MNA teams with One Family to help end family homelessness

MNA teams with One Family to help end family homelessness

Will offer mentoring, career services to those interested in nursing

The Massachusetts Nurses Association, with approval from its Board of Directors, has established an important philanthropic relationship with one of the commonwealth�s most well-recognized non-profit programs: One Family Scholars (OFS).

The One Family Scholars program and its parent organization, One Family, Inc., is a not-for-profit program devoted to ending family homelessness in Massachusetts. Created by Paul and Phyllis Fireman and family, One Family Scholars provides financial support for higher education to low-income and formerly homeless mothers.

The program is interwoven into a system of support services that mothers need in order to clear the barriers that often prevent them from preparing for, and achieving, financial security. Its mission is based on the premise that education�linked with essential support services and mentoring�is the most reliable and direct route to economic�independence and self-esteem.

�By becoming involved with OFS, the MNA and any one of its 23,000 members will have the opportunity to help a scholar who is pursuing a career in nursing,� said Beth Piknick, RN and president of the MNA. �Our RNs are perfectly matched to help any Scholar through the process of earning a degree in nursing and turning that degree in to a nursing career. From offering advice, insight and expertise to providing mentoring services and access to our own professional networks, the MNA�s nurses are ready to help.�

�With so many of our scholars pursuing nursing as a profession, the support of the MNA and the mentor relationships that have been created with your organization are invaluable in ensuring that these deserving, hard-working women get the best education possible and have the best possible start in their careers,� said Toni Wiley, executive director of One Family, Inc.

Recipients of One Family Scholarships are typically homeless or formerly homeless women with children. Many have attempted to better their career opportunities in the past, but have been thwarted by the need to provide health care, day care or other essential services to family members�which then overwhelms their finances and ambition. Scholar selection is based on

One Family seeks to empower these mothers with the tools they need to provide for their families while completing their�education and planning for a secure and safe future. Scholars may pursue their associates or bachelors degrees. �One of the components the OFS program that the MNA was particularly drawn to is its belief that by fostering unity among the scholars themselves, and linking them to a family and community network of support, the program embraces each scholar as a member of a larger family, dedicated to her success,� added Piknick. �The MNA uses the same philosophy in its work�that there is power and support in a network, be it a bargaining unit or a group of women dedicated to rebuilding their lives.�

Financial support: Once accepted into the program, scholars are eligible for a grant of up to $11,000 a year, based on the scholar�s individual need. OFS coordinators help scholars manage daily obstacles, foster peer connections, find tutors and other resources needed to ensure scholars� success, and help each scholar to develop a budget and a career plan to achieve success.

Mentoring program: Each scholar is matched with a woman experienced in the scholar�s field of study. The mentor meets with the scholar regularly, providing encouragement, academic and career advice, and information on networking opportunities.

Site coordinators: At each of the three OFS sites coordinators help scholars manage daily obstacles, foster peer connections, find tutors and locate resources needed to ensure scholars� success. Coordinators also help each scholar develop a budget and a career plan to achieve success.

Leadership development: Central to the success of OFS is the leadership development program. Each academic year is launched with a weekend-long leadership retreat. Retreat workshops are designed to help scholars understand leadership in general, explore their own leadership capabilities, develop additional skills, and to create a plan for action. The work of One Family provides a ready forum for scholars� leadership development as they become ambassadors for the program itself and for the program�s mission to end family homelessness.

In addition to the intensive weekend-long conference, the program provides at least two additional one-day leadership sessions throughout the year, where scholars reassess their skills and their plans. Half-day workshops are interspersed throughout the year, and they are designed to address the skill-building needs identified by the scholars themselves in the longer sessions. We strive to provide a range of skill-building workshops to meet each scholar�s needs for training, from time and stress management work, to advanced public speaking training. The program offers a wide spectrum of training and leadership opportunities to address the diverse levels of experience of the participants.

�When One Family Scholars reach graduation, they are part of a network of professional women, with the academic credentials, self-confidence, experience, and leadership skills to be successful professionals and effective citizens of the world,� said Wiley. �The scholars are then embraced by the OFS as fellows, and they become part of a growing network of OFS Ambassadors, providing outreach and support to future scholars. We are honored that the MNA will be part of this process and we know that it will make a difference in the lives of our scholars.�

To learn more about One Family Scholars, visit www.onefamilyinc.org. Nurses and MNA members who are interested in mentoring program scholars should contact the MNA�s nursing department at 781-830-5714.

The crisis in our own backyard: Facts about poverty & homelessness

Nationwide

Nationwide, about 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year.¹
37 million Americans live in poverty.²
The primary reason for homelessness is economic; housing costs often exceed income.³
Family homelessness in America is higher than any industrialized nation in the world, the country also has no single community where a minimum wage worker can afford a market-rate, two-bedroom apartment.³
Families with children are among the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population.⁴
Homeless families relocate 16 times more often than the typical American family.⁵
Homeless children suffer from a four times higher rate of asthma, a seven times higher rate of anemia and a three times higher rate of emotional and behavioral problems compared to other children.⁶
Within a year, 41 percent of homeless children will attend two different schools and 28 percent will attend three different schools. Homeless children are also twice as likely to repeat a grade.⁶

In Massachusetts

Massachusetts has surpassed California as having the most expensive housing in the country.¹
In Fiscal Year 2006, the Department of Transitional Assistance served over 3,500 families in the state shelter system.³
Workers must earn an hourly wage of $21.88 to afford a two-bedroom apartment.⁴
To live unsubsidized in Boston, a person with two children needs an annual income of almost $53,000 to attain a basic standard of living. The average income of a person coming off welfare is $17,000.⁸
A worker earning minimum wage ($6.75) would have to work 152 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Boston.⁴

1National Law Center on Homelessness, 2004; 2U.S. Census Bureau, 2002; 3One Family Inc., 2004; 4National Low-Income Housing Coalition, 2005; 5The Institute for Children and Poverty, 2006; 6National Center on Family Homelessness, 2000; 7The Boston Foundation and the Citizen�s Housing and Planning Association; 8The Self-Sufficiency Standard for MA, MassFESS, 2003.