Bridges team in Dubuque, Iowa does great work

To see what the Bridges team in Dubuque, Iowa is doing, read the premier edition of their newsletter, available here.

Those of you who attended the Bridges and Circles Conference in Florence, Kentucky in October probably remember the team from Dubuque. They were not—and are not—shy. I had the pleasure of visiting them in mid-November.

One of my lasting memories of Dubuque will be the energetic and warm soul of the group. This was no doubt enhanced by the places in which we met: the dining room of Clarke Manor, where we ate dinner together the first night, and the Multicultural Family Center, where the Getting Ahead (GA) graduates were honored on the second evening.

The Cincinnati conference team of Alyssa Hauser, Ermina Soler, Janice Carddieth, and Jim Ott enjoyed a meal catered by Carroll Clark. Carroll is not only a wonderful cook; she is, with Jim Ott, a driving force behind the Bridges initiative in Dubuque.

We celebrated the success of the GA graduates at the Multicultural Family Center in downtown Dubuque. This new facility, paid for by the city, is modeled on the principles of Bill Strickland. The Clarian group in Indianapolis will remember Mr. Strickland from Pittsburgh. Some years ago we attended a luncheon where he was the featured speaker. Bill Strickland builds beautiful buildings that are utilized as learning centers in the poorest sections of our cities. See more at http://www.bidwell-training.org/. The Multicultural Family Center is upscale in every feature!

During the GA celebration, I was struck by who was in the room. There were people from all classes, all races, many sectors, and all political persuasions. Beside the many GA grads (several of whom are now facilitators) were a number of city and county leaders. Bridges enjoys the support of City Manager Michael Van Milligen; Dave Harris from the Housing and Community Development department; Dave Heiar, economic development director; and Nancy Van Milligen, the president and CEO of the Dubuque Foundation, to name just a few.

You’ll understand my enthusiasm for the Dubuque Bridges-Getting Ahead steering committee when you read the newsletter.

Thanks, Dubuque!

Philip DeVol2020-06-26T16:38:10-05:00November 24th, 2009|Community|

About the Author: Philip DeVol

Phil DeVol is an international consultant who has been working with aha! Process since 1997. He used aha! Process concepts to make institutional changes at the addiction treatment center where he was the executive director for 19 years. During this time he also co-wrote Bridges Out of Poverty with Ruby Payne and Terie Dreussi-Smith. His book Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-by-World is being used to engage people in poverty in the work of building communities where everyone can live well. It worked so well that DeVol used it as a basis for a prison reentry model called Getting Ahead while Getting Out. He works with community leaders to help them move quickly from an attraction to application of Bridges concepts. Getting Ahead and Bridges are being used in hundreds of communities in the U.S., as well as a number of sites in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. His books have been translated into Spanish, Slovak, and Czech.