Housing Hope 7/19/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

EVERETT WASHINGTON and Edmonds Community College, Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, Washington State Employment Security Department and Service Alternatives. Teen life'skills courses are provided weekly on-site to help teens learn the skills they need to be successful adults: budgeting,nutrition,mental health,time management,etc.Parenting education courses are a critical component of the weekly life skills education courses and include topics like positive discipline and de-escalation. Child and Family Specialists also assist these very young parents to learn critical child development information and parenting skills. Child care is critical for these parents to achieve their goals. Housing Hope's Tomorrow's Hope Child Development Center provides a supportive environment that specializes in the development of high-risk children. Transportation is provided to and from Tomorrow's Hope for these children. Housing Hope's program design is consistent with current research regarding the needs of homeless teen families and effective program components and approaches. The program design assists participants to complete their child development and transition to adult roles,heal from trauma, develop critical life skills,and build on their current strengths and resources to achieve individualized goals for sustaining housing and increasing self-sufficiency. • Comprehensive services are critical for teen parents experiencing homelessness.These young parents often have childhoods of abuse and neglect;they suddenly find themselves in a position of having to grow up very quickly. Programs for homeless teen parents need to include a range of services: affordable housing,Family Support Services, life skills training,support groups,emotion management training,child development,parent education, childcare, school completion,employment services,and basic needs. • Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Emerging research indicates that families experiencing homelessness benefit greatly from a strength-based approach that is tailored to their unique needs. Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy are collaborative,person-centered,and evidence-based approaches that elicit and strengthen personal motivation for change. Both Motivational Interviewing and Dialectical Behavior Therapy are identified as best practices by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA). • Housing Hope utilizes a tailored and tiered approach to supportive services,which is believed to be effective in assisting families to shift from crisis to stability and to acquire and retain safe,affordable, permanent housing. • Trauma-informed services require that all aspects of programming are offered within the context of trusting relationships and purposeful interactions that help participants heal and develop personal and interpersonal skills critical to successfully achieving adult roles and responsibilities. Research indicates that trauma-informed practices have a positive impact on program outcomes such as housing stability, substance abuse recovery,mental health, self-esteem, etc. • Substance Abuse Recovery: Research suggests that a parallel approach(multiple services provided simultaneously in a coordinated fashion)to substance abuse treatment, mental health services,and housing is most beneficial for homeless families. Housing Hope utilizes this coordinated approach to services. • Employment: Teen parents need opportunities and support to build employment readiness skills and to successfully engage in job training and vocational certification programs. These services must occur within the context of comprehensive services that provide affordable housing, promote family stabilization, and offer positive, supportive relationships. Target Population: This program serves teen parents ages 16-24 who are experiencing homelessness at program entry. Each year, Housing Hope provides housing and services for approximately 29 homeless teen households, all of whom have incomes below 30%of the area median. Eligible families meet the criteria for homeless as defined by HUD and heads of households must either be pregnant or have children under the age of 18 in their custody. The majority of households served by this program are headed by single female parents with children under the age of five. Most households served present multiple challenges to sustaining permanent housing including histories of abuse or 2019 Human Needs Contracts 8