Breaking Poverty: SOME’s Mission to Restore Hope in Its Community

A record-high 653,104 people experienced homelessness in the U.S in 2023. That number represents a staggering 12% increase from 2022.

The rising numbers of homelessness in America, coupled with the stagnant rates of poverty, underscore a critical need for solutions that go beyond mere shelter and rather focus on long-term empowerment and stability.

Amid these challenges, many people turn to programs that offer life-changing—and lifesaving—resources and support, helping those in need reach their full potential.

That’s where So Others Might Eat comes in.

So Others Might Eat (SOME) is a community-based organization that serves to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the District of Columbia. Through its partnership with Skillsoft, SOME isn’t just changing lives in its community but also revolutionizing the workplace for its employees.

Here’s how:

In a city like Washington, D.C., with soaring living costs and a lack of affordable housing, many residents are just one hardship away from dislocation. These issues inherently influence job security as people struggle to balance finding and maintaining work with worrying about their ability to have a stable home environment, resulting in a cycle of poverty that is hard to break.

Since its inception in 1970, SOME has been a care provider and beacon of hope to D.C. residents. It offers a whole-person model of care to individuals, families, senior citizens, veterans, and those affected by physical or mental illness, regardless of where they are in their personal or professional journeys.

SOME’s whole person model of care includes a wide range of services such as housing, healthcare, emergency and social services, education and workforce development, and advocacy. This multifaceted support system is sustained by a devoted team of social workers, clinicians, instructors, and volunteers, all committed to working together to make a difference in their communities by breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty and putting their clients on the path to success.

Meredith Maimone, an Employee Experience Specialist in Learning & Development, is a crucial member of the employee support team at SOME and is helping to transform the employee experience with the help of Skillsoft.

SOME's mission is grounded in dignity, respect, and autonomy. It aims to serve, empower, and elevate community members through a people-centered, trauma-informed, and equity-grounded approach.

Central to SOME’s ability to succeed in its mission is its employee Learning & Development initiatives. Many of SOME’s employees have non-traditional education paths and professional journeys so investing in training programs is a proactive strategy that equips all employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to secure and maintain stable employment and advance in the workforce.

When talking about the experiences of SOME employees, Meredith expressed that “not all of them have traditional educational and professional background, and it can be intimidating for them to ask for help because they might not know where to start.”

To support long-term education and professional growth, all SOME employees have access to Skillsoft’s Percipio platform, where they are encouraged to utilize the extensive library of unique courses spanning from technical training to personal and professional development. “Percipio gives [our employees] a very easy-to-use starting point,” added Meredith.

Skills are the new currency in the modern workforce. They have the power to drive growth for both organizations and individuals.

To meet the challenge of ever-changing strategic goals, enterprises must invest in upskilling and reskilling to support employee and organizational growth. When leaders commit to investing in their employees, it not only helps improve individual career development but also leads to a stronger, more productive organization.

According to Skillsoft’s IT Skills and Salary Report, these are some of the top benefits of training:

• Improving team morale
• Shortening project durations
• Improving talent retention
• Making it easier to attract talent
• Increasing revenue
• Increasing ability to innovate

At SOME, the organization’s needs were quickly outgrowing the available tools. Organization leaders were struggling with how to manage the centralization of tasks, keep up with compliance requirements, and provide supervisors with adequate support for managing employees.

Today, Meredith is using Percipio to transform the employee experience at SOME. By making learning processes more organized and engaging, they have increased employee enthusiasm for learning and development.

Skillsoft offers a wide range of courses, from technical skills and certifications to soft skills and leadership training. By providing access to these high-quality educational resources, SOME ensures that all employees can invest in themselves and commit to continuous growth.

Here’s how Percipio can impact your training:

• Personalized – Personalize and deliver training that’s relevant to individual employees based on how they answer a pre-training assessment. It’s also customizable to the organization and can reflect the internal lexicon, roles, and more.
• Scalable – Holistic learning journeys or assignments that can adapt to business needs, compliance requirements, and a changing workforce.
• Efficient – Dynamic content reduces the need for separate courses, assignments, or journeys, saving admins time while still meeting demands for delivering highly relevant training material. 
• Versatile – Admins can develop an assignment using virtually any combination of courses, books, videos, or other training resources.

“As a former educator specializing in adult education, I am thoroughly impressed at Percipio’s ease of use and accessibility. Our staff have become more exploratory and independent, often autonomously searching for and completing training modules that are in alignment with their professional and personal goals. It’s wonderful to see our employees take charge of their growth in this way.”

By providing employees with a safe space to search for and participate in learning and growth opportunities, Percipio offers employees a platform where they can make mistakes without consequences and learn from them. “This ties back to our mission to serve our community as a whole and provide this continuing education for our employees who are also our community members,” said Meredith.

When it comes to professional training programs, one size doesn’t fit all. Percipio has helped supervisors to better provide personalized support to their teams by identifying skills gaps and recommending relevant courses, thus strengthening their leadership capabilities and resulting in tangible differences for the at-risk communities in D.C.

"We’ve transformed because of Percipio,” said Meredith. By prioritizing education and continuous personal growth, SOME empowers its employees to transcend any past challenging circumstances and work towards building a better future for themselves and the community members they serve.

With Skillsoft’s Percipio, it’s now easier than ever to support continuous learning by exploring and developing new skills.

Enhance the training program at your organization today and make a difference in the communities you serve.