The Able Works Blog Has Moved!

In an attempt to integrate our blog more as a part of our website, we have moved our blog to Wordpress. Please follow us there at ableworks.wordpress.com.

Current Needs for the LiveAble:Women Cohort

The LiveAble:Women cohort meets every Thursday from 5:30-7:30pm beginning March 21st. There are multiple ways for volunteers to get involved, either once a week or once a month. The volunteer opportunities and time commitments are below.

Ways to Get Involved:

•   Provide child care. Two hours once a week.

•   Cook meals. Two hours once a month.

•   Be a guest speaker. One hour each occasion, depending on your expertise.

•   Be a life coach. Two hours once or twice a month.

•   Co-lead a cohort. Three hours once a week, with occasional meetings throughout for preparation.

Interested in finding out more information and ways to get involved? Contact Blanca Medina at Able Works. Blanca@able.is, 650.328.1890.

First Cohort to Launch Early March

The 18-30 year old age range is the most underserved population in the community. Many organizations are youth-focused and once students reach the age of 18, their program opportunities diminish and as a result, they are often forgotten. Within this age group there are various subgroups with various needs: high school graduates, first generation college students, young single moms, previously incarcerated individuals…the list could go on and on. Our hope is that in building a cohort around each subgroup, we can meet their needs more effectively while building support around them.

The first cohort we will be launching is LiveAble:Women. We plan to launch an additional three cohorts later this year.

Many young moms in our community find themselves financially stuck and without the resources necessary to escape their hardships. It is our hope that through LiveAble:Women, they will be able to receive support in thriving financially, gaining a foothold in the community, and cultivating success for their children.

Our plan is to collaborate with other organizations serving young moms in the community to ensure that all their needs are being met. We will launch the cohort mid-March, and have an informational meeting planned for potential cohort members the last week in February. Interested in ways to serve these young moms? Click here.

Introducing the NEW LiveAble:Cohorts Program

We are proud and excited to announce a new program that joins the concepts of FutureProfits with those of our LiveAble program which provides credit, foreclosure, and homeownership counseling. We hope to be able to change lives by building on the great work we do in FutureProfits through our curriculum, classes, and relational volunteers. By pairing the FutureProfits concepts with our current LiveAble counseling program, we will be able to serve young adults facing critical decisions about their future lives and finances. 

The new LiveAble:Cohorts program focuses on 18-30 year olds, equipping them with resources and assets to move from merely surviving to thriving and helping them make life choices that enable them to climb out of economic survival mode. This program is set up in a cohort model for peers to move forward together in a healthy environment while having group accountability and mentorship. 

Each cohort will last for a year, with anywhere from 10-20 members in each. The cohort will meet weekly as a group providing a time to connect, build community, and encourage one another to make great choices. Additionally, mentorship will be offered to each individual. Each cohort will be formed around interest groups to better serve the needs of the cohort members and to work towards the same goal with a unified purpose. For example our first group will be focused on young moms and is called LiveAble:Women.

All cohorts will support members as they expand assets via matched saving accounts, credit building/rebuilding, emergency savings accounts, and personal resource development. The cohort will help participants be successful, accountable, and educated in their finances, academics and vocation – working to both correct and avoid financial mistakes that might affect their ability to succeed.

With this new program, there are many new opportunities to volunteer. Click here for ways to get involved.