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| Under construction. FIRST STEPS TO FINANCIAL STABILITY: First Steps to Financial Stability engages clients requesting food, rent/mortgage, and/or utility assistance to partner with HELP of Fort Meade to improve their financial situation. First Steps, like its predecessor, Basic Needs, can provide immediate relief to those facing hunger, eviction, and utility disconnection. However, First Steps turns clients into participants working toward long term solutions to their financial situations: job services, adult education in order to qualify for better jobs (Adult Basic Education, GED, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and post-secondary education), financial counseling and education (overcoming the paycheck to paycheck mentality in order to build savings and improve credit scores). First Steps assists those who are disabled or have temporary need with food stamp or other public assistance applications and refers to a wide range of services available such as Child Support Enforcement and Vocational Rehabilitation.
PRESCHOOL/FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAM:
The Preschool Literacy Program is to prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life. In order to find long term solutions, HELP, Read Polk, and Polk County School's Workforce and Adult Education expanded its Adult Basic Education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and GED classes into a family literacy program where staff and volunteers work with the children while their parents are in class.
Family literacy provides direct intervention (language development experiences) with the child, literacy tutoring for the adult, parent education including how the parent can prepare their child for school, and PACT - Parent And Child Together time where parents are coached to use their new skills with their child(ren). Certified teachers and trained READ Polk literacy volunteers work with the parents. Two staff members and other trained volunteers work directly with children birth to five years old while their parent(s) participate in ABE, ESOL, GED classes or individual tutoring, followed by PACT. Parenting classes are provided through collaboration with United Way of Central Florida - Success By 6, Healthy Families, and READ Polk. Additionally, Dollar General funds a part-time highly motivated retired teacher who works with school age children from kindergarten through the 5th grade. Dollar General also funds a part-time translator to work with the non-English speaking adult students to help them enroll in Florida ACCESS for food stamps, MediCaid, and cash assistance if they are eligible. This teacher and highschool volunteers work with these children on their homework and conduct other educational activities, crafts, and some outdoor sports while their parent(s) are in class. BUILDING FAMILY SAVINGS: Building Family Savings in Fort Meade will educate, empower, and reward low income parents of preschoolers who take a significant step to overcome poverty: starting a regular savings plan. For more than 26 years HELP of Fort Meade has been assisting low income Fort Meade families in crisis with food, rent, mortgage, and/or utility assistance. Now HELP aims to join with families to find long term solutions to poverty. Adult Basic Education (ABE), English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL), and GED classes bring increased education and marketability. Job Services for finding jobs and better jobs were added. Increasing income through Access to Public Benefits including USDA food distribution was employed.
Building Family Savings is another proven strategy for overcoming poverty that HELP plans to add to its arsenal. Poverty not only sets families up for financial crises, but also correlates to many poor outcomes including school failure and drop out by the children. Intervening in the cycle of poor education leading to poor income leading to school failure makes sense. Working to raise the functional level of Fort Meade families in order to attract employers also makes sense. ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE (AHC): *New program Access to Health Care aims to find a medical home for each participant so they may receive regular medical care including prevention and treatment services. It assists the participants in navigating the health care system, overcoming barriers to service. Currently, Polk Health Care comes to Fort Meade at the Transition Center (formerly Gause Riverside) each Tuesday of the month (except the 3rd Tuesday).
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