| Welcome
to the September-October issue of Provplan’s e-newsletter.
This issue highlights some new beginnings – from
a new partnership between Ready to Learn Providence and Hasbro
Children’s Hospital to a new industry advisory group for
Building Futures. YouthBuild started its 11th class with more
applicants than ever before and The Blessing Way received its
first-ever federal grant with help from New Roots. We are excited
about our ability to partner with others to make things happen
for city residents. And lastly, congratulations to Nazly Guzman-Singletary
from Ready to Learn on her “Community Hero” award
from the American Red Cross and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Nazly
has been our hero for a long time for her leadership and it’s
great to see her getting the recognition she deserves. R2LP and Hasbro Children’s
Hospital team up to give residents a fuller look at the community A new and required rotation in Hasbro’s pediatric residency program, called “Advocating for Child Health in the Community,” pairs residents with members of R2LP’s AmeriCorps program in libraries and child-care centers for a total of three to six days. Seeing children and families in the context of these settings – with trained AmeriCorps members as guides – gives residents a clearer sense of the community in which their patients live and some of the challenges these children face. As part of the rotation, residents also attend training workshops
and field trips aimed at further broadening their perspective.
For example, Amy Pettine of The Providence Plan and Kat Keenan
of R.I. Kids Count provide a session in data and mapping, illustrating
issues such as poverty, linguistic isolation and education levels
in the different neighborhoods. Dr. Peter Simon, assistant medical
director of RIDOH’s Department of Family Health, leads
a bus tour in which he points out neighborhood resources and
challenges. “This rotation really gives you an idea of what the community is like,” notes Dr. Stewart Mackie, a resident who is participating in the program this month. “In the hospital, it’s difficult to find time to talk about social issues, but they are often medically relevant.” Dr. Patricia Flanagan, director of outpatient services at Hasbro, developed the program with R2LP staff and hospital colleagues. “I’m so grateful to R2LP for coming forward,” she notes. “They were the logical partner for this project.” [more on R2LP Hasbro...]
Building Futures announces
its new Advisory Council Building Futures, a new partnership initiated by The Providence Plan, got under way last spring with a pilot program designed to recruit, assess and support 30 low-income urban residents for placement in union apprenticeship programs. To date, Building Futures has made six placements into these trade programs and has another four candidates who are ready for placement. Many others who don’t yet meet the threshold are currently working with Building Futures to overcome some barriers. But this recruiting and placement program is just one facet of the Building Futures initiative. It also aims to make systemic changes within the construction industry in ways that will help the sector meet future personnel needs while also creating employment opportunities for inner-city adults. The Advisory Council will focus primarily on these issues. “The Council includes strong and broad representation from the construction industry, as well as representatives from education, the financial sector and the inner-city community,” notes Andrew Cortes, director of Building Futures. “These advisors bring the expertise and knowledge needed to build the conditions that will bring this pilot program to scale.” The Council will focus on construction industry practice, policy framework and public perception of the industry. Despite good wages and benefits, Andrew notes, construction work still ranks low among high-school students and young adults. “It’s not for everyone,” he says, “but if you’ve got what it takes it can be a rewarding career that will support a family.” The Advisory Council, which held its first meeting earlier
this month, will meet every five weeks. The members are:
"New Roots helped us in many ways, " says Rev. Penfield. "The workshops on grant writing, budgeting, program development, the media, governance and human resources, as well as the guidance and help from New Roots consultants and staff, were invaluable. Probably more important, though, was the capacity-building that took place during the year, thanks to our New Roots grant." The Blessing Way, housed at St. Peter’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Providence, serves men and women who are transitioning to the community from prison or a drug rehabilitation program. Although it is a faith-based organization, The Blessing Way is non-denominational. The Blessing Way received a $16,400 Community Development Block
grant through the City of Providence (Department of Housing
and Urban Development) to work with clients on life skills leading
to job readiness. With an additional grant of $56,303 awarded
by the U.S. Department of Labor, the organization will help
a traditionally underserved and unemployed population to “find,
get and keep jobs,” explains Rev. Penfield. The target
population for this initiative – titled “Operation
Get Started” – includes the homeless, recovering
substance abusers and former prisoners.
The young adults who successfully completed Mental Toughness
now comprise YouthBuild’s 11th class, which got under
way Sept. 10. With academic and professional development classes,
a service learning curriculum, leadership development seminars,
internship programs and hands-on construction work, YouthBuild
will help these students – most of whom are high-school
dropouts – make a successful transition into the workforce
or higher education. [more on YouthBuild...]
Nazly and this year’s other “Heroes” will be featured in a videotape that will be the focal point of an October breakfast in their honor. On August 14, Nazly appeared on WHJJ’s Helen Glover Show to explain the work of R2LP and the role she plays there. [top] As part of the rotation, residents are required to plan an advocacy project and draft a proposal. Although not required to submit the proposal, residents will learn from this exercise how to work with community leaders and existing agencies to identify and address unmet needs. The program got under way in August, a month in which new AmeriCorps members receive extensive training at R2LP before going out into the field. For that month, pediatric residents also participated in the training, which includes a data-driven analysis of early childhood well-being in the city’s neighborhoods. [top]
Scott Duhamel – International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 11 (Business Agent) Stephanie Federico – City of Providence (Senior Assistant to the Chief of Staff) William Holmes – State Apprenticeship Council (Chair; also the Business Agent for the Carpenters Local 94) James Jackson – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 99 (Apprenticeship Coordinator) David J. Maron – Associated General Contractors (President) Ramon Martinez – Progreso Latino (President/CEO) Joseph Rocchio – Sovereign Bank (Vice-President) Michael Sabitoni – RI Building Trades Council (President; also the Business Agent for Laborers Local 271) Elmer Stanley – Making Connections Providence (Resident Engagement and Leadership Coordinator) Robert Walsh – National Education Association (President; also Chair of the program committee for The Providence Plan Board) [top] Blessing
Way Success, cont. Although funds from these grants will allow The Blessing Way to grow from its current staff of four part-time employees to 11, volunteers will continue to play an instrumental role in its activities and services. The organization is currently seeking volunteers or college interns who would like to serve as job coaches, mentoring individual clients in Operation Get Started. For more information on The Blessing Way and its volunteer opportunities, please call (401) 350-0021 or go to its web site at www.theblessingway.org.
YouthBuild's
11th Class, cont. Andrew believes that thanks to a refined intake and evaluation
process, the current class is particularly strong. The 30 students
were selected from an initial pool of nearly 200 applicants,
of which 55 were invited to participate in Mental Toughness.
Mental Toughness includes strenuous physical activities as well
as intensive workshops focusing on a wide range of cultural,
professional and personal issues. “Above all,” explains
Andrew, “it establishes the way we will work together
over the next 10 months, and emphasizes our values and standards.”
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partnership between Ready to Learn Providence and Hasbro Children’s
Hospital is giving pediatric residents a far broader understanding
of the community they serve. Residents also learn how to work
with the community to advocate for children’s health.
With its 11-member Advisory Council now in place, Building Futures
is set to address some of the broader goals within its mission.
The
Blessing Way, a New Roots Providence grant recipient, recently
learned it has attracted more than $72,000 to support its programs,
more than doubling its previous budget. The organization’s
executive director, the Rev. Joyce Penfield, credits much of
this success to the training and technical assistance the organization
received through New Roots Providence.
“It’s
the first thing I’ve ever really completed in my life,”
noted several of the 30 young adults who successfully completed
YouthBuild Providence’s rigorous Mental Toughness process.
YouthBuild held an evening ceremony on Sept. 7 to celebrate
the completion of this two-week program, which helps identify
the young adults who are most prepared for YouthBuild’s
10-month program.
