Our House e-newsletter July 2012 | Page 30

In the first year of operation, we will focus on 60 families—about 150 people—who were homeless at one time but have gotten out of that situation. Or who are near-homeless, who are floating from place to place, looking for stability but not yet finding it. In the next few weeks, we will hire several new staff members to provide this support to many more families and children than we are able to reach currently. The institute will be led by our Director of Client Services, Justin Sanders, a Masters-level Social Worker. Members of the institute—parents—will access our Learning Center, where they will take financial literacy courses; search for jobs; receive help with resumes; participate in practice job interviews; receive one-on-one budgeting assistance; and if they don’t have their high school diploma, we will help them get their GED. Many of the children enrolled in the institute will be able to attend our summer program, which runs for 8 weeks and then turns into an afterschool program which provides opportunities for academic and personal growth outside of the classroom. Our House, in partnership with the Heart of Arkansas United Way, is grateful for this chance to give hundreds of children a way out of poverty—a stable home, consistency at school—the foundation for a successful future.