The purpose of this section is to provide awareness about some of the many community-based organizations in our states that can further help serve all children and their families well. Each newsletter will profile a different community-based organization from each state: Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah.

The community-based organizations profiled in this quarter's newsletter are all agencies that may be helpful to the parents of the students in your schools. Research and professional knowledge tell us that increased parental involvement can greatly increase students' success. The organizations detailed below offer parents a variety of courses, resources, and access to advocates.

Arizona

Downtown Neighborhood Learning Center

The motto for the Downtown Neighborhood Learning Center is: "Enhancing the lives of families through free education." Their mission statement is to provide survival skills, but their services go far beyond survival. As their website states, "The Center's numerous outreach programs do more than open educational opportunities to folks seeking to improve themselves. Students in all programs at the Downtown Neighborhood Learning Center get a second chance. They learn and grow. More importantly, students develop positive self-esteem and gain a fighting chance to create self-sufficient lives."

DNLC, through a multitude of sites valley-wide, serves homeless and working-poor families in Maricopa County with free educational classes in a variety of areas. Some of the many areas include: ESL classes, GED classes, Basic Literacy classes, Life Skills classes, Workplace education, and Computer Skills courses. DNLC also offers childcare and after-schoolp rograms at many of their sites.

Another exciting project DNLC is involved in is called The Arizona Neighborhood Networks Partnership (AZNNP). The mission of AZNNP is "to create vibrant communities that foster economic opportunity and life-long learning. AZNNP is working to increase employment opportunities and access to health wellness, improve educational performance of children, empower residents, increase participation by property owners and managers, and decrease dependency on federal funding. AZNNP is a community-based initiative to encourage the development of resource and computer learning centers in privately-owned HUD-assisted and/or insured housing."

For more information:

Marcia Hopp-Newman, Executive Director
Downtown Neighborhood Learning Center
1001 West Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2913

Phone: 602-256-0784
Fax: 602-256-2524

E-mail: dnlc@swlink.net

Websites: www.swlink.net/ or The Arizona Neighborhood Networks Partnership (AZNNP)


California

EdSource

EdSource develops information designed to stimulate dialogue and increase effective parent and citizen participation on behalf of California's public schools. Their web site contains material about the need for public engagement with schools, plus tools and other information to encourage increased involvement.

EdSource provides information to community members in an effort to help them better understand California's public education system -- the history, today's challenges, and the goals for tomorrow. The organization also compiles a broad range of education data school and district staff can use to support a more effective voice in local school improvement efforts.

EdSource is an independent, nonpartisan, California nonprofit organization and specializes in clarifying complex education topics and policy choices -- through balanced analyses of education issues and accurate education data.

Website: EdSource


Nevada

Nevada Empowered Women's Project

The motto on the outside of Nevada Empowered Women's Project's (NEW Project) brochure is "Furthering the Rights of Women and Children." However, this only begins to describe the multidimensional wealth of activities in which they participate to empower low-income families. As Director Marci Wehry Harper states, "low-income women are the population least heard from," so the NEW Project brings a forum together to give these women a voice in issues affecting their lives. More specifically, they are "a grassroots, multicultural organization whose mission is to further the rights of low-income women and children by addressing relevant issues such as welfare, child care, child support, housing, and health care, and by changing negative public perceptions."

Members are a diverse group of women "striving for social and economic justice" and many have direct experience with the welfare system, either currently or in the past. With offices in both Reno and Las Vegas, some of the exciting activities that NEW Project is involved in include:

Advocacy Services: Helps people who are having problems receiving services such as welfare, child care, health care, housing, etc. by providing information/referrals and accompanying members to the different agencies. NEW Project also advocates for policies and laws that will help low-income women and their families.

Outreach: Works on sharing resources with businesses, organizations, and other groups about the issues faced by low-income families in Nevada, as well as building public awareness of NEW Project.

Skill Building: Provides training for members that will help them to become their own advocates. Monthly meetings may focus on Leadership Development, Community Organizing, Public Speaking, Nutrition, Discipline Issues, or other issues of interest.

Voter Registration: Registers votes in disadvantaged communities and encourages people to participate in creating and changing laws. They also work to educate people about laws that affect them and their families.

The NEW Project also provides monthly newsletters, monthly meetings (which include free food and child care!) and "a supportive environment to meet others facing similar issues."

For more information:

NEW Project Marci Wehry Harper, Director
1001 Riverside Drive
Reno, NV 89503

Phone: (775) 348-9566
Fax: (775) 348-7478

E-mail:newproject@earthlink.net


NEW Project
3135 So. Industrial, Suite 200
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Phone: (702) 369-3234
Fax: (702) 791-1992

E-mail: newplv@earthlink.net


Utah

Allies With Families

Did you know that an estimated 32,000 children in the state of Utah have emotional, behavioral, or neurobiological (mental illness, depression, attention deficit disorder, autism, etc.) disabilities? Allies With Families, the Utah branch of the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health, is an organization that can help. Allies With Families is under contract with F.A.C.T. (Families and Communities Together), the state program that works to have coordinated teams in most Utah school districts to provide the best combination of services available to children in need.

Allies With Families is an organization that was created by parents for parents; all of people working at the agency are parents with children in these circumstances. Their approach is based on family strengths, not deficits. They strive for all decisions to be family-driven -- helping families to be able to help themselves. Allies With Families offers numerous services that are all free of charge to the families involved:

Networking: Building a statewide support network for parents, with one-on-one problem-solving.

Information: Providing information to parents and professionals about these disabilities and the services that are available.

Advocacy: Promoting and advocating for systems of change in the state of Utah. Advocacy also extends to individual family support such as accompanying parents to IEP meetings.

Collaboration: Promoting parents and professionals working together to best serve children with these disabilities. Allies With Families can function as a coordinator among the variety of service plans a child may have.

For more information:

Pat Baker
535 East 4500 South
Suite D-120
Salt Lake City, UT 84107

Phone: 1-877-477-0764