Two programs in Bristol and Abingdon are helping families escape poverty, according to the Bristol Herald Courier.

The efforts of Find a Way and People Inc. are helping to change the lives of families who want to move-up.

The work these programs are doing helps everyone in the region because as more families are able to escape the grips of poverty, the stronger and safer communities become. Homeowners can appreciate this type of work that adds great value to their community.

"Find a Way is a program of the Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority that assists public housing residents who want to move out and move up. With 35 families now enrolled, the program stresses goal-setting, employment and life-skills training.

People Incorporated, based in Abingdon, Va., provides a similar service: a Transitional Housing Program that requires participants to work or pursue education while living in assisted housing and progressing toward a stable living situation. The program has 22 families and 69 individuals enrolled.

'I absolutely believe that individuals can come from impoverished situations and limited educational skills and be able to come and use our resources' and improve their lives, said Ginger Henderson, transitional housing coordinator for People Inc.

Using financial support and grants from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, both programs work with a small number of the 62,000-plus Southwest Virginia residents who receive government assistance, mostly in the form of food stamps.

The two programs serve a region where the number of people living at poverty levels or below ranges from 15.7 percent in Washington County to 20.3 percent in Wise County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Henderson said the first step to moving those residents from welfare to self-sufficiency is helping them recognize the difference between wants and needs.

There’s a long waiting line for the nonprofit agency’s program, she said, including 104 families and 322 individuals, but all of its clients have found employment within two to three weeks of enrolling.

And last year, People Inc. reports, 75 percent of its clients were able to reduce their debt and meet savings goals.

'What we want to see is the client transition from the program to a stable living environment,' said Bryan Phipps, People Inc.’s vice president for development.

David Baldwin, executive director of the Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority, said his agency’s program and others like it, including People Inc., are based on one critical belief.

'There are a lot of folks who have been in difficult circumstances for a lot of their life that just don’t feel like they have the energy and the willpower to improve,' Baldwin said."

Read the full story.