The
McAuley Corporation
McAuley
Village
McAuley Village is a transitional apartment facility that helps single parents and their children by systematically and simultaneously addressing homelessness, unemployment, domestic violence, alcohol and other drug abuse, and public safety.
McAuley Village takes poor single parents from a life of depen-dence on welfare to one of independence by offering onsite day care facilities, twenty-four hour security, mentoring, life manage-ment skills training, social services, resources and referrals for housing and job placement. Sixty percent of parents who lived in the Village in the past ten years have found jobs in fields such as engineering, nursing, banking and cosmetology. Some have started their own small businesses; and several others have bought their own homes.
Background
High rates of unemployment during the late eighties and early nineties and the widening gap between income and housing costs made it very difficult for low-income, single parent families to house and feed themselves. As a result, increasing numbers become homeless. Domestic violence and substance abuse problems may increase, while crime and fear of crime haunt the housing options available to them.
Young single parents especially may lack the self-esteem and resources to become self-supporting. They need skills to get jobs that pay enough to provide hope for a better future. They may be cut off from the supporting community that could help them move toward economic independence. Low educational levels or language barriers may hamper their advancement.
McAuley Village was developed as a response to rapidly growing numbers of low-income, single parent families using the McAuley House soup kitchen and hospitality center in Providence, Rhode Island. The conditions in which these families lived precluded healthy development.
Seeing the need, the McAuley House executive director mobilized individuals, businesses, and State and local governments to raise funds to build a subsidized housing facility that would include a variety of support programs. Originally, neighbors surrounding the proposed site opposed plans for the Village.
Staff met with neighborhood groups to explain the program's plans to build support. Now, neighbors have come to see McAuley Village as an asset to their community.
Approach
McAuley Village is a transitional facility that provides a setting where residents can realize a sense of self-worth and gain the skills and confidence necessary for self-sufficiency. Supportive programs are tailored to individuals who come from diverse backgrounds and have different levels of preparation, some of whom cannot read or speak English when they arrive. Village residents include school dropouts and some person with college education, victims of domestic violence and immigrant families.
Residents are charged 30 percent of their income during their stay, which averages 21 months. In exchange, they design and commit to individual plans in which they stipulate goals and objectives that will lead to self-sufficiency. The plans lay out educational, job skill and personal goals.
McAuley Village is designed as a supportive community in which single parents can move to economic independence and families can thrive. Its relatively small size-22 apartments-facilitates close personal interactions. Its programs are planned to nurture families as they build skills. Child care and mentoring are available on site, and life skills management workshops, meetings and resource and referral services allow residents to explore their problems in depth and then move forward. A staff of 20 is employed to provide its services, including childcare and building security.
McAuley's program does more than deal with symptoms; it confronts root causes of individual situations. It addresses several crucial areas at the same time:
The program requires participation in an education and/or training program. Most residents take part in some formal educational program or English as a Second Language classes at local community-based agencies. Community volunteers may tutor adults and children. Some computer equipment is available for use by residents.
The program emphasizes life management skills. McAuley Village teams residents who request help with a volunteer mentor who may teach parenting skills. Activities for children stress socialization skills. Parents themselves share their expertise in formal groups to explain home buying opportunities, empowerment resources available in the community, menu planning, self-help and other creative experiences. The Village participates in the Housing Locator project, which gives residents information about finding and keeping safe, affordable housing in Rhode Island. Utilizing past experiences to plan for the future they will learn how to look for housing and how to keep it through money management, maintenance and working with landlords. The program emphasizes the value of building structure from a life of chaos, creating new helpful friendships, and a community spirit.
Employment is a major goal with an emphasis on the right educational program to achieve such goals. A resident services coordinator with assistance from social work interns from area colleges and universities determines an applicant's motivational level by requiring an applicant's enrollment in a school or training program prior to move-in. Educational advancement is monitored frequently by staff. Job placement becomes secondary until an educational record is established.
To ensure the security of residents, McAuley Village provides 24-hour security. This sense of security is very important to enable residents to concentrate on their programs. McAuley Village also promotes interaction between residents and the larger community. Volunteers are recruited through The Volunteer Center of Rhode Island, the local colleges and universities and other volunteers. Student interns in social work provide impetus for social work organizing to advocate for changes with the Department of Education or with the City of Providence. Students in middle and/or high school can complete community service requirements by assisting in the childcare center or as receptionists. The childcare center accepts children from outside McAuley Village, and former residents have or are eligible to serve on the board of directors. Two years is barely enough time to turn around lives and obtain education and job training. When residents move in, they are required to show proof of being on at least three housing waiting lists. During their stay housing is an important focus, because decent affordable housing is a desired outcome. After families move on, follow-up and support services continue for those who request it.
Impact
Since McAuley Village opened in June 1990, about 150 families with children 10 or under have been served. Two-thirds have succeeded in remaining in academic programs and/or work after they completed residency.
For example, America was born and educated in the Dominican Republic. She worked in a secretarial position using the word-processing skills she learned in high school. Once in the United States and working on an assembly line America describes her lifestyle in this way: "When I was working, I only thought about working and nothing else." However, once in McAuley Village, she enrolled at Genesis School and completed courses in Microsoft Word and Excel '97. Her English improved. She passed a test for eligibility to enroll in their childcare training program. She interned in an ESL first grade where she "learned so much vocabulary and got more practice in speaking English every day." America's goal is to return to the secretarial field. To accomplish this she enrolled at CCRI to study composition.
When she reflects on the benefits of "taking the chance" of moving from a dependent environment to one offering her the challenge to change and grow, America now states with certainty, "I changed on two levels-personally and educationally." She articulates with a measure of confidence the differences she finds within herself. "I took on more responsibilities. I make decisions and resolve problems myself. I have more control of my children."
Today America finds herself no longer afraid to speak English and uses the word "comfortable" to describe her present bilingual skill. America admits that there is no going backward. She is compelled to move forward to improve her chances for a better job-a better life for her and her two young girls.
Scaling Up
Because McAuley Village is one of a few transitional housing facilities in the State, it receives many inquiries about its programs. The holistic and comprehensive approach can be used wherever a nonprofit organization chooses to respond broadly to the needs of poor, single-parent households. Marshaling partnerships among agencies and volunteers would be key to the success of similar programs.
In 1996 McAuley Village received a National Excellence Award in recognition of its innovative approach to assisting poor parents from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Twenty-five programs from 14 states were selected from the 175 projects vying for recognition. As a winner McAuley Village "displayed the kind of innovation and commitment that America must have if we are going to solve our most pressing urban challenges."