Nonprofit-Performance-360-Vol-3-No-1-Berger

Nonprofits that Work

Tammy Harden

Encourage, Equip and Empower 3e Restoration

W hat if serving others were something that didn’t drain us, but a process that both aided the holistic growth of the individual and also contributed to the development of an organization? That very ideal sits at the heart of most organizations in the nonprofit sector. Yet, sadly, we often fall short. Since the founding of 3e Restoration in March 2014, we have been able to embark on a journey. Our founder, Fred Liggin, joined with clinical psychologist Dr. James Goalder to create a unique curriculum that trains a community, typically a local church, to walk with Friends in Need. Not seeking simply to patch the holes and send our homeless friends on their way, we believe that homelessness and poverty affects the whole person physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially, and spiritually, the Five-Fold Reality of Poverty and Brokenness™. At 3e Restoration, we believe in what we do because we have seen it work, not only in the lives of our Friends in Need, but in our partnering organizations. We regularly hear from our partnering churches that the holistic and deeply relational approach of 3e has provided the local congregation with an opportunity to live their mission, without feeling like they are simply engaging in another program or offering some transactional ministry. The core of the program revolves around our values: Justice, Love, Friendship, Gracious Hospitality, Relentless Hope, Compassion, and Listening. This foundation allows us to encourage, equip, and empower faith communities to walk a journey with our Friends in Need, seeking to break the cycle of homelessness and extreme poverty through

Five-Fold Reality of Poverty and Brokenness. 2. Social &Cultural Anthropology: Moving Beyond Crisis Management Our approach specifically addresses the narratives and structures from which Friends derive their systems of meaning and behavior. Our training and curriculum is designed to uncover the personal narratives that possess power in a Friend’s life and how these narratives are formed by relationships, experiences, nature, culture and language. Our curriculum also equips the Friend to understand how systems of meaning are supported by and embedded in the values, institutions, rules/ laws, and symbols that set the parameters by which life is envisioned in society, and ultimately determine what behaviors are acceptable. Addressing these areas empowers the Friend for systemic change by helping them recognize behavioral patterns and their origins. 3. Memorable CoachingTools: Moving Beyond Behavioral Modification We believe that equipping a Friend in Need for holistic sufficiency means giving them the tools to build character and competency. These tools must be accessible regardless of educational level. They must be easy for the Friend to recall and employ in real-life sce- narios, but must offer more than behavioral modification and empower the Friend to- ward systemic change. Therefore, these tools must work together to address the Five-Fold Reality of Poverty and Brokenness. We call these coaching tools Growth Symbols. Our curriculum offers nine Growth Symbols de- signed to improve decision-making skills, de- crease impulsivity, strengthen personal iden- tity, foster positive self-worth, identify false narratives, increase relational intelligence, en-

systemic change, one friend or family at a time. 3e brings together the best models from various disciplines to tackle the challenge of homelessness. Our model takes into account four areas of influence. 1. Situated LearningTheory: Moving Beyond Information-Based Learning We believe that learning must be more than the transmission of factual knowledge or information. Learning involves participation in practice communities that are situated within authentic activity, context and cultures. The 3e Restoration Process© is grounded in intentional relationships and learning environments where the information offered is demonstrated and practiced in real-life contexts and relationships. Our procedure is guided by the 3e Process House© and led by the Servant-Leader Coordinator (SLC) and includes a network of All-in Friends and 3e coaches. In a learning model, the Friend in Need is encouraged toward self- direction while considering the surrounding relationships, contexts and cultures. This helps the Friend discern how and why actions have consequences in their own life and in the lives of others. A healthy framework for interdependence is constructed and an unhealthy framework of co-dependence or isolationist-independence is deconstructed. This model of learning serves as the basis for goals and expectations in light of the

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