Bridges Out of Poverty

Program Information

Bridges Out of Poverty will be offered in seven towns across Wagga Wagga Educational Services.

The professional learning is for two days at a total course cost of $110 incl. GST. Schools are encouraged to send a group of people from their school for the training. Schools will only need to pay for the first two staff members. Additional staff sent to the training will have their course costs covered.

Each participant will be provided with a Bridges Out of Poverty workbook. Support for follow up forums will be provided free of charge by educational services.

Places are limited so please register your interest with the contact person below for the event you would like to attend.

Location / Venue / Dates / Contact / MYPL@edu link
Bathurst / Panthers Leagues Club Bathurst / 13th & 14th August 2015 / Cassie Hanrahan
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Broken Hill / Broken Hill Musicians Club / 3rd & 4th September / Bob Dyson
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Dubbo / Dubbo RSL / 18th & 19th August / Wendy English
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Nowra / Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre / 31st August and 1st September / Julie Thomas
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Queanbeyan / Comfort Inn Airport Queanbeyan / 19th & 20th October 2015 / Noelene Streets

Alison Reid
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Wagga Wagga / Mercure Motel / 22nd & 23rd June / Alison Reid
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Wollongong / Chifley Wollongong / 10th and 11th August / Julie Thomas
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What is Bridges out of poverty training?

Bridges out of Poverty training is based on the work of Dr Ruby Payne. It has been used extensively in the USA and Australia to support social service providers, schools and communities to increase the understanding and empathy of staff, to assist them to build better relationships with clients/students who experience poverty and to provide practical and relevant tools. It also offers tools for organisations wanting to align their policies and practices to the needs of those less resourced and for communities wanting to take a holistic and sustainable approach to tackling poverty.

Bridges Out of Poverty training provides a new lens for practitioners working with people from either situational or generational poverty.

How will this training support workers/organisations?

  • This training extends understanding about what it is like to experience disadvantage and builds deep empathy for those with fewer resources. In this work, poverty is defined as a lack of resources. Dr. Payne defines 9 Resources that everyone needs to achieve success in education, work and life. These resources are such things as having positive role models, being connected to support systems, emotional capabilities, formal register of language, believing in yourself and an understanding of the “hidden rules” of how society operates. Payne advocates that these are required, in addition to having enough income to pay for necessities.
  • New tools and insights are offered. Topics include but are not limited to the following:
  • How economic diversity affects behaviors and mindsets
  • The different language people have (vocabulary and registers of language) based on class, the barriers this can create and how to address this.
  • How to assess a person’s resources and use this assessment to create targeted interventions
  • How to build and sustain relationships with those from generational poverty
  • The “hidden rules” of class – what they are and how they matter.
  • Some changes that could be made at a community, agency or individual level to enable better outcomes when working with those experiencing disadvantage
  • Many report that this training has significantly changed their attitude toward their clients/students and that when implemented by organisations, it leads to significant cultural change.
  • Bridges out of Poverty training supports collaboration between agencies as everyone now “speaks the same language” and are motivated for change.
  • Some communities choose to take a community wide approach and become a “Bridges Community” (further information available on request)