We help individuals rise from poverty through gaining skills that help them qualify for skilled employment. RISE, Readiness In Skilled Employment, is a program like no other for individuals seeking a life-changing job opportunity. This workforce development program is available to Pennsylvania’s Lackawanna and Luzerne County residents, and we offer much more than technical training. RISE participants will receive career coaching, assistance with gaining soft-skills, and a range of support along the way to ensure academic success and job placement.

We understand that stress, health, and money are just some of the barriers that can impact participation and commitment to earning an education. RISE is here to help to remove those barriers. We assist our participants with transportation, childcare, housing, technology and language, to name a few. By providing pathways to earning a family-sustaining wage, RISE helps to break the cycle of poverty and paves the way for future generations to succeed!

A small group of participants will move through the program together, celebrating milestones along the way; from admission through graduation, from struggling to thriving. We want you to succeed! We are here to help you along the way as you pave the course for your future. Graduates of the RISE program will then be invited back as mentors for future cohorts. Our goal is to see our classes, graduate, find employment, and believe in the successful future they have created for themselves!

Johnson College provides real-world, hands-on learning in a supportive environment and prepares graduates to enter into or advance in their in-demand careers. Johnson College was founded in 1912 and is the region’s only technical college, offering 15 associate degrees, five academic certificates, and over 30 continuing education programs. A low student-to-instructor ratio supports an emphasis on hands-on learning. Located in Scranton on a 44-acre campus with a satellite campus serving the greater Hazleton area, the College is an accredited, private, non-profit, co-educational institution with a strong tradition of working with regional businesses and industries to ensure a skilled and qualified workforce.

Thousands of individuals are impacted by UNC programming each year. Individuals and families seek help for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, as well as other life-stabilizing supports, such as adult literacy, English language education, budgeting, leadership development, health counseling, and child care. The agency accomplishes this work through five programmatic departments: Community Services, Community Health and Again, Children and Teens, Community Education, Community Revitalization and a Housing/Community Development Corporation, which oversees the operation of several housing apartments for persons of low-income and/or with a disabling condition, as well as provides revitalization and housing opportunities within the community. To learn more about UNC, click here