2017 Program Grant Awards

On Tuesday, May 2^nd, FPWA hosted its annual Program Grant Awards Breakfast honoring our member agencies, Korean American Family Service, Women’s Prison Association, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement, and Sunnyside Community Services for their Home Health Aide, as our 2017 program grant recipients. This funding will support their direct service projects designed to address identifiable community needs and emerging social service issues.

FPWA Program Grant recipients’ direct service project summaries:

• Korean American Family Service (KAFSC) Self-Sufficiency Program (SSP), a holistic, work empowerment program designed to provide domestic violence survivors and Korean immigrant women with guidance, tools, and resources to design and sustain financially and emotionally independent and violence-free lives. Specifically, 150 women will be impacted by this program through the provision of job readiness sessions, job skills training courses, career counseling and case management services, financial literacy workshops, and job connection services.

• Women’s Prison Association (WPA) aftercare services for women graduating WPA’s community-based programs. These services include a connection to mentors from the community, involvement in WPA’s Women’s Leadership and Media Project, and participation in a stipend program covering the cost of travel and costs related to the aftercare services. WPA has found that participation in aftercare services increases the likelihood of acquiring and maintaining protective factors, such as stable employment and a support system, that allow for a positive reentry experience.

• Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement Immigrant Legal Services program to provide services and education. Jacob Riis currently provides four key services: (1) beginner- to advanced-level English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes; (2) case management and support; (3) civic engagement and advocacy activities; and (4) immigration legal services. In the past year, pervasive negative rhetoric toward immigrants and growing xenophobia has prompted a high number of immigrants to seek out its services and the demand continues to grow. These funds will allow Jacob Riis to increase the hours of its attorney and paralegal to conduct project activities, including legal clinics, “Know Your Rights” presentations, legal consultations, and support applications for immigration benefits.

• Sunnyside Community Services for their Home Health Aide (HHA) Spanish-language Training Program, an innovative and supportive workforce development program that helps unemployed and underemployed individuals, primarily immigrant women, take the first steps on a career ladder in the growing health care field. This funding will support six cycles of our HHA Spanish-language Training Program over the course of one year, with the goal of enrolling 110 trainees.