Pam Carlston holds a Certificate of Congressional Recognition as Maria Tucker (center) awards the JP Las Vegas Champion for Change Award to Dr. Shartriya Collier on behalf of Nevada State University President DeRionne Pollard.

The Jeremiah Program in Las Vegas

Disrupting Generational Poverty

By Kendall Hardin / Photography courtesy of Jeremiah Program

We are bombarded with endless appeals for an infinite number of causes impacting the planet, like climate change, hunger, human trafficking, and poverty. But poverty is pervasive even in America. So, how do we turn it around in today’s environment?

How exciting, then, that the Jeremiah Program (JP), one of the country’s most proven models for attacking poverty head-on, has finally come to Las Vegas.

The program started 25 years ago in Minneapolis and has now spread to eight other cities, with Las Vegas and Baltimore joining the national nonprofit in 2022. The organization is lauded as one of the most successful models for disrupting the cycle of generational poverty by building economic mobility among single mothers and their children, two generations at a time.

“JP is a national thought leader on generational poverty and the systemic barriers facing single-parent families,” cited Chastity Lord, President and CEO of the Jeremiah Program.  “Our success lies in our commitment to meeting the moment, addressing structured inequities, and supporting the leadership of women facing the issues of early childhood education, college access, income inequality, and access to affordable housing.”

Over 27% of Nevada’s family households are headed by a single parent, and nearly one in every three single-mother families lives in poverty. Young single parents disproportionately come from Black and Latinx families who face structural barriers to accessing higher education, quality jobs, and economic mobility.

Research shows that achievement gaps between children in low-income households and those in higher-income households emerge in the earliest years of life, and these discrepancies widen as children grow older. So, how does JP upend this inevitable outcome?

A Universe of Support for JP Moms

The Jeremiah Program is built on the belief that five key pillars can disrupt poverty two generations at a time: 1) career-track college access and career support, 2) quality early childhood education, 3) empowerment and leadership training, 4) safe and affordable housing, and 5) a supportive community.

To become a JP Mom, a woman must participate in 12 weeks of Empowerment and Leadership Training, meeting weekly with her family coach to develop a plan. The process takes about six months to address all barriers and find the balance each mom requires to proceed with the program.

While JP started as a residential model in the Midwest, the Las Vegas model provides a scalable “community hub” built on a constellation of public-private partnerships. In just two years, the Las Vegas model has partnered with Acelero, College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State University, Camino Verde Group, SCE Credit Union, and the Children’s Cabinet. The program is in early conversations with local workforce development programs.

Once a young single mother herself, Maria Tucker, armed with a Ph.D. in Environmental Sociology, joined the organization as the Las Vegas chapter’s first executive director two years ago. She assembled a start-up team comprised of a family services director and three coaches to qualify moms for the program and provide ongoing support for navigating the puzzle of researching and accessing all the critical resources facing today’s women who are both single parents and college students.

“Single mothers entering college worry about when, not if, things will go wrong,” explained Tucker. “Like dealing with low-wage job fluctuations, unstable housing, and unavailable child care. Cars that break down. Kids who get sick. And no family or professional connections to lend support and encouragement.”

JP aims to guide and champion moms through today’s complex support systems. The JP team functions as resource experts to connect moms to whatever they need. Non-residential campuses create a new kind of community, one that fosters the famous JP sisterhood among women helping other women.

The Creation of “Mompreneurs” at JP’s First Spark Tank

“Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not,” claimed Tucker, emcee of the closing event of the National JP Summit in Austin in 2023. Among the attendees were 200 JP moms and alums gathered to celebrate the finalists of Spark Tank, JP’s pitch competition inspired by the famous Shark Tank television series.

The competition provides a chance for moms to present their ideas about a new business model that creates wealth for their families and produces genuine change in their communities. In the last two years, 82 moms signed up for Spark Tank, dedicating a day and a half with volunteer coaches to refine their pitches and present their ideas as effectively as possible.

Both motherhood and entrepreneurship can feel isolating and overwhelming. For participants, the feedback from their coaches and other moms proved invaluable. As Tucker underscored, “That’s a key part of what Spark Tank was intended to do: build the community of JP mompreneurs through feedback and entrepreneurial idea sharing.”

From all Spark Tank participants, coaches select finalists to present their pitches at the summit’s closing dinner. A diverse panel of judges selects the top three winners, and the audience votes for their favorite choice, the winner of the Inspirational Entrepreneur Award.

Women Helping Women – Paying the Change Forward

Spark Tank challenges JP Moms to tackle local problems and fund businesses that uplift their communities. Each woman is judged on her “ability to receive constructive feedback and present her idea in a way that showcases her passion, personality, and identity.” Top winners receive cash prizes, which, in turn, leverage additional local funding and support.

Spark Tank winners inspire others with their resilience and creativity. Among the winning concepts:

• An affordable 24-hour childcare for mothers who work extended hours around the clock in Brooklyn.
• A mobile birth coaching and doula service to provide marginalized women in Boston who lack access to transportation with qualitative and affordable labor-and-delivery care.
• A dual-purpose “Fresh Start“ juice bar in Austin that addresses community access to healthy food while providing equal-opportunity employment for women who have been incarcerated or convicted of felonies.
• A property company in Minneapolis that helps low-income families transition into home ownership by providing educational services to private property owners and tenants.
• A full-service beauty salon and school in Austin specializing in textured hair products and services to combat hair discrimination at work and school.
• A tailor-made operation in Baltimore to support families of those with developmental delays by providing resources to help reduce achievement and opportunity gaps.
• A family enterprise that fabricates sustainable and organic handmade soaps inspired by one family’s matriarchs in Brooklyn.

It is important to share all the ideas generated at Spark Tank so they can be replicated across the country to impact other families of 42 million Americans living in poverty. Innovation is empowering, electrifying, and contagious. That’s the potential power of the JP Network in action.

Once a JP Mom, Always a JP Mom!

The Jeremiah Program now operates in nine cities: Austin (TX), Baltimore (MD), Boston (MA), Brooklyn (NY), Fargo (ND)-Moorhead (MN), Las Vegas (NV), Minneapolis (MN), Rochester (MN), and St. Paul (MN). This year’s JP Annual Summit and Spark Tank occurred in March, with 23 Vegas Moms attending this life-changing event in Baltimore.

In addition, the Jeremiah Program launched a new initiative during the 2020 pandemic – the JP Alumni Fellowship Program. Designed to expand leadership, the fellowship is a selective one-year commitment that enlists the talents and expertise of former JP moms as advisors and agents of social, political, and economic change.

The program is based on the premise that no one is more qualified to speak about the needs of single mothers experiencing poverty – and how the Jeremiah Program can best serve them – than JP moms. In its third year, the Alumni Leadership Program is hitting its stride with an outstanding cadre of accomplished JP alums.

JP’s Las Vegas Office Opens Its Doors

The newly renovated Jeremiah Program Office officially opened in April at 730 Las Vegas Boulevard South. With input from JP participants, the facility includes a small playroom for children, a wellness space for moms, a board room, and a space for activities and community events.

From the original 14 moms in JP’s first cohort in the fall of 2022, JP now serves over 200 moms and their children. A new group of initiates from its seventh cohort just joined this spring.

Creating a Ripple Effect for Positive Change

So what’s the value or return of investment for educating women in America, where nearly one in four single mothers live in poverty?

According to the United Nations, educating a woman changes her destiny, as well as the destiny of her children, and ensures that she can contribute to the economic life of her country. Michelle Obama affirms that when women are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.

Educating women contributes vital (and sometimes unique) skills and knowledge to the workforce, driving more economic growth and innovation. And when women earn more, they uplift their families and contribute back to their communities.

As women complete their education and become leaders in various sectors, they inspire and mentor other women, creating a cycle of women giving back to women and paving the way for a more equitable future for everyone.

How to Tap into JP’s Success Model

• Sign up for the Jeremiah Project newsletter. Receive monthly updates on JP moms, staff, and campuses in Las Vegas and nationwide. Sign up at jeremiahprogram.org.
• Join the JP Board of Directors. In addition to the National JP Board, the Las Vegas campus has a local Community Board of Trustees. How would you like to serve? Email mtucker@jeremiahprogram.org.
• Become a sponsor. The Las Vegas campus holds events throughout the year, not only to foster community among JP families but also to connect JP with the larger community. To partner with one of JP’s community events, call (702) 623-1214.
• Volunteer. Among the many ways to volunteer with JP:
  • Sign up to volunteer at the new Las Vegas center in downtown Las Vegas.
  • Become a Career Volunteer Mentor to guide a JP mom professionally.
• Refer a mom. There are a number of ways to spread JP’s offerings, but word of mouth remains a powerful avenue. If you know a mom who’s ready to start or return to a post-secondary degree program, tell them about the Jeremiah Program.