Sponsored by Rebuild Potrero, Healthy Generations Project and the Potrero Hill Family Support Center/Urban Services YMCA, the event was geared to provide students and their families with resources they need for a successful start to the 2014-15 academic year: backpacks filled with spiral notebooks, pencils, crayons and other supplies; plus information ranging from parent-child groups to health, mental health and other social services.
In the Potrero public housing, where the average annual household income is about $14,000, the gift of a new backpack and supplies makes a big impact. According to the National Retail Federation, the average American family will spend $101 on school supplies this year.
The backpack giveaway is a component of Rebuild Potrero (www.rebuildpotrero.com), nonprofit BRIDGE Housing’s comprehensive revitalization effort to rebuild 606 units of distressed public housing and create another 1,000 new homes with a range of affordability, community facilities, open space, and social networks and services to improve the lives of current and future generations. This giveaway is one of several under a variety of sponsorships that will take place on Potrero Hill in August.
“We know that it is never enough to just rebuild the housing,” said Cynthia A. Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE. “That’s why our community building activities–such as this backpack giveaway and, during the school year, a ‘walking school bus’ to get kids to class on time–are so critical. Ultimately, the goal is to pave the way for the effective delivery of services and provide the foundation for a healthy, sustainable and thriving neighborhood.”
For more information about Rebuild Potrero, visit www.rebuildpotrero.com.
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BRIDGE Housing
BRIDGE Housing Corporation, a leading nonprofit developer of affordable housing, creates and manages a range of high-quality, affordable homes for working families and seniors. Since it was founded in 1983, BRIDGE has participated in the development of over 14,000 homes serving more than 37,000 people. For more information, visit bridgehousing.com.
Healthy Generations Project (HGP)
The Healthy Generations Project (HGP) is a pilot program in Potrero Terrace and Annex that helps parents of children 0-5 years old to build resiliency against Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Through a peer-to-peer model, HGP utilizes the latest information about the impacts of stress on children’s cognitive, emotional, mental and long-term physical health, to strengthen parent/child relationships and provide parents with education, emotional support and opportunities to build resiliency through ongoing parenting activities. Over time this will result in increased levels of kindergarten readiness, academic proficiency, school attendance and other long term health benefits for Potrero children.
Potrero Hill Family Support Center, a Program of Urban Services YMCA
Since 2003, Urban Services has delivered family strengthening and support programming that recognize and re-affirm family strengths, encourage meaningful parent/caregiver participation in program delivery and recognize families as the best resources in solving challenges and neighborhood issues. The Potrero Hill Family Support Center (FSC) is our newest family strengthening program and opened its doors in July 2012.The goals and objectives of the Potrero Hill FSC are to provide services that empower families and build community. Through a myriad of services, the program aims to strengthen families’ capacity for healthy development and self-sufficiency.