In 1996, the Board of Trustees of the Bucks County Opportunity Council recognized that BCOC was doing a good job of helping people who were living in poverty day-to-day, but that more was needed to help them become financially secure for the long-term.

The Board set out to create our Economic Self-Sufficiency Program (ES), which encourages clients to work one-on-one with a coach (case worker) to map out a plan to achieve economic independence for the long-term. For most, that means acquiring the work skills and education needed to compete for jobs that pay a living wage.



ES has changed lives. And your return on investment in the ES Program expands with every graduate who is now off all forms of government assistance, earns a livable wage, has health insurance, lives in safe and affordable housing, and contributes to the community.

An independent auditor of the ES Program projected that for every dollar spent on ES families, more than $4.60 is saved on government subsidies. Once they have graduated, less than 17% require additional supports. As parents do better, children thrive and see a new way of living. The cycle of generational poverty is broken.

During the pandemic, BCOC helped a record number of people (57,837 last year), most with food and emergency/housing services. We are forever grateful to our community, whose members stepped up in new, creative ways as new partnerships were formed with businesses, schools, places of worship, government officials, and individual volunteers.

But many of our ES families struggled to stay on the path to ES graduation. Some lost their jobs in the service industries; others who had jobs lost child-care options. We provided housing and transportation assistance, gas and food cards, technology support to continue work and schooling online, and plenty of emotional support.

We know what works for ES clients to be successful—individualized planning and one-on-one supports from caring and experienced coaches. But we need your support to provide the creative resources and solutions to make the program available to more of our neighbors in need.

In recognition of our 25 years of changing lives through ES, we have set a fund-raising goal of $25,000 this fall, so please consider a gift so you can join with us to continue to help more families on the path to economic independence. 

Sincerely,

Erin Lukoss

Executive Director/CEO

P.S – In a survey completed this summer, ES Graduates gave the ES program an 8.8 out of 10 for changing their lives. We couldn’t do this work without your generous support.