text: You may be asking the question, “What makes them so great?” Before I answer that question, let me tell you a bit about why they exist. People Helping People is dedicated to reducing the number of children living in poverty by teaching low-income women, primarily single mothers, how to earn a living wage. So what is a living wage? A living wage is calculated off of the self-sufficiency standard which is calculated according to where you live and takes into account how many people are living in your home, housing costs, food, taxes, and other essential living expenses. The self-sufficiency standard for Utah can be found here: http://www.selfsufficiencystandard.org/docs/Utah%202001.pdf.
  What it says is that, assuming you have an average size family with three children, and you are a single parent, you would need to earn $46,000 per year in order to sustain your little family without the help of government programs, church, or family assistance.
  Unfortunately, there are over 6,000 single moms in Utah County and 75% of them and their children live below the self-sufficiency standard. Half of this group (38%) live below the poverty line. That is why I am so excited that People Helping People is expanding into Utah County. PHP’s Employment Program offers a unique, long term, one-on-one approach that teaches women how to get a good job, and seek and receive pay raises and promotions. In other words, they teach these women how to play the game of work.
  Utah is well known for its stay at home wife and mother population. It is also getting better known for it’s rising divorce rates. So it just makes sense to teach women how to earn a good living and be self-sufficient. If you or someone you know is a single mother and could benefit from learning what People Helping People has to offer, please join us on October 3rd or 17th for a program overview. After which, workshops will be held each Wednesday starting in October at Utah Valley University (UVU) at 723 S. 1200 W. in Orem. Other dates are listed in the image below. To quote Kayleen Simmons, “If you have to work, you may as well make it pay.” Join us to learn how.