As Emmaus House begins a new chapter, we are committed to seeing families in Peoplestown move beyond poverty through strategies that support educational achievement and economic independence. To this end, we are making some enhancements to two of our flagship programs, Camp Summer Hope and the Lokey Center. Here, we look at the Lokey Center. Look for more on Camp Summer Hope in our next email.
For many years, the Lokey Center at Emmaus House (formerly the Poverty Rights Office) has served as our drop-in help center, offering emergency assistance to our neighbors in Peoplestown. This work is important and it will continue.
However, with 48% of families in Peoplestown living below the poverty line, we know that we need to do more to help people to break the cycle of poverty.
Therefore, as an evolution of our work, we are pleased to announce our 25/15 Case Management Initiative, a program that will enable us to serve families in a deeper, more transformative way. In 2015, we plan to enroll 25 individuals and families in a holistic program that will lead to greater overall wellbeing and, ultimately, increased economic self-sufficiency.
Through collaboration with a select group of strategic partner organizations, we will offer interested families the opportunity to undergo a formal intake assessment. Then we will work with them to build a plan that will help them achieve goals that they set for themselves. Emmaus House will act as the hub at the center of the service wheel, referring people to partner agencies where appropriate. We are excited to work with some excellent partners, including The Center for Working Families, the Georgia Justice Project, and the Technical College System of Georgia, among others
Utilizing an evidence-based model called the Self Sufficiency Matrix, we will track the progress of participants in categories like housing, employment, income, food, childcare, children’s education, adult education, healthcare coverage, life skills, and family/social relations.
To maximize effectiveness, we will institute a two-generation approach, coordinating services for parents and their children – a key to breaking the cycle of poverty. To this end, we anticipate that 75% of the adults enrolled in the program will have children who participate in other Emmaus House programs, such as Camp Summer Hope or Saturday Arts.
In order to move all of our programs to the next level, we have created a new staffing model at Emmaus House, resulting in some shifts in responsibilities. Ann Fowler, formerly Director of the Lokey Center, is now serving as Director of Education Services, a new role that will utilize her education background to bring about significant innovation to our summer program. New to Emmaus House is Adam Seeley, our new Director of Social Services. Adam comes to us with a wealth of relevant experiences, most recently as Chief Operating Officer of the Gateway Center. Additionally, Helen Bohanna, a longtime volunteer, has joined the staff as a part-time caseworker. We are very excited to have such highly qualified individuals working to fulfill our mission here at Emmaus House.
Emmaus House will continue to offer emergency drop-in services. We will continue to be a calm port in the storm for our neighbors in crisis. Our 25/15 initiative will build on our already successful program, making our work even more transformative for our neighbors and friends here in Peoplestown.
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