THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409210409
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Neighborhoods in two northeastern North Carolina counties will receive grants for family resource centers, making services more available for families and children, Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. announced Tuesday.
Hunt made the announcement at a morning press conference in Goldsboro.
Neighborhood programs in Gates and Northampton Counties received two of 16 resource center grants awarded by the governor. The amily resource centers will provide a ``one stop'' source of help so families can get information and referrals to services such as literacy, child care and job listings without having to navigate through a maze of state agencies and applications.
``Family resource centers can help families get the resources they need to provide nurturing and supportive homes for children,'' Hunt said. ``I believe that by strengthening families, we can prevent the kinds of problems that cause our children to get in trouble later on.''
Gates County's office of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service received a $75,000 award. Targeting 50 families, the Gates County center will be based at the New Middle Swamp Baptist Church in Corapeake, with satellite offices at two elementary schools and at the Adolescent Care Center at Gates County High School. These sites will serve all areas of the county.
The Gates County program will focus on providing developmentally appropriate programs for children and workshops on a weekly basis. The program will teach classes in parenting, literacy, life skills development and training, nutrition and wellness, peer support, and employment skills.
The Choanoke Area Development Association in Northampton County received $75,000 for the Garysburg Neighborhood Family Resource Center. The center targets the Garysburg Elementary School District in the western part of the county.
The program will enable families to apply for all necessary services in one central location, and to consolidate services in the same area. Services will include child care, family literacy classes, entrepreneurial training and mental health services.
Family resource centers are a new way of directing and organizing the way services are provided. Through the centers, families can get referrals to the services they need or be linked to services offered at the center. Many will have nurses and social workers on site to offer help and assistance.
In all, 16 North Carolina communities received grants for the centers. Twelve neighborhood grants and four county grants were awarded. Family resource centers were funded by the General Assembly at Hunt's request. ILLUSTRATION: AREA GRANTS
Gates County: $75,000
Program will provide for children, as well as classes in parenting,
literacy, life skills development and training, nutrition and
wellness, peer support and employment skills.
Northampton County: $75,000
Program will enable families in the Garysburg neighborhood to apply
for all family-related services in a central location. Services also
will include child care, family literacy classes, entrepreneurial
traininig and mental health services.
by CNB