In this episode, Chris Lowery, Senior Vice President of Workforce Alignment, Systems OfficeAnd Stacy Townsley, Vice President of Adult Strategy and Statewide Partnerships, Systems Office share the vision and strategy around Bridges of Hope.

Imagine a bridge spanning a river, with all of the structural elements—including the cables, deck, and piers—working in concert to provide sturdy support. Metaphorically speaking, at one end of the bridge you can find relief—food, shelter, safety, daycare, healthcare and other needs; crossing the bridge you find opportunity through training and education that provide pathways from jobs to better jobs and careers; and on the other side of the bridge is transformation, with meaningful employment supporting social and economic mobility.

The bridge can only stand and be truly sturdy for people in their journey if all three elements are working in concert – relief, opportunity, and transformation…or, community- and faith-based organizations, Ivy Tech, and employers. This sturdy support is what the Bridges of Hope strategic partnership initiative aims to achieve.

If you'd like to access the Pandemic Edition of the REAL College survey that Kara read from, please visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Xz1rLbtt6kUfC6GMkidFR4xvBLWmHIb3/view?usp=sharing

If you wish to get involved, you can reach out to Stacy to join Strategy 2.4 sessions that she mentioned to help develop a toolkit.

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