At Vita Nova Maternity Community, growth often begins with one simple but powerful step: understanding. That’s at the heart of Bridges Out of Poverty, a 12-week course designed to help residents recognize the barriers holding them back, uncover new resources and chart a course toward lasting change.
Vita Nova Director of Primary Care Services Shellie Gomes leads the class, along with Case Manager Fawn Horner. Together, they guide residents through conversations that are less like lessons and more like shared discoveries.
“This class isn’t about a teacher and students—it’s about being investigators together,” Shellie said. “We look closely at our habits, our patterns and the cycle we often call the ‘tyranny of the moment’—when urgent needs keep people so busy surviving that they can’t plan for what comes next.”
More than budgeting
At first glance, the name Bridges Out of Poverty might sound like a financial course. But as Shellie explains, it’s much more than that. While residents do learn some basic principles—like how much of their income should go toward housing—the course isn’t about pinching pennies. Instead, it helps women see how communication, problem-solving and resourcefulness are just as critical as budgeting.
One session, for example, focuses on how people from different backgrounds use different communication “registers.” A casual tone that feels natural with family or friends can unintentionally harm a job interview or workplace relationship. One resident had an “aha” moment when she realized how important it was to slow down and shift her language around her employer. “That’s not something many of us were ever formally taught,” Shellie notes, “but it can make all the difference.”
Shared struggles, shared strength
For residents, one of the most powerful parts of the course is discovering they’re not alone. “At first, women often think their challenges are unique,” Shellie said. “But in the group, they hear others’ stories and realize, ‘I’ve been through that, too.’” Those shared experiences create a peer network that reinforces learning and builds confidence.
Residents also learn how to avoid decisions that, while solving one immediate need, create even bigger problems down the line. Shellie often hears about things like driving without a license just to get groceries, or stealing formula when money is short. These aren’t malicious choices—they’re survival responses. The class creates space to unpack those patterns and then move beyond them.
By the end of the course, residents are not only identifying resources they didn’t know existed, but also supporting one another in reaching new goals. Their conference room at Vita Nova is often filled with giant sticky notes covered in ideas, strategies and encouragement from the group.
Building for the future
Vita Nova first offered the course through Omaha Bridges, a community-based nonprofit focused on breaking the cycle of poverty. Now Shellie and Fawn are trained to facilitate it themselves, which ensures the program remains a cornerstone of growth for every new group of residents.
The class is heavy at first, reflecting on cycles of poverty and survival. But Shellie says the most rewarding part is watching women begin to picture a different future. “We shift from looking at the barriers to asking, ‘What’s next? What skills and strengths do I already have that can move me forward?’”
For Shellie, that’s the real power of Bridges Out of Poverty: it turns struggle into strength and isolation into community. It’s about building not only bridges, but brighter futures.
The Bridges Out of Poverty course is one of many ways Vita Nova empowers women to create brighter futures. Learn how you can support our mission or get involved today.