Target demographics: Mothers who are survivors of domestic violence and college bound youth in NYC's foster care system
Geographic areas served: Throughout New York City
Programs: Through our Educational Mentoring Program (EMP), OHFF offers grants for up to 5 years to give students coming from the NYC foster care system the added financial and social support needed to have a successful postsecondary education experience. These grants are focused on a population which possesses the strength of character and intellectual tools to break the cycle of poverty and despair, but which is often lost to society as a constructive resource, due to the lack of family or organizational support. Typically, some type of government-provided financial support for tuition and board is available to these students. However, many end up dropping out because they feel uncomfortable navigating a college environment or have difficulty handling both personal issues and academic demands. In partnership with Good Shepherd Services, SCO Family of Services and the Jewish Childcare Association, we recruit adults to act as ongoing mentors, and we provide grants tailored to each student's needs, so that he/she may go to school with a computer, the "right" clothes, a cell phone, transportation home and spending money. With the right support, we believe these special students can become successful in postsecondary education and can open the doors to bright, productive futures.
Through our Harry and Carol Goodman Transformation Squared Program, we help mothers who have escaped from their abusers and found shelter and basic support for their families. They are on the rocky emotional path back to believing in themselves and are working with our partner agency, Sanctuary for Families, to learn the basic 21st century skills to be able to get jobs that will support them and their families. The participants are some of the most successful women graduating from Sanctuary's 4 month Economic Empowerment Program, and are generally able to get a job. We believe they can achieve even more by gaining an advanced entry point to a career which can lead to real economic independence for themselves and their children. For 11 months we help them focus on professional development in fields in which they are interested and in which they have the potential to be successful. Fields which offer them a career track and a living wage. OHFF provides grants of up to $10,000 to cover the cost of everything from childcare and summer camp for the kids to job training, transportation, cell phones and computers for the moms. In addition, OHFF provides these mothers with the "extra" support needed to truly allow their transformation, including financial and credit counseling.
