GIVE LOW-INCOME ENTREPRENEURS A FAIR SHOT!

Hello ROBI Supporters!

It's RW Jones here with some important news that I think you should be aware of.  Programs like the Resident Owned Business Incubator (ROBI) funded by local workforce programs are typically funded by the Department of Labor through the Workforce Innovation & Opportunities Act (WIOA).  

WIOA is landmark legislation that is designed to strengthen and improve our nation's public workforce system and help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.

Entrepreneurship is an allowable activity in the WIOA legislation, unfortunately, it is not fully supported as a pathway out of poverty by many local cities and states.

Here is where it gets interesting.  Low-income families are forced to bear huge administrative burdens such as taking 4-hour exams, commuting to offices to complete redundant paperwork, and submitting personal identifying information for each program that they desire to join.

This redundant process has left families depleted of hope, and opportunities.  Even after training, they are left in the same position simply because the programs are not effectively meeting the plethora of needs, they face daily.

Low-income families are looking for another way.  Another way to access real opportunities without burdens.

When we say we believe that all Americans are created equal and possessed of inalienable rights to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and to justice under the law.  Yet the entitlements provided to people living at or below poverty are structured to keep them poor while entitlements offered to wealthier Americans and corporations assist in wealth creation and enhanced prosperity.  It is this very element that keeps families from accessing opportunities that build wealth. 

Corporations and Individuals with great wealth can access programs that aid them in their prosperity without administrative burdens and or barriers.  However low-income people are put to tasks at every point, with every program that claims to help.  This further leaves families feeling helpless and defeated.

So we are currently contracted to provide training to families who want the program with evidence of them completing our applications and assessment.  However, what has now become something we cannot control or manage is how they engage with these bureaucratic systems. 

Something has changed and shifted!  Low-income families are telling us what they need.  We hope that those with the power of the pen are listening. 

In Great Expectations

Links:

• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)