Place Matters July 2010

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the literacy cooperative, call us at 216 615 7190

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This mental checklist that informs our choices also operates in the lives of people seeking social services, and some folks who have already walked through one door, are glad when they learn that they don't have to walk through countless more to get other needs met.

One door to many services is an approach that both Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC), a neighborhood improvement agency, and Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), an affordable housing/homeownership center, have developed over time. They have each expanded their missions by adding services and programs, such as youth development, crisis intervention, tax preparation, and financial literacy classes, in an effort to better serve residents and clients.

Determining what to add to their menu of services is a process that has required them to evaluate their capacity, find partners, cultivate organizational good will, secure additional funding, and most importantly, make sure services meet the stated needs of the people they serve.

This year both organizations experienced an alignment of these factors and were able to add adult basic education classes at CMHA's Riverside Estates, located in Ward 18 on the southwest side of Cleveland where BPDC is situated, and at CHN's Training Center located in Asia Plaza, near E. 30th and Payne Ave.

As the word has spread, attendance at both classes has grown. Unlike the typical marketing approach some organizations undertake with casting the widest net possible to reach their target audience, both BPDC and CHN have concentrated on the community and individuals where they already have relationships. As a program participant learns of one service they become exposed to all the others and cross-fertilization occurs. Parents signing up their child for a summer enrichment program, express their own need for education, and leave the office registered for two programs. Someone waiting to have their tax return prepared sees a class in session and inquires about the days and times.

Pahniti Tosuksri, special projects manager at CHN's Community Training Center, says that CHN's expansion of programming is a result of an overall philosophy held by everyone at the organization; from top administrators to the front-line workers. “We want to have a center that is community-oriented and effective. Not just the individual program that we started with, but a holistic approach that allows us to grow into everything we want to be. If someone else does a service and has been successful finding funding, then we think we can also seek out funding and do it ourselves to make sure we are providing a quality experience for our clients.”

Referring in versus referring out is not always possible given the wide array of issues any one person may be facing, but it is certainly appreciated by clients who have already negotiated transportation or child care barriers, shared their personal information, and established trust with staff. Plus agencies like BPDC that are focused on one geographic area are uniquely positioned to understand the realities of a neighborhood and address those issues.

Challenges in locating ongoing resources and funding, and perhaps shifts in attention towards more pressing issues such as the foreclosure crisis, will certainly test BPDC and CHN's ability to sustain a long-term commitment to providing literacy services in-house, but it will be needed if they want to advance and promote their place-based model of service. Programs that are here today and gone tomorrow do not foster trust and can often weaken an agency's credibility. So far, both agencies are on track with trained Adult Ed teachers in the classroom, conducive spaces for learning, adequate funding for this year, and staff who value literacy and see its importance.

Nancy Baxter, Youth Development Director at BPDC describes the class at the Riverside Estates as an investment that will eventually have returns. She says, “These classes will hopefully result in more people having the jobs that they always wished they had. Maybe they will move from the estates and have a house two streets up from there. Hopefully, they will say this is a great neighborhood and will stay and be part of the community by reaching out to others who need help…We think if you grow the possibilities in people, then you grow the possibilities in your neighborhood.”

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