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5.0
Our Partners |
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5.0 Our Partners
Family Connections came about because of school collaboration. Collaboration is a vitally important way for Family Connections to expand our scope of service, learn important lessons from others, and exchange information with other service providers. Each of our primary partners plays a key role in relationship to the services we offer at Family Connections. They either bring their services on site, make it possible that we have these services or connect us to our family population. In any of these cases, Family Connections wouldn't be what it is today without these beneficial relationships.
SECONDARY COLLABORATIONS Secondary partners and collaborations do not mean second in importance. It simply means these collaborators currently do not play as active a role as our primary collaborators do. However, secondary collaborations are important associates in connecting our families to additional support services.
CE.R. TAYLOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, HEALTHY START PROGRAM If it weren't for the expert and hard working staff at E. R. Taylor Healthy Start we wouldn't be here today. We were formed as a result of all the requests and needs the Healthy Start team observed at school. A collaboration of professionals, ranging from teachers to social workers, wrote a grant in 1993 that became the seed money that started the Family Connections Center. E.R. Taylor Elementary is a neighborhood-based school. It is one of the primary sites that we do outreach at so families know about our services. We use space there every day for our after school program. We work together in partnership to get families the best services and support possible. ER Taylor continues to be a very important partner for Family Connections.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITIES After Family Connections space was secured at 2565 San Bruno Ave in November of 1993 we were looking at extensive renovations. The space we found was a large storefront that used to be a hardware store. We needed offices, classrooms and a kitchen. Unfortunately, our modest budget didn't allow for these changes. The Family Connections Director made a call to Habitat for Humanities and asked if they would be willing to help us. Though they specialize in single family housing, they decided to make an exception and came to our aid. We hired a general contractor and paid for our own materials; Habitat supplied all of the volunteer labor including the architectural and engineering plans. We are proud of the fact that Family Connections was community collaboration right down to the physical space that we occupy.
U.C. EXTENSION We receive funding to provide two services for our families. The first is the Nutrition program. Weekly, onsite group and individual nutrition counseling is provided. These sessions are conducted in English and Cantonese. A trained nutrition specialist provides the service. The second program that U.C. Extension funds is larger in scope. The program is called College Bound. Various activities are provided bi-weekly for youth, teenagers, and parents. The focus is about offering support and guidance along the road to becoming college bound. A community event is put on at the end of the year by parents. The youth group focuses on learning about colleges, career opportunities, staying in school, staying away from drugs and alcohol, and healthy ways of communicating with peers, family and society. The parent piece is designed to address particular issues and challenges parents of teens and youth are facing today. Family Connections family therapist, along with community based guest speakers and agencies facilitates the groups.
CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO In 1997 Family Connections formed a partnership with Southeast City College. Discussions with the Dean resulted in the placement of an English as a Second Language Class (ESL) offered at Family Connections five mornings a week. We were fortunate to be able to present English classes close to where people live and work. Since that time, City College has augmented these classes with summer sessions, and an evening session 4 days a week. There is also a negotiation over adding a Child Observation Class once a week on Fridays. Because City College instructors teach at Family Connection, it saves us approximately $60,000 dollars a year and it allows us to offer these very valuable, FREE services to our community.
ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER FAMILY RESOURCE NETWORK (APIFRN) The Asian Pacific Islander Family Resource Network was founded in 1997 by the Asian Perinatal Project. It is a link of 27 Asian agencies networked together to offer a more holistic approach to family support. By working in collaboration with API, Family Connections has increased our capacity to serve our Asian families in a cultural and language specific way. Family Connections serves as a cluster partner for the network and oversees 3 other agencies in our zip code. The Asian Pacific Islander network has the language ability to serve the following Asian groups, Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Tagalog Cantonese, Mandarin, and other Chinese dialects.
DISABILITY ADVOCATES OF MINORITIES ORGANIZATION Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization (DAMO) strives to represent, promote and celebrate the abilities of disabled minorities through the encouragement and development of public education, system and self-advocacy training, networking, artistic expression awareness training and consulting. DAMO is using Family Connections' space for monthly business meetings, monthly workshops for the community and two events per year, including a fundraiser. We are proud to host this new non-profit organization that offers valuable support and services for the disabled minority community.
SAN FRANCISCO ORGANIZING PROJECT The San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP) empowers communities to take positive action to improve their neighborhoods. In 1998, we had been participating in numerous city meetings to increase the safety of pedestrian travel on San Bruno Avenue. Neighborhood organizers from SFOP met numerous times with city officials here at Family Connections to promote a new safety plan. Our elementary school children, whom cross this busy street everyday with our staff, wrote and performed a skit in front of 200 neighbors and civic officials at a local action meeting. We were the hit of the evening. Eventually, Family Connections and SFOP were able to secure the first traffic light on San Bruno Avenue in many years.
PORTOLA BRANCH LIBRARY Habitat for Humanities had finished renovating Family Connections in June 1994. The next month the neighborhood librarian came in and asked if they could use some of our space for a while. They had just been evicted from their home down the street after 40 years on a month to month lease. Even though we had barely settled in, it just didn't seem right to say no to the Library. They moved in and shared our space for the next 18 months while they found their new home and renovated it. We continue to enjoy a favorable partnership to this day. The children's librarian visits our various child-centered programs and the children enjoy our regular outings to the library.
SAN BRUNO MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION San Bruno Merchants Association is a group of businessmen/women trying to implement positive changes for the San Bruno Avenue business district. Our Family Connections director is the secretary on the board of directors. The merchants have worked closely with SFOP to get attention to this invisible neighborhood. Most of our success has come about because of the hard work of SFOP volunteers and a handful of dedicated merchants. In 1997, with pressure from SFOP and the merchants, the City of San Francisco commissioned a revitalization study of San Bruno Avenue. Some of the proposed changes include adding more parking spaces, reducing congestion on the street, adding more cross walks and enhancing the physical attractiveness of the main business district. We have been promised some of these changes will be implemented in the near future.
PARENT'S PLACE Parent's Place is a family resource center in San Francisco that has worked collaboratively with Family Connections for 4 years. The last several years we have shared a small amount of funding to be able to form a closer partnership. Parent's Place staff has shared their expertise with us regarding child development. Their staff has observed and critiqued all of our child-centered programs and given us helpful suggestions and hearty praise. In addition, their child development specialists have visited the center and informally shared information with our caregivers that regularly attend our Parent Child Drop In Program. We have enjoyed and appreciated this mentoring partnership.
TALK LINE Talk Line was our first family resource center partner. They have been delivering family support services in San Francisco for over 25 years. They run the well-known and respected Telephone Aid for Living with Kids 24-hour crisis talk line (415-441-5437). In 1996, Family Connections joined forces with Talk Line and wrote their first collaborative grant from the Mayor's Office of Children, Youth and Family. Upon receiving funding, Talk Line created and implemented our first parent child drop in program. Today, it is an important and well-received program by our community.
SILVER AVENUE HEALTH CENTER Silver Avenue Health Center is a City of San Francisco Public Health Center serving the Portola neighborhood. They are located only 5 blocks away. We have been partners with them since we began offering community programs. We have sent many of our uninsured families there to receive health services. Their health educator serves on our board of directors. And, our Family Connections director serves on their community advisory board.
THE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER CONSORTIUM OF SAN FRANCISCO The Family Resource Center Consortium of San Francisco is a collaboration of 10-12 directors of family resource centers in the city. It is not currently active because we lost our funding for the facilitator. It is mentioned as a collaborator because it has had a positive impact on Family Connections' growth and development through informal peer to peer mentoring. For three years, the group met monthly and rotated to various sites so we had the opportunity to see most of the family resource centers in San Francisco. It has been helpful to see how other centers problem solve issues of funding, parent involvement and overall center management.
SAN BRUNO AVENUE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB San Bruno Avenue Boys and Girls Club are almost directly across the street from Family Connections. They have been on the block working with adolescents for many years. They serve as the official Family Connections emergency evacuation site. For the last four summers our children join their children at the Boys and Girls club and enjoy the Mayor's Free Lunch Program together. They have recently merged with Columbia Park Boys and Girls Club and are anticipating some positive changes in programs and their overall surroundings.
ASIAN NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN Asian Neighborhood Design (AND) has participated in almost every renovation project we have accomplished since we began services. AND has been a funded and non-funded collaborator for the last 5 years. We have worked with AND in a variety of capacities. Some examples include; a few of our parents have attended their job skills training program and we have consulted with their architects on numerous projects. In addition, we have had their job skills training program provide renovations at Family Connections and have had assistance on developing our service exchange. We hope to continue our partnership with AND as we look to renovate our newly acquired space next door.
SECONDARY COLLABORATIONS Secondary partners and collaborations do not mean second in importance. It simply means these collaborators currently do not play as active a role as our primary collaborators do. However, secondary collaborations are important associates in connecting our families to additional support services.
PLANNED PARENTHOOD Planned Parenthood is a non-profit, locally based reproductive health care center. They have provided support services for some of our families facing various reproductive related issues. They have been extremely helpful and supportive when we've referred a family in a crisis. This has been true as well for families needing education and a safe place to discuss their particular issues.
WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC) Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provide supplemental nutrition for women and their children up to age five. They have a neighborhood base and are language accessible to our families. They provide standard supplemental foods, counseling on nutrition and breast feeding issues, and health related referrals to other agencies.
WOMEN'S SHELTERS The Asian Women's Shelter provides a 24-hour crisis shelter for Asian women and their children who are dealing with issues of domestic violence. They are culturally appropriate, and language accessible. Asian Women's Shelter provides our families in threatening home situations, a safe, immediate place to go.
SAN FRANCISCO FOOD BANK We work closely with the Food Bank when our families call us with emergency food related needs. The Food Bank provides food for needy families on a one-time per year basis. We help families with ongoing counseling and referrals for food throughout the year. We shop at the Food Bank for snacks and produce for our various programs in an ongoing manner. The Food Bank provides Holiday Food Baskets for some of our families. The Food Bank helps us augment our own pantry, and also offers an immediate supply of on hand items for emergency food situations.
WOMAN INC. and LA CASA DES LA MADRES also provide women and children a safe alternative to a dangerous family environment. These agencies provide English and Spanish speaking counselors, clothing, shelter and other appropriate services to women in need.
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5.2 Links to Other Service Agencies
DCYF (Department of Children, Youth and their Families)
Silver Avenue Health Center Schools (E.R. Taylor Elementary, Thurgood Marshall and Philip &Sala Burton High Schools)
DHS (Department of Human Services)
Asian Neighborhood Design
API (The Asian Pacific Islander Resource Network)
Children's Counsel Healthy Start
U C Berkeley Extension
Planned Parenthood
WIC (Woman, Infant and Children Food Subsidy)
Food Bank Asian Women's Shelter
Damo (Disabled Minorities)
Coleman Advocates
SF Housing Authority
Junior League
City College of San Francisco (ESL program)
Portola Branch Library
Palega Recreation and Park Playground
The Family Resource Center Consortium of San Francisco
San Bruno Merchants Association
San Bruno Avenue Boys and Girls Club
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