APC Information Packet

These pages (combined) come from the APC "information packet." This dates to about 1994.
Contents:
* title page
* what is Action for Personal Choice?
* population, process, trainings
* certificate page (image)
* barriers page
* bridges page
A section containing quotes from evaluations, and a site list was also included in the original (not included here).

The materials in this packet

will introduce you to

"the program of choice"

 

ACTION FOR PERSONAL CHOICE

A Bridge to Wholeness (image)

 

Action for Personal Choice brings about

positive results by giving participants

the tools they need to

help themselves

WHAT IS

ACTION FOR PERSONAL CHOICE?

Action for Personal Choice is a 9O-hour readiness program which empowers participants to overcome barriers blocking their success in education and employment.

Designed to precede GED, ABE, rehabilitation, and job-training programs, Action for Personal Choice gives participants the tools they need to get their lives on track.

Working with trained facilitators, participants move from Awareness, to Understanding, to Acceptance, to Change. In the process, they learn to respect themselves and to take responsibility for their own behavior.

Action for Personal Choice is a process driven program with a proven record of positive results.

ACTION FOR PERSONAL CHOICE
is
A BRIDGE TO WHOLENESS

A BRIDGE TO WHOLENESS

Action for Personal Choice (APC) is a prep-step program which provides participants with a bridge to education, to employment, to improved relationships, to a better life.

Population Served: APC participants become involved in a process which employs interactive exercises enhanced by overhead transparencies, handout sheets, posters, and a Discovery Journal. Classes are facilitated rather than taught. The key components of Action for Personal Choice are:

  • individual intake interviews;
  • classes meeting 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for three weeks. Experience has shown this to be the optimum schedule for achieving program outcomes. Ideal class size is 12 persons.
  • eighteen of the 90 class hours devoted to presentations on additions, compulsions, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and family systems.
  • an atmosphere marked by:
    • unwavering respect for each individual;
    • openness to the expression of both feelings and thoughts;
    • a focus on process rather than content.

Facilitator Trainings: Action for Personal Choice facilitator trainings are three days in length. Primary training site is on the campus of Alfred University in Alfred, New York, but trainings may be arranged elsewhere. Cost of training one facilitator ranges from $400 to $500 not including travel and overnight accommodations. Facilitators received a 200 page Manual together with masters for handout sheets, overhead transparencies, posters, and banners - everything needed to implement the APC program.

Program Implementation: At present, Action for Personal Choice is being implemented by Adult Education Centers, BOCES sites, and Community-based Organizations, as well as county jails and prisons. Cost for the program implementation varies according to the site. A list of sites in New York State is included with this packet.

 

APC certification

BARRIERS...

Some of the barriers which participants bring to Action for Personal Choice classes are:

Feelings of anger, depression, confusion, frustration, shame, guilt...

Fear of what people will think, of being the only one, of failure, of success, of rejection...

Victim mentality ... language problems ... addictions ... insecurity ... inability to love self or others ... procrastination ... inability to analyze problems ... family stress ... health issues ... negative mental attitude ... insecurity ... involvement in toxic relationships ...

Lack of: self esteem, positive role models, determination, control, energy, goals, decision-making skills, money management skills, priorities, time management skills, support systems, family and cultural values ...

The list goes on:

... Indifference, impatience, isolation, hopelessness, worry, laziness, stubbornness, uncertainty, previous failure, dependence on others, dishonesty, lack of confidence, of stability, of initiative, of trust, of vision, of education...

In Action for Personal Choice, participants address these barriers using a four-step process:

  1. AWARENESS
  2. UNDERSTANDING
  3. ACCEPTANCE
  4. CHANGE

...BRIDGES

alternate text: "In Action for Personal Choice, participants can bridge their barriers by beginning a four-step process which can continue thoughout their lives."In Action for Personal Choice, participants learn to bridge their barriers using a four-step process which continues throughout their lives.

AWARENESS

They become aware of

  • their creativity;
  • how creative thinking can improve their lives and the lives of those around them;
  • the dangers of making assumptions;
  • the value of a positive mental attitude.

 

UNDERSTANDING

They understand:

  • the many choices they have in their lives;
  • that every choice carries with it both risks and benefits;
  • how to choose wisely;
  • the importance of dialogue and of listening in building successful relationships;
  • how to set attainable goals and reach them;
  • that every adversity contains the seed of equal or greater benefit.

 

ACCEPTANCE

They learn to accept:

  • their feelings as neither positive nor negative;
  • the things they cannot change;
  • others, as they are;
  • themselves, as they are -
  • worthwhile human beings capable of growing toward wholeness.

 

CHANGE

They empower themselves to change what needs to be changed in their lives, whether it be their thinking their attitudes, their behaviors, or their ways of relating to others.

© c.2000 Galle