Drueding Center

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2012 to Jun 30, 2013

Signed

May 12, 2014

Return Version

2012v2.1

Gross Receipts

$3,681,528

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES Adult education equips mothers with the skills to enter or re-enter the workforce. Our Education & Community Services staff members work with each new resident to formulate an education and employment readiness plan. We evaluate the needs based on the Barriers to Employment Success Inventory and connect residents with on-site opportunities, including computer literacy, workplace skills, and life skills classes and workshops: (1) LIFE SKILLS Basic life skills are often important areas of growth for once homeless mothers and their families. With each new resident family, we identify needs and devise strategies for addressing them such as developing and implementing a household budget. A Family Advocate also works with individual mothers on new approaches to everyday topics such as nutrition, food shopping, and cleaning, and a Life Skills Workshop series is offered to all resident families. (2) PARENTING SKILLS A 12-week Nurturing Parenting Program is provided on site three times a year by Tabor Services, a contracted agency through the Dept of Human Services. This covers responsive parenting and child development, ages/stages expectations, positive reinforcement, discipline, family morals, values and rules; safety issues, sexual self-worth, addiction and family violence; and anger management. (3) HOUSING ASSISTANCE Whatever challenges they may face, every family views independent living as the ultimate goal and the leading measure of success. From running an initial credit report and helping each mother clean up past problems, to eventually placing families in safe, affordable, convenient housing, Drueding Center calls on our vast array of partnerships and networks to open doors. We participate in the City of Philadelphia/PHA Blueprint Program, providing Drueding Center with a minimum of 24 housing opportunities annually. We have long-standing relationships with the limited number of low-income housing providers in the City, including Womens Community Revitalization Project, Dignity Housing, and Travelers Aid. We work with landlords and property managers interested in renting to our families. We assist mothers with all the necessary paperwork and application forms. We have developed specialized resources, such as a Housing Bulletin Board and a Housing Resource Book, which features the latest listings and resources to support home ownership. (4) AFTER CARE MANAGEMENT Whether families are here for an average of 11 months or the maximum allowable stay of 24 months, they often need more time to deal with the issues that brought them to Drueding Center in the first place. That is why we stand apart in offering a Voluntary After Care Program that can last up to seven additional years. Over this time, we continue to support mothers and children in reaching their goals and addressing past trauma, so they maintain independence and self-sufficiency. Drueding Centers After Care Program provides: (a) Ongoing case management, including goal planning, budgeting, time management, life skills, and parenting skills; (b) Referrals for job training, continuing education, childcare, and legal issues; (c) Information about resources and programs in families new communities; (d) Referrals to other social service agencies when appropriate; (e) Advocacy to assist with landlord disputes, subsidized housing, social security, child support, and mental health; and, (f) Continued access to Drueding Centers programs and services, including counseling, childcare, the Learning Center, health services, and special events. (5) BLUEPRINT PROGRAM The Blueprint Program is a collaborative project of the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Based on our track record and capacity to deliver excellent services, the City of Philadelphias Office of Supportive Housing awarded Drueding Center a contract to provide case management to an additional 300 formerly homeless families per year. (6) GREEN LIGHT FOOD PANTRY A

Activity 3

YOUTH SERVICES To effectively end the cycle of poverty and homelessness, we must invest time and energy in our children. Drueding Centers Youth Services provide high-quality programming, beginning with infants as young as six weeks in our Childcare Center and continuing through age 12 in our After School Program: (1) CHILDCARE CENTER The lack of safe, secure childcare is a major barrier to single mothers who need a job and steady income to support their families. For a minimal fee, Drueding Center provides professionally staffed, developmentally appropriate childcare, licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare. The Childcare Center also has 45 Head Start program slots. All early childhood education activities are based on the Creative Curriculum and designed to promote cognitive, linguistic, social/emotional and physical development based on the theories of Jean Plaget and Erik Erickson. (2) AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM Our After School Program ensures a continuum of enriching activities outside of the school day and all year long for children living at Drueding Center. While school is in session, children are accompanied from school to the program, which runs until 6 pm every weekday. During holidays and summer vacation, we offer a full-day After School Program. School year activities focus on: nutritional and physical fitness; educational components, such as library visits and sessions on computer literacy; and, trips to leading cultural institutions. Therapists deepen the Preschool After School Program through weekly PATHS activity groups to support enhanced emotional awareness and interpersonal problem solving skills, backed-up by teacher-led activities. Our toddlers and preschool children have shown an increased ability to identify their feelings and find appropriate ways of expressing their emotions. The Child Care Program currently holds three Keystone Stars, a recognition of quality awarded by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Learning. Our staff is in constant communication with the local elementary school, providing opportunity to monitor attendance at school and intercede if there is a problem.

Filer

EIN

23-1532883