Families with children represent the fastest-growing part of the homeless population. SEARCH recently initiated a distinct division called Family First to address this sad fact. As we strive to end family homelessness, this new division will extend our current work with families to provide families that are or recently have been homeless with support designed to stabilize their lives. The Family First Case Managers will utilize two-generation (2Gen) approaches in the areas of education, employment, economic support, social capital, and health and well-being to create a legacy of economic security that passes from one generation to the next. Through Family First, we hope to reinvent our approach to family homelessness, developing and sharing best practices, addressing social determinants of health, and focusing on services that lead to whole family, whole child success. nbsp;
The Rogers family was the first to be served and housed through our new program. In the words of Kimberly Rogers:
“Such a Blessing. For the last three years, my daughter and I suffered through a very difficult time in our lives. My serious medical issues caused me to lose my job, and with my car breaking down and us losing our apartment, we were in a hopeless situation. I did everything I could to find any type of assistance but since my daughter is older, a lot of programs wouldn’t accept us. Now that SEARCH has helped us get our apartment, I can focus on getting back to a healthy state, and my daughter can focus on her Senior year of high school. I’m truly grateful for SEARCH and my case manager Mia encouraging me to get back up.”
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