By SARAH MANN
Daily News Staff
Managing crisis is all well and good, but Hartford wants to prevent crises from happening in the first place.
That’s why community leaders are investing $10,000 in United Way grants in programs that help residents with everything from managing their finances to increasing English literacy to keeping them from running away from home.
“If we are always relying on crisis management — the problem never gets solved,” said Tom Hostad, a member of the Mobilized Hartford group that was responsible for divvying up the grant.
United Way approached the Hartford community last year with an offer to give the city $100,000 to tackle the biggest issues facing residents. Mobilized Hartford, a task force of business and community leaders, including Hostad, Fred Wittenberger of Wittenberger bus and Tim Purman of First National Bank of Hartford, met with school officials, clergy and the city Police Department to find out what those issues might be.
“What we heard so universally at the time was that youth and family problems were where we could prioritize the most help,” Hostad said.
Last year, Mobilized Hartford allocated money to the Hartford Boys & Girls Club to open a site for middle school students, to the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program and to the Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, and created a resource center on Sumner Street.
This year, after United Way gave Hartford a $10,000 grant, Hostad said Mobilized Hartford began looking at ways to prevent people from needing to access crisis management services in the first place.
The group found it in four organizations of the nine that applied for grants:
■ The Family Center of Washington County ($3,000): The Family Center, which provides resources and support for parents and caregivers raising children, was given the green light to implement a program called “Developing Nurturing Skills in Schools.” The grant money will aid in training, resources and materials for implementing the program, said Family Center Executive Director Bonnie Debroux.
The program aims to develop a nurturing attitude in children at school that they can model at home with their families.
“If you start early with these kids — even with the bullying in schools, think about how that would help that,” Debroux said.
The program focuses on instilling self-discipline, self-respect and empathy. It has already seen great success in other school districts in the nation. Debroux hopes to introduce the program into elementary schools next year.
■ Consumer Credit Counseling Services ($1,402): The money will help the CCCS expand budget and counseling services in Hartford, including programs that help first-time home buyers, people struggling with credit card debt or young newlyweds looking to make a budget.
“A lot of people are struggling to pay their mortgage,” CCCS program director Keith Braun explained. “We’ve had a lot of success with that, primarily getting lower interest rates.”
Expanding in Hartford allows CCCS to reach more people, Braun added, including those in Slinger, Richfield and Jackson.
“I think being closer to those services is (more effective),” Braun said.
■ The Youth and Family Project, Inc. ($3,000): Hostad said Mobilized Hartford was told that there are several young people who are considered “homeless” — for whatever reason, they’ve chosen to move away from their parents’ home and live with a friend, relative or on their own.
The Crossroads Runaway Program wants to change that.
“We work with any youth that’s at risk for running away,” said Youth and Family Project Associate Director Kelly Henckel. “Our program is really prevention- based. This year, (we) reconnected with Central Middle School.”
A counselor will visit the middle school one day a week this year, providing art therapy for students identified as at risk of running away from home. The counselor will also be able to provide family counseling sessions at the United Way Resource Center in Hartford.
“It’s not necessarily safe to share that in the school setting,” said AmeriCorps member Emily Christenson, who will be the counselor stationed at the school.
“We learned a lot from school administration, especially the K-eighth district, that kids were not successful in the classroom because of their home environment,” Hostad added.
■ Casa Guadalupe ($2,000): The organization is expanding its efforts in Hartford to reach Hispanic families and help them integrate into American culture. Though West Bend has more Hispanics, Hartford has the highest population of Hispanic families in Washington County, said Casa Guadalupe Executive Director Noelle Braun.
The money will help Casa Guadalupe expand child and adult literacy programs in Hartford, a huge help since language barriers can make things difficult for the families.
“That’s why I’m really proud of the adults who are taking English classes,” Noelle Braun said. A new program, called “Read to Succeed,” pairs children learning English with oneon- one tutors. The adult and child classes meet at the same time.
“Why not have that be a little more in tandem?” Braun asked.
