Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

ST. JAMES— The Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) and Phelps County Public Housing Agency (PHA) Family Self-Sufficiency program will host a free workshop Jan. 12 in St. James on “Tackling the Tough Skills: Responsibility.”

This workshop is the second in a series of five that will cover topics such as attitude, responsibility, communication, problem solving and preparing for the workplace. All workshops are held from 10 a.m. to noon at Phelps County PHA, 4 Industrial Drive, St. James, with Christy Saylor, Missouri Ozarks Community Action (MOCA) county projects coordinator, presenting. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency.

“We have several students who attend from Great Circle here in St. James, and we’ve been told that it’s extremely beneficial for them, and I think the same can be said for our self-sufficiency participants,” said Savannah Vandegriffe, PHA family self-sufficiency coordinator. “While we’ve done these classes in the past, doing them again just allows the lessons to be expanded upon each time the participants attend. Each time the information is presented, it is changed or presented in a different way that leads to different conversations.”

Workshops are offered at no cost to the participants. For more information or to RSVP, contact Vandegriffe at 573-265-4200 ext. 132. Free training classes are a part of MRPC and PHA’s efforts to help prepare families by making them aware of the resources available to assist with self-sufficiency. Each participant who attends will receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card, as long as they meet income qualifications.

The next workshop will be Feb. 16 on Communication from 10-12 at MRPC.

MRPC provides staffing to the Phelps County Public Housing Agency that provides rental assistance to over 750 low-income families in Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Phelps (outside the city limits of Rolla) and Washington counties. The PHA also offers the Family Self-Sufficiency Program where clients develop a goal-oriented, five-year plan that moves them toward self-sufficiency and independence from government programs.

Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 22, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.