CLC News The news and events from Central Lakes College
The Meta 5 Displaced Homemaker Program at Central Lakes College has changed its named to the Meta 5 Family Resiliency Program. This follows suit with the other partnership programs in the state, which have collectively changed to the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership.
While the name has changed, the need for support in the community has not. Across 2018 and 2019, 63% of those who came to the program were victims of domestic violence, 85% were not receiving court-ordered child support, and 27% entered the program homeless. Over 5,400 individuals statewide, including their families and children, were provided services designed to assist in the pursuit of meaningful careers amidst significant life change. Ninety-seven percent of those participants completed the program successfully.
“The impact of our program on participants has been staggering,” said Kimberly Pilgrim, CLC’s Meta 5 Family Resiliency Program Director. “Looking forward, it’s going to take a lot for women to get back on their feet because many of them were struggling before the pandemic.”
For over 40 years, the program has been providing specialized pre-employment support and family stabilization services across the state through a network of six regional providers. Participants are caregivers, previously dependent on the financial support of others, who have lost that income due to death, disability, divorce, abandonment, or loss of public assistance.
These services have become even more significant as a global pandemic impacts the number of jobs available and causes increased competition at a time when parents must also juggle caring for children and assisting with secondary education in the home.
As shared by Jean Keenan, Executive Director of the Life-Work Planning Center, “While this impacts all caregivers, studies show that the pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on women.”
Keenan added: It is most often women who will sacrifice employment to care for the family, and the longer you are out of the workforce, the harder it is to return. The partnership remains more committed than ever to their mission during this time and will continue to support former caregivers through crisis and periods of instability while empowering all who are served to become agents of change in their own lives.
Administered through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, this career pathways program equips individuals with the employment readiness skills and other services needed to stabilize their families and their homes, while also preparing them for work. Participants receive individualized support focused on career exploration, education, and training, along with gaining the skills needed to secure and maintain employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency.
The Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership regional provider network includes:
Lives in Transition – AEOA, Virginia
Meta 5, CLC, Brainerd
Tri-County Action Program, Inc. – Rebuilding Lives, Waite Park
Avivo, Minneapolis, MN Life-Work Planning Center, Mankato
CHOICES of Southeast Minnesota, Rochester
