Required registrations for limited seating are being
accepted for an expanded "Developing True Communities of Care in
Churches," session to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March
2, at the Hope Center, 4194 Bolivar Road (State Route 417) - Suite 5,
Wellsville, across the drive from McDonald's drive-through.
Presentations on "Helping Struggling Readers Read"
will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 4, followed by "Is
It Dyslexia?" at the same times on Monday, March 11.
The care facility is designed as a drop-in and information
and referral center for individuals who are struggling with all types of life
issues. Helping children and adults to
read is one of its core community assistance outreaches.
It also is developing a Christian lending library, to
include free books, and an ongoing education center schedule to help inform the
public and churches about current and new community needs and how to receive
help and address them.
"Developing True Communities of Care in Churches"
is designed to aid volunteers and church leaders in understanding a System of
Care approach based on a people-center versus agency or government-focused
assistance efforts.
"We want to help empower individuals to develop their
own systems of care to help meet today's challenges," according to Casey
Jones, Hope Center Planning Group chair, "rather than simply providing
them with continuing services."
This type of process helps those in need gain confidence in
becoming self-sufficient versus having to rely upon public or governmental
assistance on an extended basis to survive, the planner said.
"We also follow a holistic -- physical,
mental/emotional and spiritual -- health model, recognized by federal agencies
dealing with disasters, substance abuse and general health as being critical
in stabilizing traumatic situations experienced
by individuals and help move them forward toward recovery and victory over
crisis situations," he said.
In addition to its own efforts, the Hope Center is promoting
awareness of Celebrate Recovery groups at three different Allegany County
locations, along with two at the county jail, that can aid individuals
struggling with life issues, along with prayer, community transformation and
revival throughout the area.
The Communities of Care in churches training was first
presented earlier this month and has been expanded based on additional
identified local needs.
Presented by Jones, Transformation Initiative for Building
Healthy Communities Through Healthy Families, it reflects similar presentations
he has provided internationally for pastors, church leaders and interested individuals.
Components will include developing greater ministry impacts
with less individual effort through connections within individual and among
multiple congregations within communities and with other services providers;
focusing on greater impacts through person and family-centered ministries
rather than creating more programs; expansion of the number of congregants
seeking to engage in ministries; identifying available assistance resources,
and more.
Jones said a purpose of the Hope Center is to help
individuals and families identify their needs and available resources and
address them through development of a working plan to meet their goals, thereby
helping them achieve greater, sustainable results. The Hub concept also involves equipping
churches to establish Communities of Care to enable the Hope Center to connect
individuals and families with caring churches that are able to provide
additional assistance.
The reading seminars will be presented by Kate Rulison, a
Belmont resident with first-hand experience about the impacts of poor reading
skills within a family.
One of seven children, she says the family was poor because
her father couldn't read well, precluding him from better paying jobs. A brother with dyslexia also spurred her
interest in real, researched and documented knowledge about that subject.
Starting out as a special education aide for BOCES, she
later pursued higher education, achieving a master's degree in reading
education.
Rulison started volunteering for Literacy Volunteers which
became Literacy West and now Core. In
2012 she received the Barbara Gordon Volunteer of the Year Award for helping to
advance a dyslexic adult learner two grades in one year.
Her first presentation will provide an overview of reading
issues in Allegany County, identified as being a major barrier related to good
employment, mental/emotional health and strong families. The second seminar will take a look at
dyslexia, a possible component of many reading issues.
The Hope Center initiative is a ministry of the Mission
Genesee Valley coalition of churches, other Christian organizations and
individuals that are seeking transformation and revival in all sectors of
Allegany County communities and beyond.
The facility currently is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays
for appointments, assistance, and facility tours and expects to expand its
hours as awareness increases and more volunteers are recruited and
trained. Assistance also is available by
appointment.
Required registration for limited seating for the seminars
is available with Jones at bps461@msn.com or (484) 435-0503. Individuals interested in upcoming Hope
Center seminars, workshops, and initiatives can receive advance information by
sending their names, communities of residence and the word "Subscribe -
Hope Center" in the subject line to the same e-mail address.
Further information also is available at
www.facebook.com/HopeCenterAlleganyCounty<http://www.facebook.com/HopeCenterAlleganyCounty>,
Celebrate Recovery at
www.facebook.com/CelebrateRecoveryAlleganyCounty<http://www.facebook.com/CelebrateRecoveryAlleganyCounty>
and county-wide prayer and transformation initiatives at
www.facebook.com/TransformationJourneyUSAhttp://www.facebook.com/TransformationJourneyUSA.
