Veterans Spotlight: Capital City CIRCLES promotes change through empowerment

There is a lot of help in Carson City for those struggling with poverty — including military veterans — but the Capital City C.I.R.C.L.E.S. Initiative stands out as an organization that empowers people to change their lives.

The acronym “C.I.R.C.L.E.S.” stands for “Connecting Individuals With Resources That Change Lives and Empower Sustainability,” said Steve Shaw, a volunteer ally, board member and part-time recruiter for the Capital City CIRCLES Initiative (CCCI).

“Our target population is the working poor and most have a history of generational (three or more) poverty,” he said. “The goal is to get them moving from barely surviving to thriving.”

What this means in financial terms, he said, is to go from existing below the federal poverty level of less than $24,000 a year for a family of four to 200 percent of that number — or $44,000 annually — which is considered by the government as thriving.

In Carson City, a person making minimum wage working 40 hours per week earns a gross income of $984 per month, the CCCI web site said. However, the fair market rent in Carson City for a two-bedroom residence is $742 per month, leaving very little for other basic needs.

But Capital City CIRCLES looks at thriving as more than just income, Shaw said.

“Thriving is more than just financial,” he said. “It also includes having safe housing, reliable transportation, etc.”

CCCI in Carson City is one of more than two dozen C.I.R.C.L.E.S. programs in 25 communities nationwide, Shaw said.

CIRCLES has been active in the Nevada State Capital for about six years, said Shaw, who has been with the program virtually from the very beginning.

Groundwork for Capital City CIRCLES began locally in 2008, he said, but the program took two years for to become fully functional.

Since 2010, Capital City CIRCLES has graduated 65 people from its program, Shaw said, helping to launch them toward a better socioeconomic future.

To help clients accomplish their goals, Capital City CIRCLES uses a methodology reminiscent of Twelve Step programs because of its mentorship feature.

“We have a two-prong approach to break the cycle of generational poverty,” Shaw said. “We surround the adults with two or three allies for a period of approximately 24 months.”

Clients who become invested in initiative after the first 18-23 weeks are referred to as “Champions for Change,” Shaw said, because by the end of the program they will be equipped to score a victory over poverty.

Once champions and allies connect, together they form an intentional friendship, Shaw said, with the allies assisting their champions on moving out of poverty.

But the assistance champions receive isn’t welfare, he said.

“There is no exchange of money,” Shaw stressed. “This is a hand-up, not a hand-out.”

Individuals with families also benefit from having allies available to help their children, Shaw said, as part of a concurrent plan.

“This work may involve homework assistance, tutoring in a variety of programs, introduction to the arts, parenting classes for the champions, classes for children and parents on homework tips,” he said.

Capital City CIRCLES has assisted more than 130 children over the past six years, he said.

The assistance available to potential champions and their families is the same regardless of veteran status, said Shaw, himself a military veteran.

“Many veterans face some of the same poverty issues as non-veterans,” he said.

But other socioeconomic factors are more unique to the veteran population, he said, making . These include transience — frequently traveling from one place to another — and an employment background without transferrable skills to any civilian equivalencies.

Medical or mental health conditions common among veterans — Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Agent Orange complications, among others — can make trying to overcome poverty even more challenging for that population, Shaw said.

Because veterans seem to respond very well to camaraderie, the CIRCLES design is a good fit for ex-servicemen and women experiencing poverty.

“Surrounding vets with healthy friends in a supportive relationship is good for veterans,” said Shaw, citing current research from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

But relationships with veterans needs to include other veterans, he added, because veterans are most comfortable around other veterans who can relate to their service experiences.

This is why CIRCLES also endeavors recruit allies from among local military veterans as well as champions.

“It’s just as important to recruit allies from the vet population,” Shaw said. “Veterans would be excellent allies for veteran champions and non-veteran Champions.”

Much of this has to do with the fact that veteran allies have already demonstrated an ability to overcome their pasts, he said.

“There are many veterans and combat veterans who have overcome their demons and went on to thrive in society,” he said. “For reasons too many to name they would make excellent allies.”

Criteria to qualify for CIRCLES help includes being drug and alcohol-free for at least six months, as well as active involvement in a substance abuse treatment program.

“They can't be an active substance abuser,” Shaw said. “They are not able to work on the issues required to move out of poverty if they are actively abusing drugs or alcohol.”

But even more than that, an individual must possess the desire to change and to help themselves out of poverty.

“Probably the most important element is that they need to be motivated to move out of poverty and willing to work in doing so,” he said.

When champions succeed in climbing out of poverty, Shaw said, the impact of their achievement can literally be felt statewide.

Efforts by the program to help impoverished people thrive locally over the past six years has translated into a significant annual cost savings for the state, he said.

“We have done an analysis using budget figures that show we save the state of Nevada and taxpayers $32,000 a year by moving a family from dependence to independence,” he said.

Capital City CIRCLES accomplishes this by promoting self-sufficiency among its champions, who learn the concepts of individual initiative, productivity and self-improvement.

But a case plan for an individual or family is anything but cookie cutter. CCCI recognizes each champion has a unique story and their own specific needs.

“It is important for each person to create his or her own plan for self-improvement,” the CCCI web site said. “Each [Champion] sets goals that are unique to their own needs and circumstances that will lead to developing the emotional, financial, intellectual and spiritual resources necessary for self-sufficiency and family stability.”

The cycle of change through CIRCLES takes an average of 18-24 months, CCCI said, but that also depends upon the motivation of the champion, the web site said.

Once champions begin to experience greater stability by working the program, they are expected to pay it forward to others who are just beginning their journey toward socioeconomic change.

This fits with the peer mentorship dynamic of ally support.

“It is expected that when a family becomes self-sufficient, they will, in turn practice reciprocity by volunteering in the community or by supporting a new family on their journey out of poverty,” CCCI said, “thereby completing the circle.”

At the beginning, potential champions attend an extended “Getting Ahead” workgroup that meets once a week for more than 14 weeks.

In this workgroup, designed around a curriculum dependent upon participation, clients learn about behaviors that prevent them from leading a more financially secure life.

“Participants learn about personal leadership, relationship building, communication and goal setting,” CCCI said. “They also explore their relationship with money, develop their personal spending plan and the self-discipline to make it work.”

CCCI sponsors ongoing weekly meetings meant to foster a sense of community among the Champions for Change and their community volunteer allies, CCCI said. Dinner, childcare and homework assistance are provided at no cost by members of the community.

Meetings are currently held Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Division Street in West Carson City.

For more information about the Capital City CIRCLES Initiative or how to become involved, please visit the organization’s web site, find it on Facebook here, or call 775-883-6506.

CCCI is located at 2621 Northgate Lane, Suite 10, in the same complex as the Ron Wood Family Resource Center.