We all Change. So Why Not Change on Purpose.
Which Path Will You Choose?
We want to help and create a better world
Empowering Change is centered on the principle that we can control who we become. But to do so requires Motivation, Opportunity, and Effort. Two of these, Motivation and Effort, we control. But Opportunities are harder to come by, ESPECIALLY for those with criminal pasts.
Those with criminal records are often disqualified from many Opportunities because of their past. Employment, Home Ownership and Education options are more limited after conviction. Empowering Change helps people achieve self-reliance through our
Path to Business Ownership
Path to Home Ownership
Pathways to Higher Education
Scroll Down to Learn About Each Path.
The Path to Business Ownership helps individuals fund their dream of starting their own business. In addition to Micro-Loans and connecting to Angel investors, Empowering Change hosts small business education courses which helps participants draft business plans, conduct market assessments, SWAT analysis, set goals, and more. Qualified participants are connected with experienced business leaders who are available to advise and offer suggestions.
The Path to Home Ownership model aims to transform lives through Affordable Housing and to Empower Families and Individuals to Enjoy the American Dream of Home Ownership. Criminal histories and incarceration can impact credit scores and loan approvals. Empowering Change is connected to a network of sellers and landlords who do not reject renters and buyers based on the mistakes made in their past. Downpayment assistance and flexible financing options are available.
Pathways to Higher Education
Empowering Change supports participants entry into Brigham Young University's "Pathways" Program. Entirely online, it is a unique model which gives students the support they need through each step of their certificates, associate degree, and bachelor’s degree. Certificates can be earned in less than a year and lead to immediate job improvement.
14,000
Number of Different People Booked into Maine County Jails Each Year
328 per 100,000
Maine's Incarceration rate is Higher than the UK, Canada and France COMBINED.
$48,906
Average Cost Per Inmate Per Year
Does One Person Make A Difference?
An Old Man and Young Boy were walking on the beach after a storm. Scattered across the sand were hundreds, maybe thousands of starfish, left stranded from the waves as the tide quickly fled.
Boy bent to pick up a drying and dying starfish and threw it back to the sea. Again and again did Boy stop and rescued the doomed creatures.
Annoyed by the interruptions in their pace, Old Man scorned, "Boy. There are so many. You cannot save them all. What difference does it make?"
Boy looked at Old Man, and then at the wilting Starfish in his hand, and said: "It makes a difference to THIS one."
Adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eisley
