Background

Anson County is one of the more economically distressed rural counties in North Carolina. Its unemployment rate is generally higher than the statewide rate. At least half of its Employment Security Commission clients are female. Illiteracy is an issue with more than 30 percent of the population having less than a high school education. U.S. Census 2000 statistics show 37.5 percent of the county's families with a female head of household.

Services

Programs and services include but are not limited to the following:

• Individual life skills, education, and career/post career counseling.
• Networking opportunities.
• Educational and job skill development, including GED classes, job preparation classes, career counseling, interview skills development, resume preparation, online job searching, Internet access, digital literacy, Career Readiness Certification, and leadership development.
• Entrepreneurial assistance - financial, technical and marketing
• Home ownership assistance.
• Financial and retirement counseling.
• Health information.
• Legal information.
• Spiritual self-enrichment.

Reference resource services are free to all who seek help through the center. The primary aims are to remove obstacles to employment and financial empowerment, avoid redundancy and therefore waste of vital, scarce resources, facilitate participant and provider progress, and encourage effective utilization of resources.

Business Center

New Ventures Business Development, Inc., and South Piedmont Community College’s Small Business Center provide assistance for new, existing and expanding businesses in every aspect of their growth.

Services include

• NC REAL Programs (Rural Entrepreneurship through Active Learning)
• Business Coaching
• Business Development Mentoring
• Specialized Training
• Motivational Workshops
• Financial Management Training
• Information and Referral
• Networking