CIRCLES PROGRAM AIMS TO EMPOWER FAMILIES
TO FINANCIAL STABILITY
The Deep Well Project, founded on Hilton Head Island in 1973, is about to take a huge leap forward. For almost 50 years, Deep Well has addressed basic needs by helping in emergency situations – giving an immediate hand up so families can continue to help themselves. It could be a rent payment between jobs or food for the family when the cupboard runs bare and cash has run out.
Over the past few years, the board of directors has been exploring how to help families in cyclical poverty who continue to rely on supplemental help to feed their families. They want to teach them to fish, as the saying goes, rather than simply giving them a fish.
“We are on the precipice of something magical,” said Sandy Gillis, executive director.
This January, Deep Well will launch a new program called Circles, a national program with a 20-year proven track record, to empower families to increase their income level, lead their families to financial stability and provide better opportunities for their children.
Participants, called Circle Leaders, will work with volunteers, called Allies, who are community members with higher income levels. These two groups will build relationships and work together long term to help those struggling to stay on track.
“The launch will be the finish line of extensive research and preparation,” Gillis said, “but it’s also the starting line for Circles.”
Deep Well is still gathering volunteers and seeking referrals for program participants. Gillis said it is hoped that the initial class will be five to 15 families. Graduation occurs when a family’s income reaches 200% of the federal poverty level.
Shavonne Vasquez has 15 years of experience in social work and recently relocated from upper New York to manage the Circles Chapter at Deep Well.
“Poverty looks very different in each case,” Vasquez said. “With no safety net, a minor bump in the road can be a catastrophic event.” She is excited and eager to engage family members to “become better versions of themselves, to build themselves and to create opportunities for their children.”
