Episcopal Community Services Celebrates its Impact on Economic Independence Day
PHILADELPHIA (PRWEB) May 13, 2019 -- Episcopal Community Services (ECS) will celebrate its first ever Economic Independence Day on Thursday, May 16.
Committed to using evidence-based tools to reduce poverty and empower individuals to achieve economic independence, ECS is the only organization in Philadelphia using the Mobility Mentoring® model developed by its partner, Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath).
This year’s celebration will include a lively panel discussion with local experts and service providers from across the City of Philadelphia committed to holistically helping individuals and families escape poverty and advance their financial and social goals. The panel will delve into the fundamental pillars of life that promote prosperity: family stability, wellbeing, education and training, financial management, and employment.
Economic Independence Day celebrations will take place at:
Episcopal Community Services, Main Office
225 S. 3rd Street (just south of Walnut St.)
Thursday, May 16, 2019; 5:30-8:00pm
Panelists include: Erin Ellis, Philadelphia Federal Credit Union; Liz Hersh, Office of Homeless Services; Meg Shope Koppel, PhD, Philadelphia Works; Shirley Moy, North Philadelphia Workforce Initiative; Orfelina Feliz Payne, Community Behavioral Health; and David Thomas, PhD, Community College of Philadelphia.
Episcopal Community Services focuses on challenging intergenerational poverty to bring opportunity to every Philadelphian. Rather than a top-down, case management system, ECS partners with program participants who receive coaching to help them achieve their goals, including. In the new MindSet program, people receive five years of coaching and the tools needed to enter a career that has long-term advancement opportunities and provides financial stability.
By connecting to their hopes and dreams, participants are able to achieve more economic success. The Mobility Mentoring® model developed by EMPath in 2009 has resulted in participants’ employment increasing from 65 percent to 97 percent over the course of five years. The research-based model is being used across the globe, from Wisconsin to Washington, D.C., from the Netherlands to New Orleans.
According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia has an exceedingly high 25.7 percent poverty rate. Now is the time to shift gears and try new approaches to resolving this issue. Local case management systems are failing to disrupt intergenerational poverty, which is why ECS is implementing this innovative strategy.
“When people are working towards goals they have been empowered to set, they are more likely to be successful,” said David Griffith, executive director of Episcopal Community Services. Griffith added “our mentorship and coaching put the power in the hands of the participants, giving them a sense of ownership and increased motivation. Each success breeds more success.”
ECS is excited to help Philadelphians achieve economic independence and take control of their futures.
About Episcopal Community Services:
Episcopal Community Services (ECS) is a multi-service agency that embraces adaptability and program innovation in order to meet the evolving and diverse needs of Philadelphians who have been disadvantaged by poverty. ECS has a 140-year legacy of transforming itself in times of crisis and providing essential support services for the city’s most vulnerable. Today, its mission is to challenge and reduce intergenerational poverty, and guided by a new strategic plan, ECS’ programs focus on increasing people’s ability to achieve economic independence and mobility. For more information, visit http://www.ecsphilly.org.
Matthew Adler, SPRYTE Communications, 267-831-6076 x 26, [email protected]
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