BUILDING BRIDGES:
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
getting ahead graduates
ONCE THE WORSHOP HAS COMPLETED
a mentorship begins
STAY CONNECTED
Once an individual completes and graduates from the Getting Ahead program, we encourage them to join our Staying Ahead program and get paired with a “Teammate”. A Teammate is a “mentor” who will come alongside a graduate and build a relationship on a personal level.
The Staying Ahead Program meets once a month and allows the graduate to stay involved with Bridges in a few different ways. Through outside resources and organizations, our graduates will continue learning and growing their resources, continue building relationships, and build a network of community that will help them as they continue to create the life they want.
STAY INVOLVED
Graduates also stay involved by checking in with the Program Director, Mona Ash, as well as continuing relationships with classmates, volunteers, and any other Bridges community. Graduates will also be notified of all Bridges events, special guest speakers, and community projects. Teammates will be asked to check in with their Teammate Coordinator during these weeks as a mentor.
Every graduate’s journey looks different, this is where the graduate does the hard work of achieving their desired goals. Some examples are if the graduate wants to find healing for childhood trauma, support for overcoming addictions, or counseling for mental health, we would help them to achieve these goals by assisting them in finding resources.
YAY, I'M A TEAMMATE!
what's the next step
Congratulations, if you are now a Staying Ahead Teammate, or “mentor”, below are the expectations:
Connections take time – allow time for the relationship to build and grow between you and your graduate.
Engage with your graduate each week and continue to build the 11 key resources needed to live a sustainable life.
Come to the Staying Ahead Meetings once per month, every 1st Tuesday of the month. While there, please encourage your graduate to speak about new improvements, or you can share a way in which your graduate inspired you by changes they’re making.
IN COLLABORATION:
Burlington Building Bridges was created from the Aha Process: Bridges out of Poverty curriculum. The Aha Process was designed to provide tools to help individuals, families, institutions, and communities join together and create resources for people in poverty.
Creating Relationships with graduates takes extra effort and patience, mostly on the teammate’s side. The teammate grows alongside the graduate as the relationship challenges both parties. We are now well into the double-digits of classes, so we’ve learned a thing or two from teammate/graduate pairings:
– To help build your relationship and establish trust, engage in your graduate’s life celebrations (birthdays, resource victories, kid’s events…)
– Help the graduate work on the resource he/she identifies as the weakest. Then work on the resource you both agree needs some refinement.
– Building trust takes time as the graduate is wondering when the teammate will fade into the background. Persist. Guard your feelings when your graduate does not respond. After numerous contacts and much effort over eight weeks, if the relationship is not working, please contact the coordinator.
– Being a teammate can be hard, so find support from your Coordinator as you are walking alongside the graduate
COMMIT TO IT.
STICK TO IT.
GROW FROM IT.
We are SO Proud of You
Once you have completed the 18-week Getting Ahead class, and have met all class requirements, your class group will receive a Bridges Graduation and Acknowledgement Ceremony…
…now it’s time to Stay Ahead!
- a Bridges Story...
- a Bridges Story...
- a Bridges Story...
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- a Bridges Story...
