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How Empowerment Plan Empowers Detroiters

Detroit, MI  (CBS Detroit)  - In the time since Empowerment Plan was founded in 2012, it has evolved from an idea in a college class, into an internationally recognized workforce development organization that focuses on ending the cycle of homelessness.

By pairing full time employment with a wide range of supportive services, they have helped dozens of individuals achieve financial stability and independence for the whole family. Their holistic approach addresses everything from housing and childcare to transportation and education.

"Empowerment Plan is a non-profit based here in Detroit, that focuses on ending the generational cycle of homelessness through employment," explains Veronica Scott, CEO of Empowerment Plan. "We focus on hiring individuals that are in shelters that have children, and employing them to produce a coat that turns into a sleeping bag, that we give out globally for those in need."

"Right now our biggest priority for the Empowerment Plan is that we want to get 9,000 coats sponsored this winter, this is our most productive year ever.  Back when I started the organization about 7 years ago, we did less than 1,000 coats, so it's been quite a growth curve for us."

 

"I think there is a need for more employment opportunities, more of this stepping stone employment. So again, our biggest focus right now is coat sponsorship, and helping employ more people in more of the shelters that we're partnered with."

"What we see for the organization is that we get up to maximum capacity here in Detroit, and then we even look at how we can scale into other communities and take what we've learned from our experience here in Detroit and help other cities learn to combat poverty and homelessness."

"Every single person we've hired has been able to move out of the shelter within the first 4 to 6 weeks with us, and not a single person has fallen back into homelessness once we've hired them. That's the powerful measurment, that's the thing we want to keep going with."

Watch for "Eye on Detroit" segments weekdays during "CBS This Morning" at 7 a.m. featuring unique and positive stories from the Motor City.

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