"parents\">Parents</div>
- +<div alt=\"unhoused\">Unhoused People</div>
- +</dd>
- +</dl></xml>"]
Share