A program which seeks to reduce the effects of poverty in Guelph by pairing those living in poverty with people who are financially stable and having them share meals together is looking for volunteers.
Mary Crome, who oversees the Circles Guelph program locally, says there is a number of ways to become involved with the program.
Circles supports intentional friendships between leading their families out of poverty and their allies who walk along with them.
“All important conversations happen around the dinner table. It’s there that we encourage each other and see each other through hard times,” said Crome.
A characteristic common to many people living in poverty, said Crome, is having a tight-knit circle of friends and family for support.
Circles seeks to introduce additional links in that chain, adding more people who are economically stable into that circle of friends as allies.
“It’s about building friendships over those economic boundaries, it’s about building social capital,” said Crome.
Usually, two or three allies are teamed up with each person living in poverty, which are referred to as ‘leaders’ in the program.
“They are leading their family out of poverty, that’s why we call them leaders,” said Crome.
Melissa Kwiatkowski has been an ally in the program since it was introduced in Guelph.
Kwiatkowski said she has learned as much or more from the leaders as they have from her.
“I think they were very deliberate in naming the role ‘ally’ instead of mentor, coach or some person that needs to install wisdom on someone else. That is specifically what it is not,” said Kwiatkowski.
“You’re just walking alongside of them. You’re just there when they ask us for support,” she added.
One way people can help, said Crome, is to sign up to the program’s Meal Train to donate and cook a meal for one of the weekly meetings.
As many as 40 people share a meal three Thursdays of every month at Hope House — 10 leaders, their children and about 20 allies.
It is around that dinner table that much of the relationship building is created.
“To me it doesn’t feel like a big commitment, I look forward to going every week. I love having dinner and catching up with people,” said Kwiatkowski.
Cooking for 40 is no small task, said Crome, and many who contribute to the Meal Train do so as a group of friends, coworkers or others in an organization.
“That’s a great way to get involved in your community. It’s a one-off, you just donate and cook a meal,” said Crome.
Ontario Works is the lead agency for Circles Guelph, with a number of partner agencies in the community, including Hope House, CMHA, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Family, Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County and Guelph Police Service.
Allies in the program are required to complete Bridges Out of Poverty training, part of which teaches empathy for people living in poverty and teaches that they are not always in that situation because of their own actions.
Kwiatkowski has participated in the Bridges Out of Poverty training a number of times.
“I find every time I hear it I pick up on something new that wasn’t quite bubbling to the top for me before,” said Kwiatkowski.
The role of an ally in Circles is not to fix all of the problems of a person living in poverty, but to walk alongside them and support them in a way a friend would.
“We have our own lens that we get from growing up in the home that we grow up in, the community that we live in and the culture that we grow up in. We can’t just take that lens and apply it to someone else’s life and say, ‘I know how to solve your problems, I would do it like this’ said Kwiatkowski.
The program currently supports 10 leaders with the help of 20 allies. Crome said Circles is currently looking for an additional 10 allies to volunteer with the program.
Crome said she has seen successes in the program over its four years in operation.
“I have watched people exit poverty, go back to school and pay back loans. I’ve watched people set a goal and achieve it. I have watched people who were on Ontario Works for five, 10 or 15 years gain a career,” said Crome.
“It’s such a privilege to be an ally because you get to walk with someone and change their lives,” she added.
Kwiatkowski said she doesn’t see being an ally as a volunteer role, instead approaching it like she would any friendship.
“If you’re someone who wants to be part of a community, if you want to be a part of a really exciting movement in the city, If you want to engage in deep, meaningful relationships with people, I think Circles could be a really great fit,” she said.
