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GA Overview |
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Introduction:
Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-by-World was written for people in poverty. It provides a way to examine the impact
that poverty has on individuals, families, and their communities. It also provides access to the information found in
Bridges Out of Poverty
—the same information that the people who run the agencies get from that book and the workshop of the same name.
The aim was to provide a safe, agenda-free learning environment where adults could reflect on and examine their lives, investigate new
information that is relevant to them, assess their own resources, make plans for their own future stories, offer ideas for building a prosperous
community, and choose a team to help them fulfill their dreams.
As we hoped, a number of people who completed Getting Ahead have joined decision-making groups (boards and committees) and
feel comfortable in these roles. Why? Because people in poverty are problem solvers whose voices are needed at the table—especially when
plans are being made that impact them and their communities.
How Getting Ahead is delivered:
Imagine 12 people sitting around a kitchen table. One of them is a Facilitator; the others are Investigators. The Facilitator guides the process;
the Investigators do the work of exploring, examining, and processing the information. The Facilitator is not directive, does not make
suggestions or offer solutions or analysis, and never makes the argument for change for someone else. The Facilitator does encourage
and support the individuals and the group in their work.
Ideally this is done in a neutral setting, away from the sponsoring organization’s buildings, with a Facilitator who is also neutral so that the
agenda of the institution does not creep into the educational process.
This educational experience is valued by Getting Ahead Investigators because it doesn’t force people into accepting the logic of, or
conforming to, the system or organization; instead, it is a means by which Investigators can deal critically and creatively with reality and
discover how to participate in solving community problems.
Getting Ahead is composed of 20 sessions, each two and a half hours long. These are often completed in ten weeks by running two
work sessions per week. Investigators are paid because of the value of the information they provide Getting Ahead sponsors and
community planning groups. This work is based on the premise that people in poverty are problem solvers.
Most organizations that sponsor Getting Ahead also provide childcare, food or snacks, supplies, and transportation, but that level of
support is based on funding and availability.
Content:
The first session begins with the Investigators creating a mental model of what poverty is like in the community, something they know a great
deal about. This forms the basis of the following investigations into housing, health issues, jobs, and conditions in the community. There are
two story lines in Getting Ahead: One is the collective story of all people in poverty, and the other is the individual’s story. Investigators
make a mental model about poverty in general, and then they make one about their own situation. The pattern continues as the Investigators
do a self-assessment of their resources and then do an assessment of the community. At the end of Getting Ahead, the Investigators
make a detailed personal plan for building resources and a collective plan for how to create a prosperous community.
Along the way the Investigators will work through modules on the theory of change for getting out of poverty (and of Getting Ahead itself),
research on the causes of poverty, the hidden rules of economic class, the definition of poverty, the resources that are needed for a high quality of
life, stages of change, and an investigation into how to develop resources.
Investigators will explore and analyze the themes of their lives,
assess their own resources, build their future stories, make their own choices, enjoy the power that comes from solving problems and controlling
their own lives, make concrete plans for economic stability, and become skillful at using the hidden rules of class to build resources.
Literacy and mental models:
Getting Ahead Investigators need not be highly literate to profit from Getting Ahead because most of the learning takes place during the
investigations and group discussions. All of the learning is embedded in mental models that are created by the group and the individual. The walls
of a Getting Ahead worksite are covered in mental models created by the group. They are used to deepen and reinforce the learning as the
sessions unfold.
Applications:
Getting Ahead is being conducted in every region of the country and in varied settings, including drug courts, housing projects, workforce
development, healthcare employers, mental health associations, prisons, neighborhoods, schools, colleges, and Circles™ initiatives. It is
done in urban and rural areas with people from many races and ethnic groups.
Support from aha! Process, Inc:
Facilitator training is available in three formats: (1) on-site training by the author; (2) a DVD webinar presented in eight sessions by the author,
seven experienced facilitators, and eight Getting Ahead graduates; and (3) a CD of a Facilitator
Training conducted in South Bend, Indiana, with three facilitators and one graduate.
(http://www.ahaprocess.com/store/)
Research and Evaluations:
A research manual
based on Bridges and Getting Ahead is available for sites that wish to do in-depth evaluations or research.
The author and many experienced facilitators are available for troubleshooting and consultation.
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About Getting Ahead