Family Supportive Services (FSS)
We Provide…
A Holistic Approach to Change
Life Skills Workshops
Vocational Workshops
Referrals and Advocacy
Supportive Relationships
Crisis Management
The crisis management team assists those who are unsure of where to begin with gaining knowledge about the agencies within our community and what kind of support and assistance they can offer. Gaining stability is the short/long term goal for those utilizing crisis management. Crisis Management is an individualized process of creating and applying strategies to help an individual from having reoccurring emergency situations that disrupt their life and affect their own management of stability. Through HOPE & FAITH, crisis management is provided and caseloads are determined by the level of care required by current clients at the time.
We advocate for those making the changes and assist in all areas that we can.
HOPE
Advocacy
The HOPE (Help and Opportunity for Personal Empowerment) Advocacy program began in August, 1996. It is a branch of FSS that provides support to women with or without children. They typically are living in established homes and are in need of opportunities to learn basic life skills necessary for self-sufficiency and family stability through intensive case management and monthly life skill workshops. Individuals or families struggling with the effects of poverty are eligible as long as they are committed to making a change in their lives and residing in Mercer County.
In 2020, HOPE Advocacy served a total of 11 adults, 7 mothers and 4 single women as well as 16 children.
“The group has enabled me to love myself and accept the person God created me to be.”
FAITH Initiative
FAITH Initiative began May 1, 2017 as a case management program for men. The services provided are the same as for the women in the HOPE Advocacy program, however designed towards reconnecting fathers and their children, and strives to teach absent fathers the importance of loving, spending time with, providing for, and supporting their children as a family. Everyone in the program learns valuable lessons from each other, forming a greater sense of responsibility towards self, others, and community.
“The Fatherhood program taught me new skills and I’m trying to be a much better father. The program has been very beneficial.”