Posts by Phillip DeVol:

Update on Katrina Housing Initiative–Community Sustainability

By Phil DeVol In May I wrote about the opportunity we had to create some community sustainability and help build houses for Hurricane Katrina victims. We had a partnership with a builder who was eager to use Bridges principles that would put Katrina victims at the center of the planning…

Workshops for Teachers–Under-Resourced Learners Summit – Opening Session

By Phil DeVol The Under-Resourced Learners Summit workshops for teachers was an aha! Process conference with a very new look and feel. Completely different! Going GREEN! Instead of three-ring binders packed with handouts, we’ve got wikis and blogs, texting and twitters, flip videos and cell phone photo exchanges, and interaction…

Cincinnati Works Achieves 85% Retention Rate for New Hires

A Bridges Community that adopts the Cincinnati Works model will be able attract new businesses to the community. Not long ago I visited Cincinnati Works with Scott Miller, Karin Van Zant, and Jason Upthegrove to see how Cincinnati Works works in reducing poverty. How do they place almost 700 people…

Poverty – How to Develop a Bridges Community – My Website / BlogHow to Develop a Bridges Community

Recently there has been a rush of communities asking how to go about building a Bridges community for reducing poverty. We’ve heard from people in Kent, Ohio; Boulder, Colorado; Ludington, Michigan; and Kings County, California (to name just four). At the same time as some established Bridges communities are deliberating…

aha! Process working in Gulf Region: Building houses and communities with Katrina victims- the Bridges way

It has been almost three years since the Gulf Coast was hit hard by the one-two punch of Katrina and Rita, and still 80,000 displaced people need homes. aha! Process is now going to work with investors and builders to build homes and communities using Bridges strategies. The Bridges into…

Getting Ahead Network–Phil DeVol answers a reader’s question

 From time to time we receive questions from clients.  One such client, Tammy Schoonover, presented us with the following questions and comments about the Getting Ahead Network.  Please read her question and Phil DeVol’s response.  We’d love to hear your feedback. Phil,      The Bucks County Opportunity Council is definitely…

Paradigm shift: Have a couple of drinks and some community sustainability

Many people report that they had aha! moments when they first heard Ruby Payne’s ideas. (Hence the name of her company!) I certainly had an aha! moment. I was in the backseat, on the way to dinner with my wife and some other friends, reading A Framework for Understanding Poverty.…

Three reasons to read Until It’s Gone: Ending Poverty in Our Nation, in Our Lifetime

Scott Miller’s new book, Until It’s Gone: Ending Poverty in Our Nation, in Our Lifetime, is now available. Here are three reasons you’ll want to read this book: First, you’ll learn about the Circles Campaign. The Circles Campaign is taking off like a rocket, faster than we imagined. I mention…

Implementing Bridges Out of Poverty

Imagine a group of thirty women and men sitting around a table. Imagine that they come from wealth, middle class, and poverty. Imagine that they represent different points on the political spectrum and that they work in civic organizations, nonprofit organizations, education, government, the private sector, and faith-based organizations. This…

A Getting Ahead graduate shares an aha! moment

Making changes is hard to do, particularly when we are in poverty. The demands of an unstable environment—cars that break down and finding affordable childcare, for example—force us to put all our energy into solving immediate, concrete problems. This phenomenon is called “the tyranny of the moment.” It’s a feature…