Economy
expanding economic opportunities
Workforce Devlopment
ACOM connects Marshallese jobseekers with training, employers, and culturally responsive job fairs that open doors to stable careers and stronger families.
ACOM's vision is to serve as a resource for Marshallese families so that they can have a better tomorrow by becoming self-sufficient: "We empower them, and by empowering them with these resources, we hope that they'll utilize them to self-sustain, to become independent," Lealan states. She sees the idea behind running these programs as helping families increase their quality of life: "20 years from now, the idea is not only to guide [Marshallese families] but also to empower them to ensure that they have equal access to programs.
Once they do that and feel empowered, they're gonna be self-sufficient and be able to do everything on their own. And hopefully this office won't be around." Laelan's wish is for ACOM's services to one day no longer be required, as this would be a sign that the Marshallese community has been successfully integrated into the region.
The core value of this initiative is commitment; Laelan says, "even our staff stays overtime for free and [they] volunteer because they understand the work needs to be done." Partnership is another core value of the organization since none of the work ACOM does could be achieved without the help and support of the Northwest Arkansas community.
Laelan feels that the impact of the organization on the Marshallese community has been tremendous: "Simply helping someone to get a driver's license—it's a big deal. To me it's a big deal. Within a year and a half alone, we've touched 150 lives that were able to get their driver's license." ACOM has also been instrumental in helping families obtain access to health care: "That's a big, big accomplishment."
Expanding economic opportunity starts with financial confidence and ACOM’s financial literacy workshops make that possible. Each class gives our community real tools to budget, save, build credit, and plan ahead. When we strengthen financial literacy, we strengthen families, futures, and the Marshallese community as a whole.