Mission: Brighter Beginnings partners with parents to promote healthy births and nurture children's development by strengthening families and supporting healthy communities.
Programs: Mental health services provide family counseling and skills for building healthy relationships with children and partners, infant-mother bonding, parenting, problem solving, and dealing with anger and stress. It's mission is to increase employment and self-sufficiency through reduction in symptoms, improved coping abilities, improved concentration, and increased motivation and self-esteem. Also, to help adults thrive to their fullest potential in areas of academic, social, and emotional functioning. To diminish impairment and prevent serious deterioration in functioning as well as help adults use existing health resources, including their own talents and knowledge, effectively and efficiently.
first 5 - offers expectant parents and families with children birth through age five core services and support for their children's optimal growth and development. Commnuity resource specialists provide resources and referrals to parents.
early head start (ehs) is a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women. Its mission is to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, to enhance the development of very young children, and to promote healthy family functioning. Ehs evolved out of head start's long history of providing services to infants and toddlers through parent child centers, comprehensive child development centers (ccdps) and migrant head start programs. Recent advances in the field of infant development make this an especially exciting time to have head start formally.
the organization also operates the following programs:-black infant health - outreach and home-based support for african-american pregnant women and mothers to improve infant health. -fatherhood program - parenting, leadership, and life skills for fathers facing barriers to responsible fatherhood. -teen family support - home visits and case management for pregnant and parenting teens. Coordinated system of supportive services to teen families, including prevention and intervention to reduce child abuse and neglect. -financial education coaching - financial education/literacy training and support to parents. -family health clinics - provide affordable family healthcare to individuals and families who need it, by providing basic primary health services to patients regardless of their insurance and immigration status. -hello baby - a home visiting service designed to prevent child abuse and support new parents. It ensures that at-risk children get the support they need for healthy development during the first years of life.
I have been donating my time and $$ to Brighter Beginnings for over ten years. In that time, I have seen then take the free/low cost medical clinic from an idea to reality. That is a huge feat in our communities where real estate is expensive and professional medical staff have many high-paying corporate jobs to choose from. I also have seen good programs continue, and new ones start up, such as the research project to identify barriers to breastfeeding that is underway. I have confidence in the executive director and in the staff, both clinicians and admin/support staff. Brighter Beginnings meets a huge need in our area, with quality and diversity.
As a donor and board member of Brighter Beginnings, I know first hand the commitment that Brighter Beginnings has to insuring the best outcomes to children born in the East Bay. With the focus on 0-5 years old early childhood development, Brighter Beginnings works with the parents and families to educate and support their efforts to raise happy and healthy children. The Brighter Beginnings family health clinics in Richmond and Antioch are offering much needed primary healthcare to these under served and financially stressed communities.
