Abstract

The AmeriCorps Appalachian Self-Sufficiency Program provides (AASSP) classes in life skills to help welfare recipients overcome the barriers that are keeping them from self-sufficiency and independence. AmeriCorps members learn marketable skills while assisting individuals who wish to leave the welfare system.

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Issue

Life skills are topics that are often not covered in academic or technical training courses but can be just as important for ensuring a successful and stable lifestyle. The AmeriCorps Appalachian Self-Sufficiency Program (AASSP) provides classes in life skills to help welfare recipients overcome the barriers that are keeping them from self-sufficiency and independence. AmeriCorps members learn marketable skills while assisting individuals who wish to leave the welfare system.

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Action

Teams of two AmeriCorps members plan and facilitate each Life Skills class. Their duties include coordinating with host sites, researching class topics, setting agendas, and scheduling guest speakers. Members with prior public speaking experience are chosen for the teams, who then receive additional training in event planning and facilitation.

An emphasis is placed on presenting local "experts in the field" as guest speakers. This helps AASSP participants connect with services provided by other community organizations.

Class topics cover such issues as:

• Career choices
• Time & stress management
• Money management
• Job search skills
• Parenting tips
• Dressing for success and makeovers
• Health and wellness
• Communication skills

One very popular class discusses the fundamentals of dressing for a professional setting, presented by officials from the Health Department. These classes often include free makeover sessions provided by cosmetology students from the local vocational college, or by representatives of cosmetics manufacturers. The result is that AASSP participants are able to make strong first impressions for job interviews.

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Context

Life skills classes are one of the many services AASSP offers to individuals seeking to leave the welfare system. The AASSP is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service via the Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism and Service and by the Cabinet for Families and Children. The host agency for staff and fiscal agent is the Big Sandy Area Development District (BSADD) in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. Program partners include the Department for Employment Services, the Department for Community Based Services, Prestonsburg Community College, and the BSADD.

AASSP has grown to serve seven counties in Eastern Kentucky, with plans for continued expansion.

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Outcome

Participants are given information that empowers them to use and share their new knowledge, increasing their levels of self-esteem and making them more marketable to prospective employers.

Several AmeriCorps members have successfully applied the skills they learned as facilitators in post-service jobs in related fields.

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Related Practices

• Developing community service career ladder programs to support welfare-to-work

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