Description
Through community service component we provide residents and their children with a variety of services. NewLife strives to give families a supportive environment in which the needs of all residents are considered. Research indicates a strong correlation between poverty and low rates of literacy. Parents who may have left school with niminal skills or for whom English is not their native language usually hold low wage jobs. Although they work hard and want the best education for ehir children, they find it difficult to help their children to succeed in school. Thus, the cycle of low wchool performance continues into the next generation. Schools have long struggled to provide services to help chidren succeed. However, current research shows that schools need the help of parents. In fact, the single greatest predicator of a child's success in school is the level of parental involvement. This is more than attendance at PTA meetings. It means that parents are knowledgeable of specific ways that they can help their children. But having not been successful in school themselves, parents in poverty often lack the very skills they need to help their children succed academically. Programs such as Practical Parenting Education provide parents with the specific skills they need - want - to assist their children.
Poverty is more than a lack of financial resources. Experts state that most often financial need is only one symptom of a larger and more pervasive problem. Families in poverty often lack knolwedge of success to support services they need. Individuals often are marginalized, unaware of the wealth of community support services available to them and are often hesitant to take advantage of the types of support services that are available.
NewLife will also provide informative workshops and presentations by memebers of community service organizations and agencies so that residents will be better informed of the services available to them. By having speakers come out to the community center, residents will become informed in the comfort their own community center, likely to take advantage of these services.
Because of the nature of our economy today, a thorough knowledge of computer technology is necessary for families to make economic changes. Therefore, we offer opportunities for children and adults to learn to type, to use the Internet and its protocols, and to become proficient with various software programs. Residents are encouraged to use the computer lab on a regular basis to perfect their training and to gain expereince with the computer.
Individuals in poverty are often distrustful of others and admit to having less friends or family members who are able or willing to provide either physical or emotional support. part of the mission of NewLife is to provide opportunities for residents to develop healthy relationships with one another where families know and support one another. Social events are coordinated by the community director who seeks input from residents and have included such events as crafts, sewing, potluck dinners, movie night,and holiday gatherings. In providing a supportive community environment, NewLife strives to develop a community in which all residents nurture and support one another. In this way, the children and youth who live in the complex receive the support and encouragement of the entire community.
By focusing on building a supportive community, developing the educational skills of parents, offering parents specific training to help their children succeed in school, and providing tutoring and mentoring, NewLife Housing's Education and Training program integrates school, family, and community to meet the emotional, social, and educational needs of its children and youth.
