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Adult Education and Employment Services are offered on-site and in the community for <br /> all participants of this program. Housing Hope employs nine Education and Employment <br /> Specialists, who provide one-on-one counseling and support to assist parents in the <br /> development of educational and employment skills. Employment offers these teens the <br /> opportunity to increase their sense of self-worth and is critical to sustaining permanent <br /> housing and increased levels of self-sufficiency. A continuum of employment services <br /> assist participants to move to job readiness and then towards a career with a livable <br /> wage. Housing Hope collaborates with WorkSource, Department of Social and Health <br /> Services WorkFirst, Workforce Snohomish, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, <br /> Everett and Edmonds Community College, Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, <br /> Washington State Employment Security Department and Service Alternatives. <br /> Teen life skills courses are provided weekly on-site to help teens learn the skills they <br /> need to be successful adults: budgeting, nutrition, emotion management, time <br /> management, etc. Parenting education courses are a critical component of the weekly <br /> life skills education courses and include topics like positive discipline and de-escalation. <br /> Child and Family Specialists also assist these very young parents to learn critical child <br /> development information and parenting skills. Child Care is critical for these parents to <br /> achieve their goals. Housing Hope's Tomorrow's Hope Child Development Center <br /> provides a supportive environment that specializes in the development of high-risk <br /> children. Transportation is provided to and from Tomorrow's Hope for these children. <br /> Housing Hope's program design is consistent with current research regarding the needs <br /> of homeless teen families and effective program components and approaches. The <br /> program design assists participants to complete their child development and transition <br /> to adult roles, heal from trauma, develop critical life skills, and build on their current <br /> strengths and resources to achieve individualized goals for sustaining housing and <br /> increasing self-sufficiency. <br /> • Comprehensive services are critical for teen parents experiencing homelessness. <br /> These young parents often have childhoods of abuse and neglect; they suddenly <br /> find themselves in a position of having to grow up very quickly. Programs for <br /> homeless teen parents need to include a range of services: affordable housing, <br /> Family Support Services, life skills training, support groups, emotion <br /> management training, child development, parent education, childcare, school <br /> completion, employment services, and basic needs. <br /> • Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Emerging research <br /> indicates that families experiencing homelessness benefit greatly from a <br /> strength-based approach that is tailored to their unique needs. Motivational <br /> Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy are collaborative, person- <br />