New Pittsburgh program will help single parents pursue higher education
(7:45 – 17:10)
A new program has launched in Pittsburgh to help single parents pursue higher education, called WayFinders Program. Its goal is to disrupt the cycle of poverty, giving those families resources to succeed in their education.
Diamonte Walker, CEO of Pittsburgh Scholar House (which is running WayFinders), says the program is built upon three pillars: economic empowerment, family enrichment and academic stewardship.
“We know that Pittsburgh is often talked about as being one of the most challenging cities for Black residents in particular,” says Walker. “These interventions [for raising families out of poverty] must focus on, I believe, a college education, because we know that that can be the great equalizer in addressing some of the protracted poverty issues that we see, particularly with single female head of household.”
Walker says the program has so far received 175 applications for families to participate in WayFinder’s first cohort. The program will work with 20 to 30 families, starting in January.