Circles Leaders and their Allies pose together at Grace United Methodist Church for the Circles Johnson County program. The program helps people lift themselves out of poverty, with Allies matched with them to support them along the way.
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Breaking the cycle of poverty is challenging enough, but to do it alone can seem insurmountable.
Shawn and Nancy Estrem considered themselves lucky. Though they had experienced financial ups-and-downs throughout the marriage and their lives, they always had support to keep their family afloat.
The Greenwood couple wondered if there was a way to reciprocate that same guidance for others in need.
“We’re not experts in this stuff ourselves. It’s more helping those people who are teetering on the edge — helping them stay on track and get away from that edge,” Shawn Estrem said.
For the past six years, the Estrems have served as Allies through Circles Johnson County, a program sponsored by the Bridges Alliance of Johnson County anti-poverty organization. The couple are “intentional friends,” offering guidance, advice and simply people to lean on for individuals working to pull themselves up from poverty.
The role has been incredibly rewarding.
“We’ve learned a ton through this program about the challenges of housing and other things,” Shawn Estrem said. “It opens your eyes, and you have a different perspective, so I’m a better person in my community having learned and worked with these people. There’s more sensitivity and compassion for them since I know what they deal with.”
Bridges Alliance of Johnson County is anticipating its largest group of Circles participants ever in early 2024, so more people like Shawn and Nancy Estrem are needed to walk alongside people hoping to improve their lives. The organization will host an informational session from 7 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29 to help people learn more about volunteering.
“I really look at it as the community of Johnson County holding up their end of the bargain. If we want to see people advance, if we want to see succeed, these people are pulling themselves up by their bootstraps,” said Jill Pierce, Circle Coach for the program. “They’re doing the work everybody always says you have to do to get ahead. You need community support. It’s a call to action for the whole community to do more than serve a meal or write a check.”
Bridges Alliance of Johnson County is a collaboration between businesses, social service agencies, churches and individuals working together to end poverty in the community. The program provides the tools, resources, support and relationships necessary to be successful, helping people establish independence and stability in their lives.
The organization uses parts of two different nationally recognized anti-poverty programs. Bridges Out of Poverty focuses on understanding the hidden rules of society that can keep people from succeeding. At the same time, Bridges Alliance has also worked with a group called Circles USA.
The introductory portion of the Circles program is a course called Surviving to Thriving, in which participants meet each week to learn about how to budget, apply and interview for a job, and set goals.
Once participants graduate from the Surviving to Thriving workshop, they’re known as Circle Leaders, and are matched with a community volunteer known as an Ally. Allies help support Circle Leaders as they work to achieve their goals — for example, giving advice on résumés and job interviews, getting assistance finding job training or locating affordable housing.
“They need presence and they need people there with them, because this process is not easy or quick,” Pierce said.
Since starting in 2017, the Circles program has helped 28 people in Johnson County find a more stable life. As its most recent Surviving to Thriving workshop draws to a close, the program is preparing to help seven Circle Leaders continue along their journey out of poverty.
To serve those seven graduates, Bridges Alliance leaders are in need of 14 volunteer Allies.
“Since COVID, our numbers have grown quite a bit as people grappled with how to rejoin and how to get back involved,” Pierce said. “The size of this class at seven is really speaking to what the need in the community is, and speaking to the dedication these seven individuals have to making their lives better.”
That was the motivation that led Shawn and Nancy Estrem to become Allies. The couple were empty-nesters whose children had recently moved out, and they were looking for ways to use their free time in a positive way.
They signed up to volunteers at KIC-IT, a Johnson County organization addressing youth homelessness. The work was rewarding, but left the Estrems wanting to do more.
“We weren’t building relationships with people week-to-week. It was a one-off kind of thing,” Shawn Estrem said.
At the same time, Bridges Alliance of Johnson County was just starting and in need of help. A friend suggested they learn more about the new organization. After speaking with the organizers and other volunteers, it seemed like a good fit for what the couple were hoping to do.
The Estrems enrolled to be Allies, and went through a training seminar, which proved to be enlightening to the realities those in poverty face every day.
“You wake up and realize you don’t know a whole lot of what these people are going through and how they’re surviving,” Nancy Estrem said.
They’ve been active Allies ever since. Initially, Nancy and Shawn Estrem were each assigned different Circle Leaders to work with, but recently have found it more effective to help the same person.
The experience has helped them better understand Johnson County as a whole.
“Our finances were tight when we’ve been married, but it’s never been to the point where we didn’t have anything to eat, for example. You run with the same circle of people that are financially similar to you, so that’s your community too,” Nancy Estrem said. “That’s a big part of what (Bridges Alliance) is for — to bring different groups of people together to work as a community.”
The Estrems meet with their current Circle Leader at least once a week, as well as reaching out with text messages frequently. Nancy Estrem has started volunteering with their Circle Leader at KIC-IT on Fridays.
“It’s like any friendship. You start out not knowing each other very well, but like any other friendship, you start to know each other better and sharing more. You have a deeper connection,” Shawn Estrem said.
Each Circle Leader will be assigned two Allies to support them over the coming 18 months. Those Allies won’t be alone; a large community of volunteers and resources are available through Circles to help them and their Circle Leaders in your journeys together, Pierce said.
Volunteers are asked to commit to two Wednesdays a month starting in early January 2024.
“It’s extremely important we get new community members involved at this point. This is a group of people who have made the commitment, who have started the hard work,” Pierce said.
HOW TO BE AN ALLY
What is it: Bridges Alliance of Johnson County, a collaborative effort of businesses, agencies, churches and residents aiming to reduce and end poverty, is in need of volunteers to serve as Circle Allies.
What do they do: Allies are paired with an individual working to break the cycle of poverty, to provide support and guidance as they work to meet the financial, employment, education and other goals that they’ve set.
How to volunteer: Go to bridgesalliancejc.org/volunteer-opportunities, where applications can be found.
IF YOU GO
Circles Ally Informational Meeting
What: An opportunity to learn more about the Circles Johnson County program and being an Ally — volunteers who come alongside a Circles participants to build an intentional friendship and support system.
When: 7-8 p.m. Nov. 29
Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 1300 E. Adams St., Franklin
No RSVP necessary, just come and learn more about this volunteer position.
Questions: email [email protected]
