As Butler County's community action agency, SELF exists to enhance the quality of life for Butler County residents by impacting the causes of poverty and empowering individuals to achieve, sustain and advocate self-sufficiency. Every year SELF serves nearly 6,000 families, many through programs designed to help low-income people find a path that allows them to lead themselves out of poverty. SELF currently offers the following programs and services:
- Build-Up Academy: Teaches low-income adults construction skills and connects them to apprenticeships, jobs and advanced training programs. Employment training and hands-on work included!
- Butler County Microenterprise and Microloan Program: Helps low- and moderate-income individuals to learn in group workshops about all aspects of starting a business including hands-on assistance in writing a business plan and the opportunity to apply for a loan of up to $5,000 to launch the business. Two other organizations are partners in the program.‚
- Getting Ahead classes: "Getting Ahead in a just Gettin' by World" is a workshop that assists individuals living with limited resources to evaluate their lives and to develop the life skills necessary to survive and flourish. GA participants develop a series of mental models to examine their own pasts and create new futures.
- Getting Ahead with R-Rules: R-Rules is a Getting Ahead program for teens. The R-Rules focuses on assisting teens in developing goals for their future, increasing study skills, assessing their career goals, developing a college plan and understanding mental models.
- Neighbors Who Care: Home Repair and Group Workcamps Projects: Volunteer-driven home repair projects in Butler County which help homeowners: primarily low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities. Activities spike in the summer during Group Workcamps week. Free home repairs and mobility modifications help about 100 homeowners each year.
- Individual Development Account (IDA) program: Financial literacy classes and goal-specific education combined with matched savings accounts for low- to moderate-income clients so that they can acquire a home, start a business or access higher education. Client savings are matched by SELF $2 to every $1!
- JOBS NOW!: a powerful employment and education program for low-income individuals to improve economic stability through obtaining employment or better employment. The 12-week program provides comprehensive assessment; a 3-week, 15-hour skills workshop taught by business professionals; limited emergency services such as utility assistance, interview clothing and job-related transportation; and most importantly, job leads.
- Emergency Home Energy Assistance and Summer Cooling Programs: Help for low-income families being threatened with shut off of heat in the winter or electric in the summer. In addition, SELF verifies and re-verifies participants on the Percentage of Income Payment Plans (PIPP) Plus program, administers several fuel funds and assists with intake for free weatherization services.
- Weatherization: Want to reduce your utility bill? SELF offers a residential energy efficiency program that reduces energy use by reducing air infiltration and heat loss in homes, reducing utility bills for low-income homeowners and renters.
