The day after a walloping thunderstorm, mothers and their children gather at the Wilkinsburg Family Center for a summer literacy group. Fans are on, drying the water that came in overnight, but the children’s spirits are high as they sit down for lunch. The offering today includes meatball sandwiches, chips, and applesauce, with juice and sweet tea to drink. “Applesauce is good for you, you should eat it!” says Averana, 5, to a friend.
After lunch everyone gathers in the playroom to listen to Shatara, a mother of two, read “The Treasure Hunt: A Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers” by Bill Cosby. Following the story, Family Development Specialists (FDS) Stephanie Ryder and Lynda Coles lead the children in an activity inspired by the book—their own treasure hunt. The children are given a clue that leads them to an envelope with a large “C” and another clue inside. The children race from place to place in the playroom, gathering letters that spell their reward for figuring out all the clues: C-A-N-D-Y. Smiles light their faces as they collect their reward and show it to their mothers. Each child also gets to take home a copy of “The Treasure Hunt”.
With FDS Stephanie, the children read a clue they found on their own treasure hunt
The Wilkinsburg Family Center offers a variety of literacy programs
Literacy is a major focus at the Wilkinsburg FC, “especially in the summer,” says site director Linda Radvak. The Center focuses on children from birth to age five and their families. In the summertime, children over five often accompany their younger siblings to the literacy group, which has been going strong for more than eight years. The staff also incorporate literacy into different activities. For example, on recent trips to Round Hill Farm and the Pittsburgh Zoo, children made books about animals.
The Center currently has a grant from Parents as Teachers (PAT) for a literacy program geared toward kindergarten readiness that will run through June of 2014. For that program, a parent group meets at the Center once a month, and an FDS works one-on-one with parents during home visits, giving parents strategies on how to interest children in books. Through PAT’s partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, every month each child receives a free book.
Boys enjoy lunch at the Wilkinsburg Family Center
In addition, the Center will soon begin a Raising Readers program that will run every Tuesday for six-seven weeks. Like the summer literacy group, Raising Readers will begin with lunch. Then the children will have circle time and free play while their parents attend a group about the importance of reading and receive a book to take home and share with their children. All parents who attend faithfully will receive an extra book at the end of the program.
Other programs range from field trips to employment assistance
Literacy is an important part of what the Wilkinsburg FC does, but the Center does much more. Like all Family Health Services centers, the Wilkinsburg FC offers evidence-based home visiting through Parents as Teachers, developmental screening—including vision, hearing, and social-emotional screening—and numerous other parenting supports. “Our main objective is Parents as Teachers (our home visiting program),” Linda says. “We believe that a parent is a child’s first and most important teacher.”
Linda explains that the Center offers fun activities to draw families in, such as field trips to the Children’s Museum, Carnegie Science Center, and Kennywood. The field trips give parents a chance to connect with each other and help children prepare for school by promoting socialization. Plus, the trips are free; tickets are provided by the non-profit organization Tickets for Kids.
The Center also hosts a number of annual events, from a Soul Food Dinner in February to Breakfast with Santa at Christmastime. One of the parents’ favorite annual events is the Adult Easter Egg Hunt, which takes place at night. Center staff put the parents into teams of two: “You’re not going to be with your best friend; you never know who you’re going to get paired with,” Linda says. Each pair is given an egg of a certain color, and inside the egg is a clue as to where to find the next egg. Like the kids did in the literacy group today, the adults go on a treasure hunt to collect all their eggs and receive a small gift at the hunt’s end.
While the fun activities attract families, the Center is focused on providing services in the key outcome areas central to Family Support’s mission. The range and depth of services provided is evident when walking into the Center: there is a ‘Free Resources’ table full of clothing, a ‘Parent Resources’ area containing up-to-date information on issues like safe sleep, and a jobs board. The Center offers programming for teen mothers and pregnant mothers, and helps parents search for and apply for jobs. “They use our computers to put in applications and design their resumes. We give them transportation to job fairs and interviews, and hold mock interviews,” Linda says. The Center also provides transportation to places like WIC, the courthouse, medical appointments, and to and from groups.
Parent leadership and governance is one of the founding principles of the Family Health Services network, and parents help determine what programs and services are offered. Once a month, the Center’s Parent Council meets to discuss the programming, field trips, and food. “We try to incorporate what they want,” Linda says. Based on parents’ interest, the Center has hosted speakers on issues like health insurance awareness and nutrition. The Parent Council also provides leadership experience: the parents have an annual election, work with a budget, and participate in fundraising. For further leadership experience, parents can get involved in countywide groups such as Community Voices [link] and the Family Support Policy Board. Through these groups, parents have the opportunity to meet with their local legislators and travel to Harrisburg to advocate for their communities.
One mom found fellowship and a safe place for herself and her son
Averana at the Wilkinsburg Family Center literacy group
The Wilkinsburg Family Center’s impact is evident in Clara, a mother of two daughters, ages 23 and 17, and a son, five-year-old Joule. Clara has been enrolled at the Wilkinsburg Family Center since 2010. She attends with Joule, and her eldest daughter often brings Averana, Clara’s granddaughter. When Clara first moved to Wilkinsburg, she didn’t know anyone. “When I moved here I wasn’t walking well and didn’t get out for a year,” she says. She was lonely and concerned that Joule didn’t have a safe place to play. So she called the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) and they gave her Linda Radvak’s number. Family Support “provided a safe place for me and my son,” Clara says. Joule was able to play with other children, and Clara connected with her peers. “To talk with other parents is what really made me want to join—the fellowship,” she explains.
When asked how her life would be different if she hadn’t joined the Center, Clara says, “In terms of self-awareness, I would’ve been behind in parenting skills, and they helped me with my job search.” While Clara was talking, another mother’s son, Diamond, came up and showed her a picture he had drawn. She complimented him and asked for a high-five, but he was already moving in for a hug. “I’ll give you a hug,” Clara told him, and she did. They had obviously developed a bond, and Clara agreed that families get to know each other very well at the Center. “It really is like a family,” she says. “When we have difficulty we try to get together.” Recently, Clara has taken her leadership and skills to the next level as a member of the Family Support Policy Board and a trained Parent Ambassador.
*To contact the Wilkinsburg Family Center, please call 412-371-5934 or 412-371-7364.