Have you heard of the Harbor Street Outreach Program? The program is for St. Clair County youth aged 9 to 20 and their parents or guardians. The Program reaches out to youth and families in crisis, experiencing homelessness, and those in general need of services and help.
Practical Help
The center provides cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies, household items, clothing, and help with other needs on a monthly basis. They sometimes help families who are moving to a new location for their family and get them set up with all of the things they need to run a household.
The Program also makes referrals to partner agencies and goes out to the community to provide assistance. You might find their resource table at community events throughout the year.
Activities
The Harbor Street Outreach Program is offering programs at their location at 2014 10th Avenue. The programs include a Craft Day/Night where participants can come in and make something like a stress ball and learn how to use it and other tools to regulated emotions, stress, and anxiety.
They are also hosting Trivia Nights with snacks and drinks, Movie nights with popcorn and drinks, and Game Nights.
Parenting Support
Another important service that the Harbor Street Outreach Program offers is the Parent/Guardian Support Group. Parenting is difficult under the best of circumstances. Parenting while experiencing other stressors is even more difficult. The support group gives parents a guardians a chance to come together to share experiences, trials, and challenges, and vent and talk. They can make friends to help them as they navigate the very important job of parenting.
Making Connections
They also offer the Youth Connect program, which is a peer group for kids ages 9 to 12 where they can hang out, talk, share stories, play games, makes friends, and enjoy snacks and drinks.
Teen Talk is a similar program for kids aged 13 to 17, and Peer Connect is for young adults aged 18 to 20.
“Adulting”
Outreach Specialist Mariah Fenton shared details on other programs as well. There is a Financial Budgeting Class where participants can learn tips and make a plan for budgeting their income to make sure their bills, groceries, and needs are met, followed by wants.
There is also a Resume Cover Letter Class where participants can learn how to write and build a job-getting cover letter and resume, how to type out their strengths as well as how to apply for jobs land an interview, and what to wear. Each person will have a fully typed-up and edited cover letter and resume printed and emailed to them.
For more details, go to https://harboryouth.com/programs/street-outreach/.
Story by Jennie McClelland for BlueWaterParent.com
