The Salvation Army & Education - Part III
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on The Salvation Army's New Frontier Chronicle website. To read the full article, please go HERE.
By Christin Davis
Bootstraps Asset Building Education In Denver, Colorado
The Denver Harbor Light six-month residential program helps nearly 600 men each year work through addictions issues and job readiness.
The program includes the Bootstraps Asset Building Education, a four-week curriculum that provides an in-depth look at the role of financial stress on a person’s employment stability and ability to maintain sobriety.
“We treat each person with dignity and respect and believe in them, believe that God is able to heal and restore them, and believe that they are valuable as individuals both to us and to society,” said Auxiliary Captain Diana Gomes, administrator of the Harbor Light. “I believe we should provide the best tools in regard to relapse prevention education as well as tools necessary to be successful in recovery, such as the Bootstraps class.”
Shawn Young, founder of the Financial Health Institute, created the program initially to help young adults improve their personal and professional lives through financial and civic education. The curriculum takes into account a person’s environment, and demonstrates how personal values impact financial decisions and health choices. It has been used in more than 30 organizations—from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation to Denver Housing Authority—throughout Colorado.
“It’s real information that’s valid for any person,” said Dr. Joanne McLain, former administrator at Elbert County Department of Human Services who now runs a private counseling practice and consults in developing the Financial Health Institute with Young. “The individual has to connect to it and be emotionally engaged for learning to really stick.”
Since the program was implemented at Harbor Light in 2011, over 200 men have participated. In exit surveys, 85 percent said the program is highly effective; 73 percent said they would use the information to make changes in their lives.
“For any type of organization where we try to help clients, we tend to approach it as ‘I know what’s right, let me teach you what it is.’ That’s natural, but that’s not ideal,” McLain said. “People need to feel like they have some choice in what they learn and how it applies to them. They need to approach it from their own place and perspective.”
McLain said the sessions begin by asking people what is important to them—goals, values, and how those goals fit with the values. She said she’s witnessed participants lose weight or quit smoking as they become more aware of where their money goes.
“It’s important for people in difficult places in life to develop a sense of ‘yes, I can control something in my life and I can make things better,’” McLain said. “This program is a tool for that. It helps people make choices and gain confidence.”