Circles - Wellington County Learning Centre

Circles Guelph Wellington is a community-based initiative that creates relationships across economic boundaries. It matches people of low-income who have attended the Getting Ahead program with people of middle and upper income who have attended bridges training.

Circles is a high-impact, 18-month-long voluntary strategy designed to:

Provide emotional and practical support
Assist with complex issues
Build the "social capital" of people living in low income situations
Show the community the very real barriers holding people in poverty
Walk with people in poverty and support positive changes in their lives.

The Circles program has been used in dozens of communities in the US and Canada. It is a proven and credible program that makes real and on-going change for individuals and our community.

Before you begin your journey with Circles there is a prerequisite program called “Make Your Way”. For details, please email Terri Townsley at territ@wellington.ca.

“Circles helped me by building up my personality to a confident level, as well as direct me to the right people to encourage my business. The members of Circles have helped support and encourage my goals and ambitions. I would not have stuck to my goals had it not been for everyone in Circles keeping me on track.”

~Anonymous, 25, Circles Leader

What is a Circles Leader?

Leaders have a unique role at Circles. They are working to become self-sufficient. A Circles Leader leads, receives and gives support within the Circle. The Leader works with their Allies to build his or her plan and uses their lived knowledge and skills as problem solving tool for individual goals and poverty issues in the community.

What is an Ally?

Circles Allies are part of a team of two or three volunteers for each Leader who engage in an intentional and caring relationship working towards economic self-sufficiency. Allies are community members trained in Bridges out of Poverty and support Circle Leaders in their journey. Allies work with their Circle Leader to figure out how to accomplish his or her plan for self-sufficiency and understand issues around poverty and know how to be helpful while not being intrusive. The Ally’s role is not to fix problems but to walk alongside the Leader and link them to resources and supports.

Circles Forms

Below are some forms which Circles Leaders may need access to. They can be filled out entirely online.