Susquehanna LINK - April 2016


A true Neighborhood Center The Neighborhood Center helps young people discover and develop their capabilities in Harrisburg, Pennsylania.


5


Teens hang out at the Neighborhood Center, Harrisburg, after school.


Story and photos by Richard Lord Reprinted with permission


A


s you drive into the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,


the potholes, smooth


pavement starts to deteriorate. The road is marked with


overgrowth,


broken streetlights and other infrastructure neglect. The quality of public services is reflected in its poverty. It’s in this neighborhood


that the


Neighborhood Center works to empower the community.


The Neighborhood Center is a United Methodist Women supported national mission institution and an affiliated agency of the Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church. Once known as the Methodist Mission, the center has been serving Harrisburg since 1910 and remains in relationship with the church. The mission was founded by United Methodist Women predecessors the Board of Deaconess Work and the Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The community-based


center


specializes in helping young people discover and develop their capabilities so that their lives and the life of the community can be enhanced, offering infant and child care, preschool, before- and after-school programs, summer programs, game nights,


nutrition and


clothing outreach, a prescription eyeglass program and a young mothers program, among other offerings.


Neighborhood Center and United Methodist Women


“This is part of who we are,” said Toni Oplinger, president of the Susquehanna Conference United Methodist Women. “United Methodist Women is about children. We’re about anything


benefits women, children and youth.” United


Methodist Women members


from the local to national level support Neighborhood Center. Mission Giving supports the center financially, and local United Methodist Women volunteers provide additional support through both service and advocacy. The summertime free and reduced lunch program, which serves about 90 kids, is staffed by United Methodist Women members. And United Methodist Women


members funds to stock the kitchen.


Support for young mothers Neighborhood House reaches out to the most vulnerable. In some cases, one time aid can resolve an acute issue. In other cases a longer term relationship is more helpful. Teen mothers fall into the latter category.


Maria Ramirez became pregnant when


she was 14 years old. Her parents were not supportive. Today Ms. Ramirez lives with her partner, a restaurant manager, and their two children.


She learned of Neighborhood Center’s


Young Mothers program from a speaker who spoke to her class in middle school. She knew that there were resources available to her when her parents refused her.


provide


that


Maria Ramirez with her children Emanuel, 1, and Natalie, 4. Ms. Ramirez participates in the Young Mothers program at the Neighborhood Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.


attend


Between five and seven teens currently the Young Mothers Program


monthly meeting. In the group sessions they talk about child safety, parenting, life skills and family enhancement. It helps new mothers feel better prepared for their role, especially within a society that is not supportive. The program also offers individual counseling and supplies, such as clothing, diapers and formula. In addition, each of the participants meet with Tamika Lester, the health projects coordinator, for individualized sessions, to help mothers get needed supplies or just to talk. Many of the subjects they discuss are practical, dealing with issues such as behavior management. “When one of my kids was out of screaming, my initial reaction


control


was to get pulled into the fight and to start screaming,” Ms. Ramirez said. “At Neighborhood Center, I learned to walk away from the fight. To leave the room. To gather my senses and self-control. Then I could return to the room and we could start over. With better results. “Neighborhood Center has taught me to be in control of myself. To have more confidence. I feel free because of Neighborhood Center and this strength that they have given me. I know that they will be there for me, that they’ll support me.”


Toni Oplinger, right, president of Susquehanna


Conference United


Methodist Women, chats with a student in class at the Neighborhood Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a United Methodist Women supported national mission institution.


2016 A community resource


Neighborhood Center is a fixture in Midtown. Much of Neighborhood Center’s outreach happens informally. People participate in one of the center’s activities, then they get involved. It


is truly a neighborhood center.


Between 80 and 90 percent of people who use the services come from Midtown. And 24 percent of Midtown residents live below the poverty line. Eighty percent of the children in the preschool pay the low weekly tuition with funds they receive from state subsidy programs. The center aims to help a wide range of children, beginning as young as 6 weeks old (as many working women are given only this amount of time for maternity leave). The center also offers programs after school, including meals. The center serves more than 4,000 dinners per month. The center is also a voting place for two precincts. The Food Bank and Clothes Closet are filled with energy. The Young Mothers Program is complemented with a Young Fathers program, which is co- sponsored by United Way. There are bake sales and an elder food share. The center offers a prescription eyeglass program for people who cannot afford glasses. It has a bicycle recycling program and a used furniture


ministry. There are potential


points for involvement for many Midtown residents.


Meeting changing needs Throughout its history, Neighborhood Center has been a service innovator. In the 1930s, it offered the first classes for special needs kids in Harrisburg,


CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 Prepare the next quadrennial plan and theme


Propose the plan to this year’s Annual Conference for adoption Plan should include a review and adjustment of our structure as needed


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