NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Jason Probst with Circles of Reno County is clear that the Circle Leaders who are getting ready to start their journey out of poverty on Aug. 31 need to learn how to navigate long-term planning as they get out of a get through the day mindset.
"We're not trying to solve an immediate problem, we're not trying to solve a crisis," Probst said. "What we are trying to do is to help people learn some of these hidden rules about navigating middle class life. One of the things we know from our work in Circles and from research that's been done around the country, is that there are different rules for different socioeconomic levels. People in poverty have a group of rules that they follow to navigate that life. As we move from poverty to middle class, there's an entirely different set of rules that sometimes seems very foreign and very unfamiliar to people who haven't experienced that before. We try to connect people and build a community around people who are ready to make the journey from poverty to middle class in stability."
Navigating things like education after high school is also a challenge.
"I came from a family where neither of my parents graduated from high school," Probst said. "College was not even a thought. To sit down with them and have them help me go through a financial aid form for college, was beyond the realm of possibility. That's a reality for a lot of people."
These Circle Leaders need allies who can help them without telling them what they should or should not do, but letting them know what all the options in front of them are.
"I heard a really good analogy the other day about people who have to survive in life," Probst said. "It's kind of like, if you have eyeglasses that you can look through, most people don't have cracks in their glasses. They can see clearly through that way. People who have to survive all the time, or don't have some of those middle class experiences, such as parents who can sit down and help them with college, they have to see the world through these sort of cracked lenses."
It will take time and resources to create transformational change in the community, but as each Circle Leader gets stable, they are able to change the trajectory of their family for generations to come.
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