Saturday, February 26, 2011
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo Opportunity Conference
The Opportunity Conference is a day-long community-based workshop that provides those in poverty with a real opportunity to move out of poverty by building connections, support, and hope. The Conference is for people currently living in poverty and for community members who commit to work with them. Designed to be fun and educational, the conference will build hope, motivation and skills for transitioning out of poverty. Captains (participants) are connected to Navigators (community volunteers) who, after exchanging personal contact information at the conference, commit to supporting participants in their efforts to break down the barriers of poverty, and move into self-sufficiency. |
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Click here for a copy of the Navigator's Resource Guide.
If you are interested in taking part in the conference as a Captain, please click here to go to www.slopoverty.wordpress.com 
which is a slightly more interactive, community-based, participant-focused, sister website.
Self-sufficiency is not about going it alone. It takes a community to stamp out poverty. It is about building a network of useful resources that will support the individual in their struggle to escape poverty. The purpose of the conference is to break the cycle of poverty through the practice of interdependence with the community to achieve independence for the individual. It’s about sharing skills and building a network to take advantage of the help from the community. It’s about bringing the people living in poverty out of isolation while paying attention to their perspectives.
The Opportunity Conference is an approach that is solution focused, customer centric, family based, strength oriented, needs driven and involves developing customized strategies for each individual. It brings together people who have skills to build professional enhancement, personal growth, and inspiration with the individuals whose success is dependent on the development of these attributes.
The conference provides the community the opportunity and the capacity to fight poverty while embracing those who experience it in a constructive partnership.
Sponsors Needed
Businesses and organizations who would like to sponsor the conference can get more sponsorship information here. Please click here to read an open letter seeking community support and financial sponsorship.
Click here for a flyer about information sessions to be held around the County to introduce the SLO Bridging Poverty Opportunity Conference to the community.
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You are about to embark on a process that will change poverty and the way it is viewed in your community. It will not only impact the lives of those who live in poverty, it will change the way your community views the issue of poverty. It implements strategies that will change the way people live.
The Opportunity Conference will bring people living in crisis, living on the financial edge, people who don’t feel there is hope, together with people who can help them move from where they are to where they could be. It will give people the resources they don’t yet know how to use to make their way out. The Opportunity Conference will present a vision of what can be and provide the community tools to help achieve this goal. |
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The Opportunity Conference concept has been designed by people who have lived in poverty. Strategies for assisting people to move out of poverty often miss the perspective of those who are experiencing poverty and fail to build the necessary capacities for moving out of poverty. The result is poverty reduction efforts that do not provide a flexible, comprehensive approach for moving people from crisis to stability. These efforts, while well intentioned, only help people to cope with the poverty conditions and to “get by”. With the Opportunities Conference approach, people are met where they are and are provided support from the perspective of people who have lived in poverty. This includes resources to help people with what they need, resources that address emotional, psychological, physical and practical needs. |
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Conference Progress
So far, we have 34 potential Navigators and 61 volunteers signed up to take part in this event. We will be adding more information here about attendance at the conference as we get it.
If you wish to volunteer to be a "Navigator" at the Opportunity Conference, please click here, fill out the Navigator Application. Then follow the mailing instructions found on the form.
Conference Sponsors
The Opportunity Conference Steering Committee wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of our conference:
Click here to return to the Bridging Poverty home page.