The Family Outreach Center, Inc.
11 Hawthorne Street, Providence, RI 02907
401-781-6996
The Family Outreach Center, Inc., (FOCus) opened in September, 1987 in response to a perceived need for an agency in which families would become members and be treated as a whole entity. The population served includes low-income and refugee families of different racial and ethnic backgrounds in the Providence area.
The Family Outreach Center, Inc., (FOCus) is dedicated to strengthening the family unit, persevering family values, keeping the family together, and promoting systemic change within the family. FOCus strives to promote human development by empowering individuals and families to develop their potential by providing them with comprehensive skill development in language, literacy, basic life skills, pre-vocational skills and family life skills. All programs address the intergenerational problems existing among the poor and disadvantaged and are designed to help create a sense of success and accomplishment within the individual and within the family as a whole.
The three components of education, child care, and outreach form the FOCus foundation and correspond to critical issues within society today.
Education: FOCus provides the opportunity for parents and single adults to attend classes for Adult Basic Education, ESL, GED, basic family life skills, and pre-vocational preparation. Our education programs are designed to help adults gain self-confidence, enter college or the job market/training, and become productive members of the civic community.
Child Care: FOCus operates a licensed child care facility for children from six weeks to five years of age. Early childhood education is a vital element for two reasons. First, the child care component is a valuable adjunct to the education program because it provides quality care on site, allowing the parent to pursue education and or job training without worry. Second, because it is early childhood education, it provides the child with a vital first step on the road to literacy and social integration.
Outreach: FOCus provides a link between the home, the Center, and the community through its outreach component. Outreach is an essential service, providing informal counseling; advocacy in the courts, with other social service agencies, especially civic and federal, and with the medical profession. The outreach worker serves as the liaison for groups within the community who want to become involved in the center through social service projects.
To supplement regular classroom activities, FOCus offers enrichment through its speaker program. Once a month a speaker from the community is invited to talk to the students about an issue or service pertinent to their well-being and that of their families. For example, a nurse practitioner speaks on children's health issues; an official from the Health Department speaks on AIDS/HIV and other contagious diseases; banking personnel speak on simple banking procedures such as checking and savings accounts; a lawyer speaks on civil law.
Field trips to the library, to the Museum of Natural History, and other local sites are another vehicle used to augment the students' core of knowledge Field trips may also be "family fun days" providing an opportunity to parents and their children to relax and enjoy each other's company in a social setting outside the home.
All programs offered for the member families of FOCus address the intergenerational problems that exist among the poor and disadvantaged. Each is designed to help stem the tide of continued failure and lack of motivation and perpetuate a sense of success and accomplishment within the family.
No Program is instituted as an individual project, but rather each serves as an on-going, integral part of the entire FOCus package, thereby giving the Center its unique character. Most agencies deal with one aspect in helping people become self-sustaining; FOCus's approach is multifaceted.
A comprehensive skill development program designed to aid disadvantaged adults acquire basic life skills for today's society It addresses the problem of illiteracy by offering classes in life skills, and consumer/career education.. Learners receive competency-based skill instruction to enable them to become proficient in reading, speaking, listening, and thinking. Among potential benefits, the adults perceive how basic life skills relate to the real world and become more mobile in the urban environment as they put the learned skills to use.
A program is designed to ore-enforce basic skills, teach consumer skills, and introduce adults to the world of work. ACCESS is concerned with GED, ESL, pre-vocational preparation, and hands-on training. The program deals with family members. This concept is important as a motivational factor in developing a support system with one another, aiding future generation, and fostering community relationships. ACCESS enables the adult to realize family responsibilities which will aid in the improvement of society in general and local communities in particular through better management; and awareness of resources; and other aspects of consumer/career education and literacy skills.
This program works hand-in-hand with ACCESS and is designed to help the adults become employable citizens.. The goal is to work with a small group of eligible JTPA enrollees and enable them to attain certain goals and positive outcomes in job-training preparation, attainment of high school equivalency diplomas, and achievement of a major level of education in ESL.
An intergenerational program designed to provide a "family togetherness program" for children-at-risk. The program provides a greater awareness of family problems relating to child abuse, domestic violence, and substance abuse. It seeks to improve family relationships in order to alleviate these situations. Effort are made to inculcate a sense of self-worth and dignity, develop a positive self-image, establish an awareness of these problems, develop trusting relationships between parents and children, and alert families that the sooner we begin an awareness program for children the more we can help provide systemic change within the family.
A program that helps the parents in th educational program at FOCus apply decision-making, problem-solving, and management processes to practical, real-life situations. Increased awareness of nutrition and its relationship to health will have long range effects on family health. It is a collaborative learning between parents and children which will be carried on into their daily lives in the community. Nutritional values are taught, implemented, and practiced in the everyday setting of adult education classes and child care.
FOCus conducts a six-week program for limited English-speaking students (ages 15-18) designed to reinforce basic skills, provide pre-vocational preparation, and introduce students to the world of work.
The program provides the student with an integrated curriculum addressing the academic areas of need and the world of work experience at a specific worksite. The academic area will deal with basic survival English, various English skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary), and basic math skills. Classes are small so students can receive individual help as well as group instruction. The pre-vocational area addresses the need for instruction in job preparation, expectations, and behavior as well as practical application of skills learned.
A program designed to connect disadvantaged women with women professionals in various fields and provide experience in career exploration. Because it is our goal at FOCus to empower people to better themselves and become self-sufficient, we want to provide opportunities which can facilitate the transition from our agency-based programs to college or vocational training. We hope to enhance our students' self-esteem in the process and strengthen their chances for success in other life pursuits.
A program which teaches literacy (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) through the arts. The program develops verbal and non-verbal communication skills based on arts experiences which reflect the cultural diversity of the participants.
How can someone find out more about enrolling in these classes? Call the riral office any time between 8:00am and 4:00pm, or visit us at 162 main street, woonsocket in room 404 (across from city hall).
Our number is 762-3841