empoweredfamily.org

Identifying Areas of Concern

Families living in low socioeconomic and otherwise impoverished communities have the least access to supportive resources. "Healthy Living" is compromised due to emphasis on surviving or maintaining; therefore, many families lack the vitality needed for growth in long-term physical and mental health. Where there is no family growth, there is no community growth.  This places some groups at a severe disadvantage for thriving.  For example, according to the "Administration for Children & Families," African Americans have lower rates of marriage and martial stability and higher rates of single-headed families than other ethnic groups.  Furthermore, families headed by single women are far more likely in Black homes than in all other groups’ homes (Census, 2000).

The disintegration of the family is a serious issue in America and for families of color and other underserved, disenfranchised populations, it takes "adoptive" families to engage in the lives of those splintered families.  Center for the Empowerment of Families embraces families by providing direct services and partners with other community organizations to bring meaningful resources to those marginalized, too-often-forgotten families.

One of our goals is to bond and strengthen existing families, and to become a support for those without families.  We develop and encourage leaders within our collaborative faith-based and community-based organizations to participate in evidence-based classes designed to build and empower healthy families in underserved communities. We educate with culturally-relevant curricula that address the needs and emphasize strengths of families of color.

CEF also aims to reduce the recidivism rate of African American and Latino teens in the detention centers.  Our Life Skills, Character-Building and Fatherhood Program are major intervention tools that change the lives of at-risk teens and that of teen fathers respectively.  We are working fervently in the area of prevention and intervention with teen victims of sex trafficking.  Our partnership with other community agencies greatly fortifies our outreach to distressed teens, families and communities.

In addition, CEF provides relationship education and training to adults incarcerated and those re-entering society with the goal of enriching relationship and family bonds. The recidivism rate is likely to decrease within a circle of positive supportive relationships, however that "family" is defined.

How will CEF Accomplish its Goals?

Provide the following in the participants' communities and in partnership with those community stakeholders:

~ Teach responsible  fatherhood education classes to teen and young adult fathers and facilitate support groups that comprise significant others of their children.

~ Teach relationship skills to include ways to select healthy friendships and partners.

~ Instruct teens on relationship skills with respectful, positive dialogue that will enhance their self-esteem and improve their communication with their peers, family members and other supportive adults.

~ Teach family members how to set boundaries in their interpersonal and family relationships.

~ Educate and provide support groups to family members and loved ones of incarcerated teens and adults.