721 Veterans Highway, Bristol, PA 19007 *www.bcoc.org June 8, 2018; 10 a.m. Our Vision for the new Opportunity Center In the early Fall of 2018, the Bucks County Opportunity Council plans to open its new Opportunity Center, serving our neighbors in Lower Bucks County. Renovations are currently underway to support our vision of new and expanded services to help those in need. Comprehensive services, under one roof, will allow coordination of services for maximum impact and efficiency. Our new, 6,400 sq. ft. Opportunity Center will include: Housing Resource Center: walk-in services available to anyone facing a housing crisis, as well as housing location, resource navigation and shelter diversion services. Last year, BCOC prevented 1,194 people from being evicted; 323 homeless people were permanently housed; and another 1,976 households received housing stability coaching. Evictions begin a downward spiral that few families recover from, so our emergency services efforts focus on helping families before an eviction occurs. For those already homeless, we added a new Street Outreach worker, who reaches out to people where they are: in encampments, cars, on the street, and re-directs them to essential community services. Homeless Recharge Center: a place for those experiencing homelessness to meet with a coach, recharge phone and other devices, shower if needed, and use laundry facilities. The idea of this center is to engage with individuals, help them restore energy and stamina, and make it convenient to obtain resources. Economic Stability Center: We will be expanding our Economic Self-sufficiency Program, a one-on-one approach whereby committed to leaving poverty can work with a coach on a long-term plan to become self-sufficient. These plans generally include securing additional training to move beyond minimum wage jobs and earn a living wage. Our ES program has had solid results, and we are adding additional staff to serve more families. Training Enterprise Center: Our research indicates clearly that the path out of poverty is acquiring additional training that moves people from minimum wage jobs to acquiring new skills that will command a living wage. Our new training enterprise space will offer training for rapid employment in several in-demand sectors of our local economy.
721 Veterans Highway, Bristol, PA 19007 *www.bcoc.org June 8, 2018; 10 a.m. Our Vision for the new Opportunity Center In the early Fall of 2018, the Bucks County Opportunity Council plans to open its new Opportunity Center, serving our neighbors in Lower Bucks County. Renovations are currently underway to support our vision of new and expanded services to help those in need. Comprehensive services, under one roof, will allow coordination of services for maximum impact and efficiency. Our new, 6,400 sq. ft. Opportunity Center will include: Housing Resource Center: walk-in services available to anyone facing a housing crisis, as well as housing location, resource navigation and shelter diversion services. Last year, BCOC prevented 1,194 people from being evicted; 323 homeless people were permanently housed; and another 1,976 households received housing stability coaching. Evictions begin a downward spiral that few families recover from, so our emergency services efforts focus on helping families before an eviction occurs. For those already homeless, we added a new Street Outreach worker, who reaches out to people where they are: in encampments, cars, on the street, and re-directs them to essential community services. Homeless Recharge Center: a place for those experiencing homelessness to meet with a coach, recharge phone and other devices, shower if needed, and use laundry facilities. The idea of this center is to engage with individuals, help them restore energy and stamina, and make it convenient to obtain resources. Economic Stability Center: We will be expanding our Economic Self-sufficiency Program, a one-on-one approach whereby committed to leaving poverty can work with a coach on a long-term plan to become self-sufficient. These plans generally include securing additional training to move beyond minimum wage jobs and earn a living wage. Our ES program has had solid results, and we are adding additional staff to serve more families. Training Enterprise Center: Our research indicates clearly that the path out of poverty is acquiring additional training that moves people from minimum wage jobs to acquiring new skills that will command a living wage. Our new training enterprise space will offer training for rapid employment in several in-demand sectors of our local economy.
BCOC-new-Opportunity-Center-revised-copy-2.docx