In just three weeks as the new executive director of the Homewood Children’s Village, Fred Brown has already begun a program assessment, a staff evaluation and met with potential partners as he prepares to realign the nonprofit’s focus.
“I’m convinced we can’t do the same things we’ve always done. What we’ve done has been a series of activities that are all transactional,” he said “We need to shift from transactional to transformational action.”
Since its founding by University of Pittsburgh Professor John Wallace five years ago, the HCV has created a nurturing learning environment that touches 1,000 students in three schools in Homewood, Faison K-5 through, Lincoln PreK-5 and Westinghouse 6-12.
But even with its staff, volunteers from AmeriCorps and students for the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work all participating, the results have not been good enough. Brown believes the reason is that the agency has focused only on part of its mission statement: “to simultaneously improve the lives of Homewood’s children and reweave the fabric of the community in which they live.”
They reach the kids, Brown said, but their families are not connected to this learning trajectory. The kids are outpacing the parents. And because many of these parents did not finish high school, they are not equipped to support an education focused on college.
“They may even sabotage the process. Not necessarily intentionally, but via circumstance. Like: ‘you can’t go to school today because you have to watch the baby while I look for a job,’” he said.
“Then there’s the homeless situation. Faison has 7 percent of the homeless student in the city. If families are moving through three to four communities a year, the kid’s academic trajectory is blown. With all the resources we’ve expended on these kids, we still have dismal outcomes.”
Brown said the paradigm shift to focusing on rebuilding families and the community will involve moving from direct activity to program management, analyzing, developing and prescribing services to these families.
He added that one thing he learned from working as the associate director of the Kingsley Association is you have to think big.
“Look at what we did in Larimer with the community plan and all those moving pieces coming together. That didn’t come from thinking small,” he said.
Part of that also involves community development and attacking poverty and the lack of affordable housing. For instance, if a father or mother is employed building new homes or renovating homes by adding solar panels or heat pumps to lower the energy usage, and the kid is learning about those systems in school, there’s a link established.
“We are currently asset-mapping our community stakeholders and potential partners, looking at: do they have to ability to do ‘x,’ how well can they do it,” he said.
“We already have partnerships established with Operation Better Block, the Homewood Collaborative, Bible Center Church and the Community College of Allegheny County. And everyone else we’ve presented this to is excited about playing a role.”
Brown said the education component is key, but has to include stabilizing families for it to work.
“I look at school as the platform to allow youth and families to emerge in the 21st century economy as exceptional and vibrant contributors,” he said.
“So does that mean instead of serving 1,000 kids, we serve 500 kids and 250 families. I think it might. By this time next year, we will have piloted some of this and will have measurable results.”
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
About Post Author
