22 Apr Metro Lutheran Ministries (MLM) Receives a $75,000 Grant from the Hancock Family Foundation

Metro Lutheran Ministries (MLM) recently received a grant for $75,000 from the Hancock Family Foundation to support the Learning to Earning program.

Learning to Earning is a client-focused education and employment services program for those without basic job readiness skills.  Clients work with a Program Managers in three main areas, including Education, Employment, and Finances.  Clients work to get their GED, doing preparation work in balance with their work schedule and family commitments.  They work with Program Managers who design an individualized process for each client to guide them through employment services, focusing on resume assistance, life skills, and assistance with leads and interviewing.  They work to develop an individualized financial plan, focusing on needs versus wants, the benefits of bank accounts, and develop a monthly budget.

In the last year, the Learning to Earning program has evolved in a few substantial ways.  First, as the program has matured, Metro Lutheran Ministry (MLM) has found ways of providing more comprehensive, bundled services. This is made possible by some of the other services available at MLM. For example, clients may benefit from funding available for housing or housing deposits, receive assistance with utility bills that preclude their re-housing, or see assistance through one of MLM’s partnering organizations, such as Blessings Abound, which helps MLM provide low cost, high quality furnishing to clients whose financial situation doesn’t allow for furnishing a recently acquired apartment or rented house.

Second, the program has enhanced its focus on client finances. While providing relief to low income people experiencing a crisis is an important part of social service, programs such as Learning to Earning utilize an empowerment and stability model that seeks to, over time, help our low income clients avoid financial crisis in the first place. This process tends to be complex, including providing financial literacy training and performing credit repair services.  MLM has found that helping clients make the most of the wages they do earn is central to providing a person with the ability to take financial responsibility for their situation while progressing towards their goal of self-sufficiency.

Finally, over the last two years of Learning to Earning, one of the main lessons MLM has learned is that while obtaining employment can come easily, retaining employment remains a challenge for many program participants. There are a number of factors affecting this, including maintaining a healthy and workable routine, the sudden change in behavior by some employers in regards to scheduling, and the difficulties surrounding dynamics such as child care. It’s MLM’s mission to help clients manage these struggles, and the agency has increased involvement in the lives of Learning to Earning participants for the sake of achieving their short and long term financial goals.

For over 40 years, Metro Lutheran Ministry has ministered to the poor, homeless, elderly and disabled in the greater Kansas City area.  MLM uses a holistic approach with strengths-based and outcome-based counseling and case management to guide clients toward greater independence and self-reliance.  Metro Lutheran Ministry has experience with providing other services to the target population, including housing, food, and emergency assistance.