Capital City Circles to host open house

Capital City Circles, a community initiative committed to ending generational poverty, is hosting an open house at its new location.

"Anybody is welcome to come by," said coordinator Brenda Sillis. "We will have information available and be able to answer questions for anyone who is interested."

While still working in conjunction with Health and Human Services as well as other community organizations, the group left its former home at the health department in December to become its own nonprofit organization.

The open house will be 5-

6 p.m. Thursday at its new office at 808 E. College Parkway, suite 105.

Circles is designed to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness by building relationships across socioeconomic and cultural lines.

Participants in the program begin by attending classes to learn how to manage their money and prepare for the future.

Upon completion of the work group, they are then paired with community volunteers known as "allies." By spending time socially with the allies, participants in the program - or circle leaders - see the barriers of economic disparity fall.

The circle leaders are expected to return to the program as allies once they have completed the process.

Sillis said the program is successful.

"Things have been going well," she said. "The word is getting around about what Circles is and we're getting more referrals."

Although currently there are enough allies for the Circles leaders, she said, volunteers are always needed.

"We're continuously recruiting," she said. "It's a cycle."

For more information, contact Sillis at capitalcitycir

cles@gmail.com or 315-9469.