Program helps families focus on long-term goals like jobs, school
When a financial crisis strikes, families who are already low-income face struggles with immediate needs such as putting food on the table, paying the rent and keeping the heat on. In fact, those are the top three reasons families in hardship visit North Hills Community Outreach for help each year. However, NHCO also has several programs that help families regain financial stability over time.
One such program is the Family Development Program, which takes a holistic approach to helping individuals and families achieve stability and self-reliance by focusing on getting an education or a stable job. NHCO is now accepting families and individuals into the Family Development program. NHCO’s Family Development specialists work with families over time, rather than just helping with immediate issues such as food or utilities. In 2014, 63 people participated in NHCO’s Family Development program, also known as the CSBG (Community Services Block Grant) program.
“We help people recognize their strengths and build upon them,” explains Sharon Wolf, NHCO executive director. “It means so much to participants to get that personal encouragement and one-on-one attention from our Family Development specialists. The person can reach goals at his or her own pace.”
Because it’s easy to become mired in the day-to-day stresses of wondering where the kids will get shoes and how the bills will get paid, the Family Development specialist helps people focus on a long-term solution. Together, the specialist and the participant identify employment or education goals and create a plan to achieve those goals. Participants keep regular one-on-one contact with the specialist.
The Family Development specialist helps participants set their own goals, access the services they need to achieve those goals, and how to recognize their own strengths that will help them reach their goals. The specialist helps participants obtain interview clothes and provides information on resume, computer and interviewing skills workshops, utility programs, and budgeting, as well as providing one-on-one support.
The Family Development Program at NHCO is funded through the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. To qualify for NHCO’s Family Development Program, participants must live in NHCO’s service area of northern Allegheny County outside of the City of Pittsburgh and be at 125 percent of federal poverty level. Contact NHCO for more information at 412-487-6316 opt 1 or help@nhco.org.