CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Maria Belen Mendieta first moved to Charlotte from Ecuador in 2015, she longed for a way of community.
While researching English speaking classes at Central Piedmont Community College, a parent told her in regards to the Harris YMCA’s Parents as Teachers (PAT) program.
This system is just one aspect of the Y’s South Boulevard initiative, a collaborative effort with Forest Hills Church to bring programs to that corridor where many Latino families live.
The South Boulevard initiative has provided a holistic strategy to help acclimate latest Latino immigrant families to Charlotte. For them, there are parenting education classes, health and development assessments, and assistance in times of crisis.
Mendieta says it helped shape her into the parent she is today.
Political Cartoons
“Being that I used to be a first-time mom, it really helped and guided me in raising Miguel, my first born,” Mendieta, 29, said.
The initiative began in 2014, says Ana Butters, a community development director on the Harris YMCA, because the nonprofit discussed higher ways to assist Latino immigrant families in its service area.
“But we don’t prescribe services,” Butters said. “Our whole intention for this initiative is to work with the community, not for the community.”
Today, South Boulevard families are supplied with monthly community workshops, English as a Second Language classes, and its PAT program.
Participating not only helped her grow as an individual, it also provided a full circle moment for her, Mendieta said. She now works as an ESL-YKids associate, where she provides activities for kids of the Y’s ESL students while they’re in school.
“It has allowed me to use the whole lot I learned through Parents as Teachers to assist other families,” Mendieta said.
“IT CHANGED ME AS A PARENT”
Here’s a breakdown of programs within the South Boulevard initiative the Y offers to immigrant families.
The Y serves around 400 students every year in its ESL program, Butters said.
A recent community needs assessment for South Boulevard families hopes add data to construct on work being done, and shape this system’s future. The Y collaborated with the Charlotte Motion Research Project at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with results set to publish next yr, she said.
“We’re listening to the families and our community partners,” Butters said. “That’s what’s going to find out our chart of labor next yr.”
This program serves 25 Latino families with children as much as 5 years old, Pilar Perez, Associate director of family engagement at YMCA Of Greater Charlotte, said.
The national home visiting model began in 1981 for first-time parents, however the Harris Y’s program is tailored for families on South Boulevard.
Perez said families learn activities and games focused on teaching their kids motor skills, communication, and problem-solving. Each December a graduation can also be held with caps and gowns.
“It modified me as a parent,” Mendieta recalled.
Through this system she learned about child development and the way she could help her son turn out to be successful academically. And it was not only good for preparing her first born for varsity, it got her acclimated to the town.
Parent educators would use WhatsApp to share local resources with families — from vaccination clinics, to story time on the Mecklenburg County Library.
“Being a newcomer I didn’t know methods to navigate the system,” Mendieta said. “I learned through numerous those visits methods to do this.”
Along with its graduation, this system in the course of the summer had a Fiesta Festival. Now a mother of three, Mendieta said attending this system grew her parenting confidence. This system also has monthly community workshops, teaching parents methods to manage stress and funds.
“The communication with my parent educator helped me understand the differences with my kids and methods to help them achieve success as individuals,” Mendieta said.
She said the sense of family and community is why she would recommend this system for any South Boulevard family.
“It permits you to come to a spot where the entire family might be successful,” Mendieta said.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material will not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
