Overview of Eleven Resources
Bridges defines poverty as the extent to which a person does without resources. Organizations and communities that use Bridges constructs are intentional about building resources. Those resources include:
Given the unstable world of poverty, a person may start life with fewer resources or may lose resources over time and end up in poverty. Living in the tyranny of the moment and in persistent and concentrated poverty makes it difficult to build resources, but that is exactly what is needed to get out of poverty.
To carry out plans it helps if one has the resources to:
*Purchase the goods and services to stabilize the environment (financial) *Think in the abstract, to keep oriented to the future, even while being forced to deal with daily concrete problems (mental) *Use positive self-talk and maintain the determination to stay with the plan even when exhausted (emotional) *Stay well and have the stamina to keep moving even when beset by depression (physical) *Get the emotional, physical, and financial support of others while the plan slowly evolves (social) *Access an inner strength, a high power, and/or a spiritual fellowship that provides motivation and sustaining strength in hard times (spiritual) *Get help and guidance from a mentor, sponsor, or guide (role models) *Navigate new experiences and settings with confidence (knowledge of hidden rules of class) Getting Ahead graduates added these:
9. Integrity and trust
10. Motivation and persistence
11. Formal language registerIn a society normalized to stability and planning, these things appear automatic. Assuming that others live the same societal experience leads to poor program designs. That is why a key Bridge’s principles is that we need all economic classes talking, sharing and at the decision-making table.
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