2002 Celebration
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2002 Celebration |
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Programs El Centro “La Familia” Program Descriptions El Centro “La Familia” Contact: The mission of the El Centro “La Familia” program is to provide culturally sensitive mental health services of the highest quality to the Latino community of Oakland County. Bilingual-bicultural therapists provide crisis intervention and individual, family, and group therapy for the center’s clients. Case management also involves helping clients find better housing, clothing, food, and other basic necessities. The center is the only Latino mental health agency in Oakland County, as well as the only agency in Michigan with a fully bilingual-bicultural staff that offers a dual-diagnosis program for people with mental illness and substance abuse problems. The center was established in 1985 to help Latino families in Oakland County cope with problems of everyday life. Census data indicated that Latinos represented about 12.5 percent of the population in Pontiac and that 10 percent of the children enrolled in the Pontiac school system were Spanish speaking. Local agencies did not have a program to refer their Spanish-speaking clients to and recognized that many Latinos did not utilize mental health services. Today, approximately 45 percent of the program’s clients are children under age 18. With young clients, the program concentrates on self-esteem, hyperactivity, depression, school truancy, anxiety, violence, abuse, and other issues. Staff meets with youth and their families; the program also offers group therapy geared toward improving self-esteem, conflict resolution, self-control, and other issues. Staff members also act as positive, professional role models for their young patients, encouraging them to learn English as a tool for success while also reinforcing pride in their heritage. The center celebrates traditional Latino holidays and important dates; exposes young patients to Latino literature, music, stories, newspapers, and art; and visits local schools to give presentations on Latino issues and other areas of expertise. Hispanic Student Leadership Academy Contact The mission of the Hispanic Student Leadership Academy is to develop the leadership skills of Latino high school students. The program includes cultural programs, youth leadership workshops, dropout prevention services, mentoring, career education, and college visits hosted by community agencies and businesses. The academy was started in 1989 as the result of a recommendation from a staff Hispanic Issues Forum in the Lansing School District, which identified a need to focus on developing the leadership skills of Latino students. Applications were sent to every Latino tenth- and eleventh-grader in the district, and students were selected based on their responses to questions about involvement in school and community activities, coupled with staff recommendations. Businesses and community agencies were contacted to serve as resources for the academy, and their continued support is the backbone of the program. About 40 students participate in the program each year, meeting monthly for three hours after school. Language and culture are an intrinsic part of the program, and students are exposed to a variety of cultural activities, such as dance, theater, and musical presentations in English and Spanish. They are also offered the opportunity to participate in cultural programs locally and in the Midwest, Southwest, and Mexico. Students have traveled to Xalapa, Veracruz and Monterrey, Mexico; Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Texas; Chicago; South Bend, Indiana; and Washington D.C. Small Folks Development Center Inc. Contact: The mission of the Small Folks Development Center, a bilingual, multicultural daycare center and preschool, is to provide quality child care and preschool experiences to children of Latino families in the Lansing area. Small Folks strives to prepare children for future educational success and to help them develop pride in their culture and respect for other cultures. The program, which was started in 1974 with the support of Model City Monies, is located on the south side of Lansing where the community is primarily Latino. It was developed in response to families whose parents were working or going to school and needed quality child care that was sensitive to the Latino culture. Of the five preschools started with the support of Model Cities Money, only Small Folks remains in operation. In 1998 the center received the World Class Small Business Award from the City of Lansing, and it was recently featured on a poster prepared by Ingham County promoting a lead poisoning awareness program. Small Folks serves 70 children ranging in age from 1 to 12 years old and also has a before- and after-school program for school-age children. The emphasis is on multicultural education and the acquisition of basic language skills in both Spanish and English. Special attention is given to learning about important historical figures such as Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr., who are critical role models for children. The program is well balanced, focusing not only on academic skills but also on artistic expression, large and small motor activities, and social skills. Computers and a large selection of software are available for children to practice working with the technology. The staff use Spanish on a daily basis and utilize a curriculum, called Sharing Our Diversity, focused on Latino cultures. Children regularly participate in fiestas and the annual celebration of Cinco de Mayo, eat ethnic foods home cooked by center staff, and learn to sing in Spanish.
Contact: Latino Family Services, Inc. provides bilingual, multicultural services to both Latinos and others in the Detroit area, focusing on family and cultural ties, education and health prevention. Its Youth Department provides developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant programming to attract teens who might otherwise choose to spend their after-school and summer hours engaged in risk-taking or nonproductive behavior. Participants in other Latino Family Services programs conceptualized Teens on the Move, a component of the regular teen program activities, as a way to involve teens in positive activities such as volunteering, gaining life skills, and getting work experience. Teens ages 14 to 18 are eligible to participate in the program, which serves 10 youth at a time. Two days a week, participants volunteer at Latino Family Services, working with younger children in the after-school program. In addition, life-skills training in the areas of substance abuse prevention, mentoring, self-esteem, job skills, and conflict resolution are provided for several hours a week. After participants complete 20 hours of volunteer work and training, they are hired to work at Latino Family Services. The unique aspect of the program is its traveling tutor component, in which area agencies and programs tutor Teens on the Move participants in their after-school programs. Agencies pay students a small stipend to serve as tutors and in return receive the services of well-trained high school students.
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