Tag: Salvation Army

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Memphis Nonprofit To Host Family Code Night

Students practice coding in a CodeCrew class. (Photo courtesy of CodeCrew)

Memphis-based nonprofit CodeCrew will team up with the Salvation Army on Monday, November 14th for Family Code Night.

According to CodeCrew, this event brings together “underrepresented mothers and children,” to not only gain exposure to the world of computer science, but to show how coding can be used as a form of self expression.

Meka Egwuekwe, co-founder and executive director of CodeCrew, said that this program is a direct result of a partnership that they have with the Scratch Foundation. The foundation makes coding software Scratch accessible to children.

According to Egwuekwe, computer science is accessible to kids and they can learn it, but they need to have exposure to it, which is where CodeCrew steps in.

“Any kid can learn coding and computer science, which is why we work so hard at the state level to ensure that every elementary, middle, and high school in Tennessee not only offers computer science, but middle and high school students are required to take computer science starting in 2024,” said Egwuekwe.

While Egwuekwe believes that children can learn computer science and coding, he also believes that it is not widespread enough. He said this is why CodeCrew works to not only expose kids to these things, but also provide mentorship for them as well.

“It’s not as accessible as it needs to be, but that is moving in a positive direction in our state,” he said.

Egwuekwe said his organization connected with the Salvation Army to do family code night events, which he describes as “two-generational events,” where kids and their parents learn and engage in coding activities.

“The kids especially, oftentimes have an opportunity to show their parents things,” said Egwuekwe. “Kids and their parents are inspired to consider and see coding and computer science as a pathway for themselves.”

As they get older, kids will have the opportunity to “see themselves as producers of technology,” while adults are presented with career changing opportunities.

According to Egwuekwe, the relationship that CodeCrew has with the Salvation Army is special because of the community that they both serve, such as kids and mothers who are “escaping the trauma of domestic violence.”

“Kids are learning to code, and learning to use Scratch is a great platform for telling stories, to express themselves culturally,” said Egwuekwe. “They’re demonstrating that skill, not only that they’re learning it, but doing it in conjunction with their parents. We totally bought into this idea that when kids and their parents do these kinds of activities together, it’s reinforcing for the kids, a growth opportunity, and opening these doors, but reinforcing those bonds between the kids and their parents.”

CodeCrew was founded with the idea of convincing kids and adults from underrepresented groups to see themselves as tech producers, said Egwuekwe. He also said that the specific population of those who have been “traumatized by domestic violence,” is often overlooked, and is considered an afterthought.

“Additionally we saw we had the potential for the greatest impact,” said Egwuekwe. “This is an opportunity for kids, especially, to have a little slice of normalcy. That’s also an educational opportunity, but a slice of normalcy in what’s been undoubtedly a traumatic experience for them and their families.”

Egwuekwe said that he hopes that this event will get kids and parents excited about computer science, while also showing them that this is a “viable pathway for them.”

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Three Local Homeless Programs Lose Funding

Three local agencies that house the homeless are scrambling to determine how to continue housing men, women, and children after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cut funding for transitional housing programs across the country.

The Salvation Army’s Renewal Place, the YWCA’s Memphis Family Shelter, and the Cocaine Alcohol Awareness Program’s (CAAP) temporary men’s shelter were denied HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program funds earlier this month due to a federal policy shift in favoring permanent supportive housing over transitional housing.

Renewal Place offers temporary housing to women with drug and alcohol programs, and it allows them to keep their children with them. The Memphis Family Shelter offers short-term housing to homeless families, and the CAAP program temporarily houses men with drug and alcohol problems.

Transitional housing provides temporary housing — often 12 to 24 months — for the homeless while the permanent supportive housing model helps place the homeless into permanent homes and also pairs them with services, such as mental health or medical care.

“The emphasis on permanent housing over transitional has been going on [locally] for a few years now. Back in 2011, when Mayor A C Wharton’s Homeless Action Plan was set up, the goal was to reduce transitional housing [in the city] by 50 percent,” said Cheré Bradshaw, the executive director of Community Alliance for the Homeless.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness has called this year’s HUD Continuum of Care funding process “the most competitive funding process since the CoC was first created.” And while three local transitional programs did lose funding, the city still received $6.7 million from HUD to renew 25 other programs (mostly permanent supportive housing) and to create two new permanent housing programs. One of those is Catholic Charities of West Tennessee Genesis House, and the other is through Door of Hope.

But the new funds don’t offer much solace to those trying to keep the doors open on the three programs that faced cuts. Barbara Tillery, the director of social services at the Salvation Army, said the $290,000 that HUD cut was Renewal Place’s sole source of funding. Renewal Place can house up to 15 women and 30 children.

“We lost all the funding, so we’re going to have to find other ways to raise money. Closing the doors is just not an option for these families,” Tillery said. “This is the only program in the city for women who are seeking treatment for drugs and alcohol that allows them to bring their children with them.”

The YWCA Memphis Family Shelter houses 16 families — women and children — but they don’t have to have substance abuse programs to qualify. YWCA Executive Director Jackie Williams said the $198,000 cut by HUD ran out at the end of April, and she’s unsure what the agency will do.

“Our families are still in there, and we’re not sure what to do. But it’s a critical need, and we’re asking for volunteers who want to come in and coordinate something with us,” Williams said.

Albert Richardson, executive director of CAAP, couldn’t be reached by press time.

Bradshaw said the Community Alliance will be working with the programs that were cut from HUD’s budget to help them determine how to move forward.

“We’re very sad to lose programs, but we’re going to do all we can to try and help them keep those programs, whether that means changing them or reworking them,” Bradshaw said.

And while she said she regrets the loss of funding for those programs, Bradshaw said the new funding for permanent supportive housing may fill in some of the gaps. Genesis House will add 65 new permanent units, and Door of Hope is adding 25 units, thanks to the HUD CoC funds.

Said Bradshaw: “We have these new units, and we should be able to house more people.”

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Salvation Army’s “Pictures of Hope” Cards For Sale

In June, celebrity photographer Linda Solomon came to Memphis to show 15 children living at the Salvation Army’s Purdue Center of Hope how to use disposable cameras.

It wasn’t just a way for them to spend their day. Their goal was to use the cameras to take a photo of something that they wished for. And what these kids — the victims of physical abuse, broken homes, drug-related environments — wished for wasn’t fancy cars, or big homes, or iPods.

On the “wish list” sheets the kids filled out, 11-year-old Rodriguez hoped “for my grandfather to come back alive.” Eleven-year-old Cairolto’s dreams included “curing illness and saving lives.” And 9-year-old Jarmine said her main dream was “to see my Dad again” (he had been in prison for years).

Solomon helped the kids figure out how to capture those elusive dreams with photographs. With a grant from General Motors, one photo from each child was then printed on a holiday card, above their specific dream. Inside, each card reads “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

Memphis was just one of 11 cities across the country chosen to be a part of the “Pictures of Hope” project. Boxes of 15 cards are $20 each. For more information about the project and to order cards, visit the Salvation Army website.