HEAL

• Healthy Lifestyles
• Economic Development
• Academic Enrichment
• Legal Awareness

The 1st step in the healing process of our community is to be healthy and whole physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually.

1. Worth the Wait
   
   Focus: Abstinence, HIV/AIDS, STI’s, healthy relationships.
   
   Program Scope: Six-month series or condensed workshop/seminar based on an abstinence-focused curriculum, City of Houston HIV/AIDS educational training, and pertinent educational strategies.  Designed to promote sexual responsibility by teaching “no” to premarital sex and “yes” to healthy relationships.
   
   Facilitators: Certified abstinence and health educators. 
   
   
2. Healthy and Fit
   Focus: Preventative diseases, eating disorders, obesity, physical fitness, drug abuse prevention, nutrition, teen pregnancy, parenting
    
   Program Scope: Workshops designed to educate on salient issues concerning physical health and wellbeing, and emphasize the importance of establishing and maintaining a relationship with a physician, including proper nutrition, physical fitness programming, preventative diseases and substance abuse prevention strategies and placement/care and prevention of reoccurrence of teen pregnancy.
   
   Facilitators: Physicians, health educators, personal trainers, parenting counselors, STI/HIV educators and chemical dependency counselors.
   
   
3. Sound Mind
   Focus: Abuse, neglect, depression, self-image/esteem, stress management/reduction, family issues, spirituality.
   
   Program Scope: Programs designed to provide opportunities for mental and emotional healing and sustainability through support groups, workshops, seminars and retreats.
   
   Facilitators: Professionally licensed counselors, social work interns.

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Economic Development - Matthew 6:21 (2 Programs)

The 2nd step in the healing process of our community is to plan for their collective futures – creating an inherent sense of purpose and direction for their lives.  As a result of identification of a salient financial goal, participants are able to assess their career options and make immediate steps in lieu of preparation towards that end.

1. Financial stewardship (Matthew 25:14-30)
   Focus: Budgeting, saving, checking accounts, balancing a checkbook, credit cards and reports, investment/portfolio management
    
   Program Scope: Series of sequential workshops designed to teach and train participants how to manage their financial resources through accountability measures.  Participants will complete projects and assignments intended to foster immediate application of lessons learned (i.e. investment projects) resulting in a change in their financial climate that will better position them for homeownership.
   
   Facilitators: Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, Investment bankers, Stockbrokers, Representatives of national and local/community banks, Mortgage brokers.
   
   
2. Career Assessment (Luke 14:28-30)
   Focus: Career planning/preparation, starting a small business, internships, youth career preview program, job skills
   
   Program Scope: Four part program including: (1) Career planning/preparation, (2) Small Business and Entrepreneurship, (3) Job Skills and Trades and (4) Internship and Executive for a Day youth programs, designed to expose and identify career opportunities for the participants based upon their unique gifts, talents, passions and experiences.
   
   Facilitators: Various professionals from partnering corporations, small business owners and universities, including guidance and career counselors and professors.

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The 3rd step in the healing process for our community is to strategically identify, develop and pursue an academic tract to support their identified career aspirations.

1. Supplemental School Academic Support
   Focus: personalized/customized and group tutoring, educational diagnostics and evaluation
    
   Program Scope: Programs designed to support participants in their academic pursuits related directly to school-work through proper assessment of their academic strengths and weaknesses, learning patterns and behaviors and customize a tutoring program to best meet their needs. 
   Facilitators: Current and retired certified teachers, collegiate teaching interns, partnering faculty from universities and colleges, and educational diagnosticians.
   
   
   
2. Test Preparation:
   Focus: SAT, ACT, PSAT, GED preparation.
    
   Program Scope: Structured series of classes designed to prepare participants to perform at an exemplary level on standardized tests by teaching fundamental test-taking strategies, providing numerous testing opportunities, performance assessment and identification of steps necessary to take for improvement.
   Facilitators: Professional educators and tutors, partnering agencies, and faculty from colleges and universities on staff.
   
   
3. Higher Education Preparation (Proverbs 14:8)
   Focus: Application preparation, Financial Aid, Scholarships
   
   Program Scope: Sequential workshops designed to assist participants in preparation for higher education by providing transitional programming that will aid in application acceptance and provide strategies to complete their education in a timely manner.
    
   Facilitators: Admissions representatives of colleges and universities, college students, financial aid counselors, high school counselors, and scholarship representatives.

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The 4th step in the healing process of our community is to understand the fundamentals of law and its place in society.  Participants will be exposed to the balance that law provides in our world and the positive and negative consequences of abiding and breaking its standards.
 

1. Youth Legal Experience
   Focus: Overview of legal system as related to youth, exposure to process of positive and negative consequences, active participating in the political process
    
   Program Scope: Program series designed to familiarize youth with their legal responsibilities and expectations, provide opportunities of exposure to the system and assist in the development of positive relationships with law enforcement persons and youth.  In addition, youth will be given opportunities to engage in the political process and petition for legal awareness in their communities.
    
   Facilitators: City Council members, attorneys, judges, law enforcement officers, juvenile probation officers, prisoners and juvenile offenders.
    
   
2. Violence Prevention 
   Focus: Anger management, coping with anxiety, violence and the media, conflict resolution, counseling/therapy
    
   Program Scope: Workshop series and follow-up counseling/therapy for participants to provide thorough evaluation of violent source and identify strategies to prevent violent behavior.  Participants will process through decision-making models, behavioral rehearsals and immediate application of lessons learned and will be monitored through group and individual therapy sessions.
    
   Facilitators: Licensed counselors and therapists, certified Life Skills Training teachers and trainers, probation officers, law enforcement officers.

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