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Family Strengthening Initiative
Nov/Dec 2009 Newsletter
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FuturoNow Capacity Building Project:
Compassion Capital Fund |
FuturoNow will hold "Built to Last" training January 20 - 22. These sessions will include presentations and workshops led by national experts in the critical areas of organizational and leadership development as well as program strategies that help individuals gain employment, improve financial literacy, and reduce teen pregnancy.
Participating organizations will also have the opportunity to learn how they may apply for up to $20,000 in capacity building awards to be announced in March 2010.
For further information contact FuturoNow at (888) FUTURO-1 or click: FuturoNow
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Avenues of Hope
Strengthening Individuals & Uniting Families |
The overall mission of Avenues of Hope is to help reunite families through addiction treatment, prisoner re-entry programs, and probation services, as well as job training and employment assistance in San Bernadino and Riverside, California.
As a first-year partner with FuturoNow, the organization offers Within My Reach, Within Our Reach, and Family Wellness curricula, an addition Marlene Dorame, founder and director of Avenues of Hope, says has been an invaluable expansion of existing resources.
Drug addiction and codependency in romantic relationships seem to be the main causes of family break-down, Dorame said. For women, addictions often are the result of abuse, molestation, and severe trauma. For men, addictive behavior frequently results from child abuse and/or lack of good male role models and a healthy family environment.
"Addictions are just a symptom of a deeper problem. Once participants identify what that problem is, eight out of ten times, the addiction goes away," Dorame said. FuturoNow classes help families and individuals "identify their deeper issue, speak to it, and explain it," which is a critical process of breaking negative patterns and strengthening families, Dorame said. Most of these families were never educated about what a healthy family looks like, and the classes give them hope they become whole. "The breakdown of families happens at any age. Even fifty-year-olds are just now grasping these concepts," she said.
By recognizing unhealthy cycles and combating them, parents can understand the permanent impact their poor choices -- multiple partners, substance abuse, and neglect -- have on their children. Breaking these patterns gives children a significantly better chance to become law-abiding adults and avoid the negative cycles their parents faced, Dorame explained. By equipping families with tools offered in the classes, families can be healed and reunited.
"Everyone wants a healthy family, they just need to know how to do it," Dorame said. |
| Introducing John Lewis: New FuturoNow Project Director |
 John Lewis recently joined the FuturoNow team as a Project Director. His extensive experience developing and training leaders of urban organizations will greatly benefit the program as he begins to provide direct services to FuturoNow partners.
Before coming to FuturoNow, Lewis worked as west coast regional director for the Urban Youth Workers Institute, a coalition that networks, trains, and mentors leaders of faith-based organizations dedicated to working in urban ministries. There he oversaw a conference attended by as many as 1800 urban leaders annually. Lewis also led Lives Worth Saving, a coalition of more than 200 faith-based organizations which established a rotating group of leaders to interact daily with gang members on the streets of Santa Ana. The group also focused on educating parents about gangs, teaching them how to prevent their children from becoming involved.
As a leader of BELIEVE, Lewis helped recruit volunteers from local churches to mentor 30 at-risk students. The group collaborates with high schools and the juvenile court systems. "This movement is still at a grassroots level, but it has built a huge trust factor between mentors and the schools," Lewis said.
Lewis said his interest in urban work began during his undergraduate studies as a business administration major. "During college I volunteered with a junior high urban ministry, which launched me into full time urban work when I graduated," Lewis said. "I never predicted I would be doing this work when I was a business major." |
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Letter From A Participant
Avenues Of Hope |
October 24, 2009
Dear Readers,
My name is Vaneda and I am 36 years of age. I had been in my addiction for nearly 20 years, in and out of prison since 2000, always trying to find my way out.
I have been affiliated with Avenues of Hope since March 2009 while I was in a recovery program, just recently out of prison. I began as a mentee with their program. I attended a Family Wellness workshop in July 2009.
In that workshop I experienced the tools on how to get a healthy family. It became clear to me of the effectiveness of communicating properly and the importance of it. I specifically enjoyed the role play and thought it was very impacting for me to grasp the message this way. The teaching techniques were the first I had experienced after being in several prisoner re-entry teachings and recovery as well. It was very informative for me and today I continue to apply those while interacting with my children and people in general.
Today I feel I have been well equipped to handle various situations from the teachings and guidance that Avenues of Hope offers. I am now studying to be an Alcohol and Drug Counselor. My dream to attain is one day go back into the prisons and recovery centers teaching all I have been taught as an ADC with women, men, and youth.
Today is the longest I have been sober, but sobriety has only been a small fraction of my success. I attribute my success from the strong support I have had all around me and the practicing of my faith. I am very gracious for Avenues of Hope and its partnering faith based organization, Fountain of Truth Family Worship Center.
Sincerely,
Vaneda Allen
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Greetings and happy holidays from your friends at FuturoNow!
During this season, we at FuturoNow want to thank you for your continued support, and for your committment to strengthening families and communities.
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