Beacon of Hope Programs

Education Program: Early Childhood Development:
Every day at Beacon of Hope’s Renaissance Learning Center (RLC), our children experience love, nurture and expert guidance in their development. We use the state-approved Creative Curriculum to provide a rich, complete learning program from infancy until a child enters kindergarten. School readiness is a paramount goal, and we work closely with local elementary schools to accomplish a smooth transition for our children. RLC serves low-income neighborhoods in dire need of effective services for children and families. Most children receive publicly funded subsidies, and many also need scholarship help to pay the costs. Diverse circumstances create need for emergency child care, like separation and divorce, transition from welfare to work, and catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina. This new location on Renaissance Parkway serves the downtown workforce as well as Midtown, and Bedford Pine-Old Fourth Ward residents. Our plan is to open Midtown Learning Center in the Fall of 2007 creating needed capacity for the demand of high quality childcare in this area. NAEYC accreditation quality confirms the high quality and comprehensive impact of our programs. Only 7% of all childcare programs in America hold this distinction. We promote physical, intellectual, social and emotional development through engaging activities that are appropriate to the age of the children. Learning is guided by certified teachers well trained to respond to each child’s individual needs and learning style. The hallmarks of quality in early childhood development are readily apparent at RLC: caring interaction between children and teachers; a safe, healthy and stimulating physical environment; planned activities that delight children in learning, both individually and together; an adult to child ratio that assures individual attention; use of a variety of materials suitable for the child’s age; an inclusive atmosphere that communicates respect; nutritious meals and snacks; regular child evaluations and reports to parents; strong management and effective administration.

Out of School Time Programs for Children and Youth
When school is closed, RLC is open in order to provide safe, productive activities for children who might otherwise be unsupervised. Our Out of School Time Camps operates before and after school, transporting children to and from, and providing homework assistance, academic enrichment, and recreation. During summer vacation, Out of School Time Camps provides educational activities, mentoring, recreation, life skills and job training, career counseling and youth-to-work services, which represent a critical need given the lack of summer job opportunities for local youth. We also emphasize field trips and cultural experiences in order to expand the horizons of our young people. In addition, we work to interrupt the repetition of destructive choices that keep families from achieving stability and self-sufficiency. Our life skills training gives pre-teens and teens a positive platform for sound decision-making in the areas of sexual abstinence, drug avoidance, violence prevention, staying in school, and citizenship. We have achieved program goals and maintained sponsorship for these programs for 8 years, since inception.

Human Services Program: • Human Services for Adults
Many parents in our service area are hardly more than children themselves. Most are mothers who are stuck in poverty and have no plan for changing the direction of their lives. Beacon of Hope engages them with a structured program for learning to set goals for themselves and their children, and the resources to move steadily toward reaching their goals. Our educational resources include literacy training, GED coursework and computer technology training. Most of the parents we serve lack the education, skills and work habits to hold steady employment. With our help, these young women develop basic work skills, learning to set goals for a career that will earn livable wages and provide advancement potential, and to map out a strategy for achieving those goals. We maintain active partnerships with employers who offer a range of job possibilities. Additionally, we offer life skills training in the fields of financial literacy, family nutrition and fitness, and smart shopping. Most important of all, Beacon of Hope emphasizes quality parenting. For some young mothers, fundamental habits such as never leaving a small child unsupervised, even briefly, are not part of her experience or mindset. Yet even when basic parental knowledge is lacking, the impulse to be a good parent is almost always present. We leverage that desire to instill the insights and practices of effective parenting. Some families in our service area occasionally require emergency intervention as a result of emotional, financial or other crises. Our human services effort encompasses a range of responses, from temporary assistance for rent or utilities, to skilled professional help to recover from abusive relationships or deal with psychological and addiction conditions. To help parents and families address serious problems, we collaborate with the Pathway Center for Psychotherapy, led by Dr. Rosa Ashe. The impact of these interventions sometimes has been dramatic, including suicide prevention and motivating parents to get a Graduate Equivalency Diploma, obtain a job, and acquire training that leads to a solid career. Recent Achievement: This mother of 7 children was a drug dealer for 9 years. We provided childcare for her children. After serving her probation, she indicated an interest in starting her own restaurant. She is now preparing for that business goal by working as a cook/nutritionist. She is excited about the opportunity to work a legal job.

Community Development/Affordable Housing:
Recently Beacon of Hope has entered the community housing development arena with a grant to develop affordable housing for low-income families in the Old Fourth Ward. Our initial project, which is now in the planning stages, involves developing three 3-bedroom units on the Boulevard corridor. Safe, decent, affordable housing for working families is one of the Bedford-Pine community’s most important needs. We continue to work diligently with neighborhood associations to improve public safety and the community at large.

Community Development Program achievement: We continue to successfully restore blighted community property and have provided quality affordable housing to citizens for eight years.