The Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) — a local antipoverty nonprofit — has enlisted the help of Bucks County Community College for its Economic Self-Sufficiency (ES) effort.

The ES program empowers low-income families with the education, skills, and resources necessary to achieve and maintain economic self-sufficiency.

Its success hinges on 1:1 relationships with coaches who advise on improvement steps such as finding employment, safely navigating transportation, and balancing household budgets.

Some of that coaching is now happening through the community college.

The BCOC has integrated its clients into the student services offered at the Newtown Campus. Further, it is providing financial support and resources to students who are making strides to improve their futures through knowledge and skill.

The transformations are powerful. One participant described the impact.

“My coach asked me what my dream was,” she recalled. “And I thought that was a crazy question, I don’t dream anymore.

“I came back a second time and said I’d always wanted to be a nurse. And my coach and I got to work on a plan that day.

“Today, I am a nurse, I have achieved my dream, and you can too.”

More on the BCOC/Bucks County Community College collaboration is online.