March 2019 Newsletter

From left to right Lian Suan Mang, FSA Navigator Ling Oy, Niang San Hoih Kim and Lun Sian Ngai. Ling Oy connected the family with EmPOWERment, Inc. so they were able to find affordable housing.

SUCCESS STORY: Home Sweet Home

What has been your biggest challenge finding housing? Our biggest challenge was not speaking the language. It made it difficult for us to ask about resources and search for housing because we are not yet fluent in English. Since connecting with our FSA Navigator, Ling Oy, we were able to find out about EmPOWERment, Inc. and get this affordable apartment. Another big challenge has been employment. Since we just arrived in the U.S. in 2016 and do not know the language yet, Lian Suan Mang has been working in restaurants for minimum wage, which is $7.25. READ MORE...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FSA News
Partner Spotlight
Community Events
Education
Health
Contact FSA

Compass Center for Women and Families

The Compass Center for Women and Families helps all people navigate their journey to self-sufficiency, safety, and health. They empower individuals and promote equal access to opportunity regardless of gender or economic status. Services include career and financial education, domestic violence crisis and prevention programs, assistance with legal resources, and youth health programs.

Compass Center can now provide funding to help survivors of domestic abuse and their children afford safe housing. Our new “Housing Micro-grant Program” provides survivors of domestic abuse funds to support rent, utilities, deposit assistance, and moving expenses for up to 120 days. For application information call 919-929-7122. For additional information about the program visit: https://compassctr.org/announcing-housing-funds-survivors-domestic-violence/

Book Discussion with the Author, Rep. Graig Meyer. More Than A Mentoring Program: Attacking Institutional Racism

A book discussion with the author, Rep. Graig Meyer. During this session, he'll share stories from his work at with Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools as the Executive Director of the Blue Ribbon Mentoring Program. The discussion will center on the youth-serving community-based nonprofit organization as a catalyst for systemic change, and addressing the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic opportunity gap.

Date: Monday, March 18, 2019
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Address:
YouthWorx on Main
117 W. Main Street
Carrboro, NC, 27510

RSVP

ICE in the Triangle:

For further information about local support and information surrounding the recent ICE presence in the triangle:

You can follow El Centro Hispano, Apoyo la Comunidad, Siembra NC, Alerta Migratoria, NC Justice Center, Faith Action International House, etc. Several of these agencies also offer Verifier Training if you’re interested. The Latinx Student Caucus at the School of Social Work UNC has put together an urgent Immigration newsletter. Want to highlight a resource in the newsletter - CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE IMMIGRATION RESOURCES GOOGLE DOC! If you hadn’t already seen, several NC mayors issued statements about ICE.

In response to these raids, El Centro Hispano and The Hispanic Liaison have joined forces to create a “Liberation Not Deportation Regional Fund” to help pay for the legal representation fees for families impacted by these raids in Orange, Durham, Chatham, Lee, Randolph and Wake counties. You can also visit El Centro’s Facebook page for further information and posts that clarify rumors: facebook.com/elCentroHispanoNC/

newsobserver.com/news/local/article226098945.html

Gateway Village Apartments New Management

Changes at Gateway Village Apartments

Effective 2/21/2019, Winterwood, Inc. is the new management company for Gateway Village.

Kristy Workman will continue to be the Property Manager, and Jarrod Sherman is the Winterwood property supervisor assigned to this property.

The NEW email addresses are as follows: gateway@werent-nc.com, kworkman@winterwoodonline.com.

This email address: GATEWAY-VILLAGE@CMC-NC.COM will NO LONGER BE MAINTAINED after 2/23/2019.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the new management, please do not hesitate to contact Kristy Workman.

Office – 919-732-6701 / Fax 919-644-2298 /Maintenance Emergencies – 859-276-5388

Charity and Justice

The Orange County Food Council and the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness are spearheading a community workshop on charity and justice. The idea is to bring the community together to have an intentional conversation about the difference between charity and justice responses to human need and how we might work together.

This workshop will be held Monday March 25th from 6-7:30pm in the Century Hall at the Carrboro Century Center. We hope you will join us and encourage you to invite others to participate. The registration page is here and you can also find information about the event on Facebook. We hope you can make it!

Sarai Gonzales/ Sarai y el significado de lo genial

by Sarai Gonzales, illustrated by Monica Brown (Scholastic, ages 6-8)

The 14-year-old author of this book became famous when she acted in “Soy Yo.” It turns out she can also write! This is the first in a series of semiautobiographical early chapter-books about Sarai, a Latinx 4^th grader who’s a sassy, smart, bold, positive, adventurous problem-solver. This book reflects her strong sense of family as she comes up with a plan to help save her grandparents’ house.

Questions to inspire discussions:

Have you ever helped someone who’s in a bad situation?
Have you ever had a problem you didn’t think you could solve? How did you solve that problem?

Make the most of the Orange County Public Library’s SEA (Student Easy Access account)

Orange County Schools
If your child is in the Orange County Schools district but does not have a SEA account, please contact your school’s media center specialist and they will help your child get an account set up. Once they have a SEA account, you and your child can come to any Orange County Public Library location and check out books, movies and more. And your child can access any of the library’s digital resources from home.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
If your child is in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district they already have a SEA account. This means you and your child can come to any Orange County Public Library location and check out books, movies and more. And your child can access any of the library’s digital resources from home.

Find out everything you need to know about SEA accounts here.

Reading Opportunities at the Library

Hora de Espanol
Main Library, Second Tuesdays @ 4:30 p.m.
Join ISLA (Immersion for Spanish Language Acq uisition) for 45 minutes of stories, games, songs and great fun! Native and non-native Spanish speakers are welcome. Best for children ages 3-7 and their families.
Vengan para 45 minutos de cuentos, canciones, y juegos en espanol para ninos y sus familias. Ideal para ninos de 3-7 anos.

More Reading Opportunities in January:

ORANGE COUNTY LIBRARY EVENTS CALENDAR.

CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY EVENTS CALENDAR

Get Your GED!

Orange Literacy is running a GED class at Gateway in Hillsborough which meets Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday mornings from 10-1. Individual tutoring is also available for interested students who want to earn their GED or to improve their literacy skills.

Volunteer Instructor Needed

Orange Literacy is looking for a volunteer instructor for a small ESL class that meets every Monday and Wednesday at Efland-Cheeks Elementary from 6pm-8pm. No previous experience is required. Training is provided.

P4E's Scholarship is Officially Open!

We are beyond excited to announce that after a whirlwind year for Pupusas for Education, our scholarship application is now OPEN. The application will be available for submission until March 31, 2019 at 11:59 ET.

Our scholarship is only open to undocumented and DACAmented high school seniors who live in the Durham, Wake, and Orange counties, and have been accepted to a 2-or-4 year university or an accredited associates/certification program.

ORANGE COUNTY CENTER

Join the Conversation on Prevention!

March 22, 2019 | 10:30am - 12:00pm

Orange County Environment & Agriculture Center

306 Revere Road Hillsborough, NC 27278

Engage in a morning of dynamic conversation about the role of nutrition education in preventive care and how we can increase our impact collectively. We promise it will be a conversation worth having!

Help us:

Develop collaborative strategies to promote nutrition education in preventive care.
Craft a collective vision for North Carolina that includes EFNEP, Family and Consumer Sciences, other Cooperative Extension programs, county agencies/organizations, and health education opportunities.

Confirm your participation with Ivelisse Colón, FCS Agent at 919-245-2055 or through the link provided below.

Hosted by North Carolina Cooperative Extension - Orange County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Program and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

RSVP at » https://goo.gl/forms/j5DvNYAYvw3QdpFe2

LEAD is a widely used metal that is harmful to human health and the environment. This video will help you learn about the sources of lead and how to avoid them.The video is available in the following languages: English, Spanish, Karen, Burmese and Mandarin.

Some spices, herbal remedies, ceremonial powders, and cosmetics may contain lead, especially those imported from India, Asia, Mexico, and the Middle East.

Spices include: Anise Seeds, Asafoetida, Chili powder/ whole chilies, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander, Cumin, Curry, Dagar Phool (stone flower), Garam Masala, Ginger, Hungarian Paprika, Kabsa Mix, Seven Spices Mix, and Turmeric

Herbal teas and remedies include: Ash Powder, Azarcon, Balguti Kesaria, Bali Gali, Ghasard, Greta, Kandu, Mojhat ceremonial drink, and Pay-loo-ah

Ceremonial Powders include: Kum kum, Incense, Pooja powder, Rangoli, and Vibuti (ash powder)

Cosmetics include: Kohl, Kajal, Kum Kum, Sindoor, and Surma

Prevent Lead Poisoning

Buy spices locally rather than online or overseas. Domestic products have stricter safety standards and are more likely to have been screened for heavy metals.
Do not use products that family or friends send to you from another country.
Keep ceremonial powders and other cosmetics out of children’s reach.
Check labels of products for a state or federal agency safety label.
Take your children to the doctor’s office or local health department to have them tested for lead.

Resources on Lead Poisoning Prevention can be found here.

Download a PDF flier of Lead in Spices, Herbal Remedies, Ceremonial Powders, and Cosmetics.

Take Control of Your Health

Living Healthy is a free six week workshop for people who live with chronic disease and or their caregivers. It offers a menu of healthy ways to live with disease while balancing everyday life.For more information or to enroll visit: http://www.med.unc.edu/fammed/service-to-thecommunity/living-healthy-classes
or call: (919) 545-3440.

Our Vision:

Break the cycle of poverty so that ALL children and families in Orange County thrive in school, jobs, and life.

Our Mission:

Through collaboration on shared goals, connect families in poverty to resources and uncover their power in driving equity and systems change.

Want to know more?
Read the FSA Strategic Plan

Family Success Alliance

300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC 27278
919-245-2071
www.FamilySuccessAlliance.org

FSA backbone staff work at the Orange County Health Department.

Director of Programs and Policy: Coby Jansen Austin
(919) 245-2070 or caustin@orangecountync.gov

Program Director: Meredith McMonigle
(919) 245-2071 or mmcmonigle@orangecountync.gov

Manager of Family Engagement: Dana Crews
(919) 245-2458 or dcrews@orangecountync.gov

Zone 4 Navigators
Angela Clapp - (919) 695-2158 or anclapp@orangecountync.gov
Antonia Cortes Sanchez - (919) 695-5982 or acsanchez@orangecountync.gov
Claudia Yerena - (984) 209-3864 cyerena@orangecountync.gov
Rhonda Morales - (919) 698-3925 or rmorales@orangecountync.gov

Zone 6 Navigators
Erika Cervantes - (984) 209-3723 or ecervantes@orangecounync.gov
LaKaya Craig - (919) 695-2271 or lcraig@orangecountync.gov
Mariela Hernandez - (919) 695-6969 or mhernandez@orangecountync.gov
Ling Oy - (919) 257-9960 or loy@orangecountync.gov
Jena Dolby - (919) 698-9152 or jdolby@orangecountync.gov

Community Outreach Specialist: Dominika Gazdzinska
(919) 245-2468 or dgazdzinska@orangecountync.gov

Communications Manager: Kristin Prelipp
(919) 245-2462 or kprelipp@orangecountync.gov

Communications Specialist: Zannie Gunn
(919) 245-2410 or agunn@orangecountync.gov