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Published/Posted By: The Providence American
Posted: September 15, 2018

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  • WEST ELMWOOD HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AWARDED $1.75 MILLION TO SUPPORT PREGNANT AND PARENTING TEENS AND STUDENTS

    Rhode Island has been awarded a competitive federal grant for
    $1.75 million over two 
    years to improve educational, social, and health outcomes among
    expectant and 
    parenting teens and college students. With this funding from the
    U.S. Department of 
    Health and Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Health, the West
    Elmwood Housing 
    Development Corporation and the Rhode Island Department of Health
    plan to serve 300 
    expectant and parenting teens and students 15 to 25 years old as
    they work to succeed 
    in high school and college. Rhode Island was awarded one of seven
    new grants 
    nationally through the federal Pregnancy Assistance Fund program.



    “This comprehensive, multi-generational approach to supporting
    expectant teens and 
    young families will be a critical part of our work at the Rhode
    Island Department of 
    Health (RIDOH) to give all families and all communities in every
    ZIP code in Rhode Island 
    the support they need to thrive,” said Director of Health Nicole
    Alexander-Scott, MD, 
    MPH. “Despite all the money we invest in medical interventions,
    our health outcomes 
    are overwhelmingly determined by community level factors such as
    education, access to 
    job opportunities, and social support. Community-focused
    initiatives such as this will 
    help us continue to narrow health disparities and build a
    healthier state for all.”

    Sharon Conard Wells, Executive Director at West Elmwood Housing,
    noted “this grant 
    represents an important opportunity for young families as we work
    to help more young 
    parents access and succeed in college. This work also helps our
    partnership advance its 
    vision to build a new learning community where young families
    strive together to 
    achieve their educational aspirations and establish a
    multi-generational legacy of 
    prosperity”.



     “We are excited that Rhode Island is taking such a proactive
    approach to supporting 
    pregnant and parenting students, who are a growing population
    within our institutions, 
    and nationwide,” said Dr. Brenda Dann Messier, Rhode Island
    Commissioner of Post-
    Secondary Education. “This partnership with West Elmwood Housing
    and the RI 
    Department of Health will help us as a system better support the
    success of these 
    students, and advance our progress in reaching RI’s ambitious
    attainment and equity 
    goals.”



     Both West Elmwood and the Rhode Island Department of Health will
    work in close 
    collaboration with the RI Office of the Postsecondary
    Commissioner, the Rhode Island 
    Department of Human Services, and other State and community-based
    partners to 
    establish the new Dunamis Synergy initiative. Services will be
    provided in academic 
    settings at the Nowell Leadership Academy, the Community College
    of Rhode Island, 
    Rhode Island College, and Roger Williams University. Services
    will also be provided in 
    the community at the Providence Housing Authority’s Codding Court
    development and 
    at the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation.



     The initiative incorporates a “two-generation” approach that
    connects young parents 
    and their children to the resources they need to accomplish their
    goals. Families will 
    access services to support high school and post-secondary
    completion and to promote 
    health and wellbeing, early learning, stable affordable housing,
    financial literacy, and 
    economic stability.



     Partners will work with the Office of the Attorney General,
    Sojourner House, and the 
    Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center to provide intervention,
    advocacy, and support 
    services to pregnant women and new mothers who are victims of
    domestic violence, 
    sexual assault, and stalking.



     The West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation received seed
    funding from, the 
    United Way of Rhode Island, NeighhborWorks America, and Housing
    Ministries of New 
    England, and worked closely with RIDOH to develop the proposal.
    Nationally, 26% of 
    undergraduate students are parents and 32% of students at public
    community colleges 
    are unmarried parents. With the challenges of parenting, work, and
    school, only 5% of 
    unmarried student parents can be expected to graduate within six years.



     



    For
    Additional Information Contact:



    Sharon
    Conard Wells, Executive Director, West Elmwood Housing Development 
    Corporation.
    Ph: 401- 453-3220, Email: sharon@westelmwood.org



     

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