Dear Friend of Center of Hope:
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021. Here’s hoping that the world is a little better place in 2021. At the same time, I would remind us that we can recommit ourselves to being agents of change—to move our focus from hoping for a better world to creating one.
I have two pieces of news to share with you.
First, our ELEVATE After School Program was selected to receive $45,000 in federal funds under Toledo/Lucas County’s FY2020 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) – Title II grant program. We will use the funding to provide our ELEVATE program to approximately 100 youth ages 10-14 who attend MLK Academy, Old West End Academy, or Robinson Elementary School, or who live in the McClinton Nunn Homes LMH affordable housing complex.
This programming will include our existing programming, which has a demonstrated track record of success, (academic support, family engagement, wellness, and positive youth development), as well as two new targeted programs (Botvin LifeSkills/substance use education and mentorship from the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office).
We are humbled and gratified to receive this support for our vision of after-school education. (For more on ELEVATE, please watch the video we included with our proposal to CJCC.)
Second, I was honored to be asked to be a member of a national panel on “The Role of the Faith-Based Community in Juvenile Probation Reform,” hosted by the Center for Public Justice, which is headquartered in Washington, DC.
It was a tremendous opportunity to tell our story to a national audience. They were very interested in the probation reform efforts that are underway in Lucas County. I was happy to discuss the demonstrated effectiveness of our Family Navigator program as part of those reform efforts. Even more important was a discussion of the partnerships behind probation reform. Progress is driven by partnership and action, and it was my pleasure to tell this group of national leaders about our partnerships here in Lucas County.
On behalf of everyone at Center of Hope Family Services, thank you so much for being our partner. With your help, we are changing lives—here at home and around the country.
Sincerely
Tracee Perryman, Ph.D.
