Podcast: From getting ahead to staying ahead

One of the interesting things in Howard County is that because we live in such a wealthy county, we understand the magnitude of those who are living in poverty and those who are living in crisis, the magnitude of the need they have. You’re in such a wealthy county, but you’re still struggling to make ends meet. Earning minimum wage in our county, someone would need to work at least three full-time jobs to rent an apartment here.

To give you sort of an overview of the county’s investment into our Getting Ahead program, in FY16 our county government allotted a little over $100,000 for our Getting Ahead initiative. This past fiscal year we had about $94,000. And what we do with that fund is we partner with our local nonprofits and state agencies, and they apply for small grants from us in order to provide Getting Ahead programs in their institutions.

We have many community partners with our workforce, our housing, our department of social services, and our faith-based partners as well. We provide small grants to these organizations in order to facilitate Getting Ahead groups in the community.

Listen to the webinar to learn more.

Quinton Askew2020-06-26T14:59:20-05:00June 23rd, 2017|Community|

About the Author: Quinton Askew

Quinton Askew has spent the past 15 years in executive leadership positions with nonprofits and state and local governments. He is currently president/CEO of 211Maryland. During his time as a director with the government of Howard County, Maryland, he oversaw the implementation of Bridges Out of Poverty, Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World, and Getting Ahead While Getting Out. These efforts included an aftercare component, Staying Ahead, to support Getting Ahead graduates. Quinton is also the founder of Conscious Minds Foundation, a community-based training and mentoring program whose mission is to strengthen families, improve youth outcomes, and engage the community. Quinton grew up in the city of Baltimore and has worked in nonprofit, government, and correctional institutions, giving him a keen understanding of growing up in an underserved, under-resourced community, navigating systems, as well as engaging community members from all demographics and economic backgrounds.