Community Organizations Making a Difference

By: AIF Staff

In late June, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was joined by Senator Tim Scott and Representatives Ralph Norman and Joe Wilson of South Carolina on a visit to the Charleston Digital Corridor, a 92,000 sq. foot workspace and incubator for local businesses based in the center of a burgeoning Opportunity Zone.

The South Carolina site visits, coordinated by the American Idea Foundation, gave current and former legislators a chance to talk with employers and community-leaders about the progress being made in one of the state’s Opportunity Zones.

Created as part of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are a poverty-fighting tool that provides tax incentives for long-term investments in specific Census tracts. Speaker Ryan and Senator Scott have both been long-time advocates of the policy which aims to revitalize economically-distressed areas through capital incentives. Ryan and the South Carolina legislators talked with some of the 37 job-creators headquartered in the Charleston Tech Center about how Opportunity Zones have spurred business growth in a part of the state where poverty has been persistent.

As Speaker Ryan said during the visit: “The big benefit of Senator Scott‘s [Opportunity Zone] legislation is it has brought tens of billions of dollars of capital into the poorest communities of America. That’s money that would’ve never come otherwise. It’s also brought in the private sector and the public sector to focus on getting people out of poverty.”

Senator Scott added: “This has to be a win-win. A win for investors, a win for citizens, and a win for America and so far, so good.” 

While in South Carolina, Speaker Ryan also had the opportunity to meet with the leaders of the McLeod Health Clarendon’s Nurse-Family Partnership, which empowers first-time mothers by pairing them with trained nurses who provide health care and other social services from their pregnancy to their child’s 2^nd birthday.  

Ryan had a moving conversation with program administrators and new mothers who detailed the relationships they formed with medical professionals and discussed how the wrap-around services helped their children and families.

As the local paper, The Sumter Item, reported:

 “Since former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has left Washington, he founded the American Idea Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes poverty-fighting programs and policy to help Americans achieve their idea of the American Dream.

“To further those efforts, he visited McLeod Health Clarendon on Friday to learn about the Manning hospital’s Nurse Family Partnership program.

“The program connects expectant, first-time mothers with a nurse, who helps guide them through the physical, financial and emotional journeys that come with pregnancy and motherhood…. The program has been proven to improve health, economic and parental outcomes, and Paul Ryan held roundtable discussions with hospital leaders, nurses and mothers to learn more.”

The Item went on to cover the visit and its importance, saying in part:

“Nurses in a pregnancy and motherhood program at the county’s only hospital know their work goes beyond health care, breaking barriers between provider and patient, outsider and friend. Now, their stories have reached the ears of who was once one of Congress’ top leaders.

“Children played in the next room last week as McLeod Health Clarendon’s private dining room, which had just the day before hosted a reception marking the hospital’s 70th anniversary, hosted a roundtable discussion about the Nurse-Family Partnership program. Attending were mothers, nurses, hospital executives and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

***

“Four mothers took turns telling their story, their nurses by their side, to Ryan. He heard about the mother who was sick her entire pregnancy and had her texts answered late at night. He heard about the nurse who ensured her mothers were signed up for COVID-19 relief payments. And the nurse who started educating a mother’s young sister on how to care for a newborn when COVID-19 put the mom on a ventilator.

“What Ryan learned from the mothers, nurses and program and hospital leaders was why this program works.

“It’s more than health care,” he said.

***

“If Ryan was looking for evidence-based solutions, he came to the right place when he visited the rural hospital in Manning. As Frank Daidone, CEO of the national NFP, put it, McLeod’s program is the most efficiently run and best performing NFP in the country.”

Since 2014, the Nurse-Family Partnership at McLeod Health has served more than 1,000 families in South Carolina and made over 33,000 home visits. It is an example of the impact that the Nurse-Family Partnership program can have in communities around the country. The program is evidence-based, has been expanded under both Republican and Democratic Administrations, and as Speaker Ryan observed on his visit, it is changing lives on a daily basis.

These site visits are the first of many to be conducted by the American Idea Foundation and are premised on the belief that impactful public policies can be shaped by identifying front-line organizations tackling tough issues, validating their efforts through evidence, and showing lawmakers first-hand how they are expanding opportunities to those in need. 

By: AIF Staff

More so than any other year in modern history, 2020 showed how important having a structurally sound education system capable of delivering quality instruction is for Americans of all ages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and administrators learned first-hand how challenging it can be to provide instruction to students who are facing turbulence and difficulties in their lives. And coming out of this turbulent time, educators and policymakers would be well-served to learn from this challenging year and expand flexible learning modalities to meet America’s students where they are.

Part of modernizing how America educates its population is by changing our perception: Too many in America view education in a linear fashion, believing that everyone generally proceeds from pre-K to high school to higher education programs in a straight-forward and uninterrupted way. The reality, however, is much different and for millions of Americans, obtaining and education is often more circuitous. Life often gets in the way of students achieving a full education, and the lack of a high school diploma can hold folks back from reaching their potential.

Given the correlation between educational attainment and lifetime earnings – to say nothing of other social outcomes that improve based on a person’s level of education, America needs educational programs and systems to help those who may not be able to take a linear schooling path.

One such educational program that is making a difference in the lives of adults around the country is The Excel Center, operated by Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana. Since 2010, the Excel Center has been providing adults in Indiana with a cost-free high school education and a customized approach to learning that empowers people “to increase their independence and reach their potential through education, health and employment.”

The idea for the Excel Center started with a simple observation by the leaders of Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana: Too many Indiana adults were not successfully completing high school and it was having cascading repercussions for the students, their families, and their communities.

So, working with local officials and the community, they developed a solution, starting with one school in 2010 and gradually expanding to 30 different Excel Centers: 18 of which are in Indiana and 12 across 5 different states.

In the past decade, Excel Centers have helped nearly 35,000 people improve their lives through the attainment of a high school diploma. The Excel Center uses an accelerated adult learning program, allowing student to earn high school degree within 12 months on average as well as industry-recognized certifications. Fox59 of Indianapolis reported on the Center’s unique approach:

“At first glance, it looks like an ordinary classroom. But at the Excel Center, these aren’t ordinary students. They’re all adults who have dropped out of high school the first time and are back and ready to graduate… The center also provides free childcare, transportation assistance and dual credit courses, which allows students to focus on completing their course work.”

Because of their customized model, the Excel Center is having a real impact and changing lives through education. As an Excel Center graduate told WISH TV: “I feel like I couldn’t have done it without them and my family. So I feel like I have accomplished one of my major goals in life.”

Beyond the anecdotal impacts, the Excel Center’s approach has been increasingly validated by data and evidence, thanks to a partnership with Notre Dame’s Laboratory for Economic Opportunities which has studied the program’s outcomes. A statistical summary from Goodwill showed the promise and the power of the Excel Centers:

• 73% of graduates earned an industry certification and/or college credit;
• 38% of Excel Center graduates enroll in post-secondary education within one year of graduating;
• Recent state data suggests that 2017 Excel Center graduates that participate in the workforce saw a $14,000 increase in annualized wages compared to when those same students enrolled at The Excel Center.

According to a self-reported student profile produced by Goodwill, only 19% of enrollees had full time employment, 84% were unemployed and/or receiving public assistance, and 66% had been out of school for more than a year.By providing an accessible education model, coupled with assistance that meets students’ specific needs, Excel Centers are giving people a real chance at achieving a diploma and career certification and at realizing the benefits that come with it.

As Notre Dame noted:

“For adults who don’t graduate from high school, average weekly earnings hover around $520. Adults who have a high school diploma, on the other hand, earn an average of $712 per week…. And those with high school diplomas are also less likely to be unemployed. The unemployment rate for high school graduates is about 5%, compared with 7% for people without a diploma.”

An education can unlock opportunities to a better life, not just for the student but for their families and communities as well. By developing models that allow adults to obtain high school diplomas and to receive industry certifications, programs like the Excel Centers are giving thousands the chance to pursue their American Dreams and provide policymakers with an example of how an innovative model can be scaled to make a major impact.

By: AIF Staff

On March 11, 2021, the people of Dallas lost a pillar of their community with the passing of Bishop Omar Jahwar. Few make such a big impact in such a short time as Bishop Omar and fewer still embody the awesome power of redemption better than he did.

Bishop Omar was one of the founders and leaders of Urban Specialists, a Texas-based organization dedicated to promoting positive change in inner-city communities and to reducing destructive and violent behavior. Bishop Omar’s life was a personal testament of transformation, as he went from a juvenile criminal offender to one of Texas’ first gang-interventionists to receiving the White House’s Achievement Against the Odds Award. As all those who knew Bishop Omar mourn, they should take comfort in the fact that he is undoubtedly looking down saying: “There is a time for grieving, but then the work must go on.”

Upon his passing, American Idea Foundation President and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who struck up an unlikely friendship with Bishop Omar — one that spanned almost a decade and one that transcended race, socioeconomic status, and party affiliation, offered the following statement:

“At first glance, it wouldn’t seem that a Congressman from Janesville and a preacher from Dallas would have a lot in common, but I was honored to call Bishop Omar a friend. He taught me a lot about redemption and the power of community. I’ll miss his personality, his passion, and his unwavering belief in every person’s inherent goodness.

“Bishop Omar lived his work. He showed me, and the people of Dallas, that real change happens one person at a time. Bishop Omar’s legacy will live on through the ongoing work of Urban Specialists and through all the people he saved during the course of his ministry. The best way we can honor Bishop Omar’s life is to draw inspiration from his example and be a catalyst for positive change in our communities.”

In a Forbes column entitled The Gangster, the Preacher, & the Speaker of the House, Bishop Omar summarized his work succinctly: “This is my role. I tell these young men, ‘There are landmines in this field, this gang life, but if you allow me to lead you, brother if you take my hand, I can show the path around the mines, and you can cross unscathed.’”

He continued, “What we do in communities is we attempt to bring social change through individuals who are closest to the problem, those who can actually deliver help from a hand-to-hand point of view. I recruit guys who’ve lived that lifestyle in some of the roughest zip codes in the nation, and I’m asking them to become front-line soldiers fighting for one idea: that urban life does not have to be stunted by violence and a sub-culture of abuse.”

In 2016, the impact of Bishop Omar was made abundantly clear in a video entitled: Become a Hero, which was a part of the Comeback video series that focused on transformative efforts underway in our communities. 

Speaker Ryan first met Bishop Omar during his travels with Bob Woodson travels as he was looking for inspiring examples of individuals and organizations tackling pressing issues in our communities. Almost immediately, it became clear that Bishop Omar and the Urban Specialists were making a difference and developing a model that could be exported to other cities around the United States. In 2018, as Speaker of the House, Ryan continued to draw lessons and inspiration from Bishop Omar, visiting Urban Specialists to discuss their efforts to combat multi-generational poverty and reduce gang violence in Texas.

The efforts being undertaken by Bishop Omar and his organization were highlighted in National Review, which summarized their efforts in the following way: 

““Urban specialists” are Pastor Omar’s team of mentors, largely former gang members, who have returned to the neighborhoods they grew up in to try to steer the newest generation onto a better path. Pastor Omar insists that the best people to solve social problems such as gang violence or drug addiction are those who experienced those problems and overcame them….

“Pastor Omar’s urban-specialist model has proven itself in Dallas. The Dallas Independent School District works with Pastor Omar to get urban specialists into schools across the district, and he has an enthusiastic supporter in Dallas police chief David Brown. And he believes that the model can be applied anywhere — from schools to courtrooms to corporate America.”

Bishop Omar’s work was hands-on and sometimes, it was messy. But Bishop Omar lived a purpose-driven life. He created force-multipliers in communities, developing a network of mentors who could meet young people involved in gangs and criminal behavior and speak to them from a position of shared experiences. He saved lives. He prevented violence. He promoted hope and optimism. He made an impact that will reverberate for years to come.

Where others saw problems, Bishop Omar saw solutions. Where others saw dead-ends, Bishop Omar saw ways to turn around. The American Idea Foundation joins his family, his friends, and all those touched by Bishop Omar in grieving his passing and honoring his decades of service to others by drawing inspiration from his amazing work.