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MEDIA
ADVISORY
St. Vincent’s Clients
Reach Another Educational Milestone
Three St. Vincent de Paul Village clients
participating in the organization’s Bridges to Independence
program will receive their advanced-level certificates –
the third of four certificates the educational program offers
– on Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. at 1501 Imperial
Avenue.
Bridges to Independence is similar to the credit-hour system
utilized by many universities and other institutions of higher
learning. The goal of the innovative approach to client rehabilitation
– in place since last August – is to provide clients
attainable benchmarks which can be easily tracked by placing
unit values on various accomplishments, a rehabilitation philosophy
never before implemented by a homeless services agency.
The program is designed with four different levels –
basic, intermediate, advanced and advanced with honors –
each of which require clients to meet specific criteria before
moving on to the next level.
President of St. Vincent’s, Father Joe Carroll, says
the clients’ achievements in the past seven months are
a far cry from their lives on the streets.
"There was a time in our graduates’ lives when obtaining
food and shelter was a major challenge," he says. "Ask
them if they ever imagined their hope for a successful future
would be intact, and to a one they would answer no."
The three clients who will be recognized Tuesday have already
begun the final certificate level, whose benchmarks range
from obtaining a permanent source of income to demonstrating
leadership within the Village community.
For more information, please call
(619) 525-1608.
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