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Update Feed From The COC
COC Executive Director, Brian Sleeth, has been elected as Community Co-Chair of the Louisiana Prison Reentry Initiative for Baton Rouge. This is an exciting achievement that will allow him to focus on helping more retuning citizens with a moderate to high risk of recidivism. Join us in congratulating Brian! 🎉
Thankfulness & Opportunity! | It is with immense gratefulness that we are celebrating being the recipients of the Capital Area United Way's ALICE Grant!
ALICE is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget. This grant will be used to provide job training for those whose income/employment has been challenged by COVID.
For every week the student attends class, we will pay $100 toward their utilities for a max of $1,000 by graduation. This grant provides new opportunities to help individuals create sustainable life change that can impact their families and our community for generations! 🎉We are happy to recognize the Christian Outreach Center of Baton Rouge as another one of our ALICE Grant recipients! The goal of the grant is to assist unemployed ALICE households facing homelessness by providing utility and employment assistance through an 8 week, 16 class job readiness program where they will receive financial incentives for completing classes and the course as a whole. In addition, the goal is to provide assistance with transitional employment with the goal of full-time employment by the end of the program. Congratulations to the Christian Outreach Center!
ALICE Grants seek to address the barriers experienced by the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) population, specifically the following head of household types: seniors over 65; veterans; families/individuals with children aged 0-5; ALICE households due to COVID-related unemployment. #LiveUnited
As we all know, ministry has looked a little different than it used to over the last year. But we're still actively working to combat homelessness in the Baton Rouge community! Brian had an opportunity to present virtually as a panel speaker at Louisiana's FIRST Re-Entry Symposium this past week. It's exciting to see progress continue with creative new approaches.
Meet Ashley 👋🏻 Ashley is our 2nd new team member to join the COC this year. We have been so thankful for the opportunity to expand, and Ashley is a huge gift! As our Employment Services Coordinator, she will use her skills as a social worker to coordinate job training classes, help clients with job skills, arrange employment opportunities and so much more. This is the bread & butter of our ministry, and we can't wait to see Ashley's impact in our community! Get to know her in the comments below ✨
Hand-UP vs. Hand-OUT | You may have heard us say that we aim to be a "hand-up" ministry here at the COC. This means that our work is intended to not simply meet a temporary immediate need, but also to create pathways to sustainable change in people's lives. While providing someone with a hot meal to curb hunger for a couple of hours is certainly an avenue by which we serve, our services are built around ending cycles of poverty and homelessness for the long haul. By providing breakfast, our clients gain the capacity to take action. If you have questions about our philosophy of ministering to individuals experiencing homelessness in our community, we'd love to chat! 📬: BrianSleeth@me.com
Basic Services
Meeting the practical needs of those struggling in our community.
Employment Services
Training and education for cycle-breaking job opportunity
Prison Re-Entry
Providing a way for healthy re-entry after imprisonment
Featured Program
Our Job Readiness Program prepares participants to get jobs, keep them, and excel in the work environment. We use a faith-driven approach to empower participants as we walk alongside them during their transformative experience into a self-sustaining life.