Bridges Out of Poverty Strategies for Professionals and Communities

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- “Bridges Out of Poverty—Strategies for Professionals and Communities” is coming to Stillwater.  This one-day workshop will provide cultural competency training for service providers about the complicated issues faced by the poor and the paradigms governing their lifestyles and decision-making.   The event will be Thursday, September 22, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall building at Sixth Avenue (Highway 51) and Duck, in Stillwater, and includes materials, lunch and snacks.  

The Bridges Out of Poverty training increases understanding of hidden barriers to success, and provides possible solutions for improved outcomes. The Stillwater event is part of a statewide campaign launched by the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.  The strategy includes coordinated trainings at both the state and county levels; educational and networking meetings of Oklahoma’s certified Bridges trainers; and, in 2012, a statewide steering committee including representation from various market sectors and communities initiating local Bridge efforts.  

“Stillwater is one of the communities implementing a local campaign as a result of the Bridges Out of Poverty trainings hosted by the OFBCI earlier this year,” said Deborah Price, Manager of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Bridges Campaign.  “It is our hope that communities across the state will follow Stillwater’s lead and make concerted efforts to alleviate poverty in their own backyards.” 

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