Women’s/Children’s Program

Mission Statement

Within the framework of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the “Family Life Center” Women’s/Children’s Program seeks to promote the personal wholeness and self-sufficiency of families and single women by ministering to their spiritual, emotional, educational/vocational and physical needs. By identifying and addressing these issues, we endeavor to equip residents to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.

Goals

To become and remain an integral part of the City Mission campus in the midst of our downtown community.

To comprehensively meet resident needs in a manner that dignifies and strengthens the individual, the family and the community.

To evaluate individual needs and to develop treatment plans to effectively meet those needs through both in-house and referral services.

To develop and maintain a core of volunteers who will provide a stable Christian witness and assistance to residents and community member seeking services.

To develop and maintain collaborative partnerships with individuals, churches, businesses, agencies and organizations within the Capitol region in order to enhance and expand services and resources available to residents.

Ongoing Activities

Discipleship Groups

• Morning Manna: A devotional session designed to teach residents how to begin their day in the presence of the Lord.
• Laying the Foundation: A group designed to assist residents to establish a rock-solid foundation of faith based on facts as stated in Scripture. This group affords residents an opportunity to explore all aspects of forgiveness – with God, others and self. Discussions also help residents strive towards opening their minds to honest communication with God and others.
• Getting To Know Him: This group is designed to assist residents to examine the evidence that reveals the existence of God, what it means to become a Christian, how to make that decision, what the scriptures reveals about who Jesus is and how to have a personal relationship with him.
• Addiction Education Series: A three-part series designed to educate residents in recovery. Materials cover Denial Management, Recovery Process and Relapse Prevention. Each topic is covered in a thirteen-week period.
• Life Skills Classes
• How to Organize Your Time for a Better Life: This group focuses on developing time management skills and applying them to daily life.
• Money Management: Through studying Scripture this weekly group assists residents to develop and understand God’s attitude about finances. His guidance is applied in the development of a working budget based on income and expenses. Banking opportunities such as checking and savings accounts are also examined. Group is a part of the Education/Career Center curriculum.
• Credit and Financial Counseling: Volunteers with expertise in the area of credit and financial counseling assist residents to address credit issues and to gain an understanding of managing their income and expenses. These services are provided individually as a part of the Education//Career Center curriculum.
• Ready-Set-Go: A 15-week course designed to prepare and equip residents to approach work and their career with a healthy attitude. The course begins with a focus on a biblical foundation for why we work, what kinds of attitudes we should have toward work, and then examines the skills necessary to gain and maintain employment. Through this process residents learn how to prepare resumes, conduct themselves during interviews, and how to deal with workplace issues in a positive manner. Group is a part of the Education/Career Center curriculum.
• Home and Apartment Management: Residents examine and apply skills necessary for managing kitchen and apartment safety and cleanliness. Content covers nutrition for the individual and the family, food preparation, meal management skills necessary to preserve and serve healthy meals. In this class residents also examine rights and responsibilities of the consumer, how to use unit pricing, food labels and learn to recognize ways of saving money in the grocery store.
• Train Up A Mom: A weekly parenting course designed to equip mothers to understand and nurture their children’s mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual growth. Because God is the perfect parent, His Word can be looked to for instruction on how to fulfill this role. Applying the same principles as God uses to train His children, this course explores how to be godly mothers while fostering specific areas of children’s growth and development.

Women’s Groups

• I Am My Sister’s Keeper: This group provides a discussion forum for issues relating to homelessness, substance abuse, relationships, and other topics of interest to women in transition. This group is open to community residents.
• Celebrating Us: A four-part series designed to educate residents in the areas of changes that heal, anger management, coping with stress and the development of a healthy, Christ-centered self-esteem. Each topic is covered in a thirteen-week period.
• Women Aglow. Women Aglow is a gathering of Family Life Center residents and community residents. This forum is a partnership between Schenectady Aglow and the Family Life Center. Weekly meetings include speakers, testimonies and refreshments.

Men’s Group:

• Facilitate monthly group with male residents. This discussion forum includes videos, handouts, and open exchange of ideas and information.

Phoebe’s Place:

• Provides clean, quality, free career clothes to men and women seeking employment or vocational training. Referrals are received from agencies working with individuals seeking to enter or re-enter the work force or obtain vocational training. Some of our partners include Schenectady Job Training Agency, Jobs Etc. and Schenectady Community Action Program.

Staff Development:

• Convene weekly staff meetings and monthly in-service training.

Collaborative Partnerships:

Schenectady County Jail – facilitate weekly recovery group for female inmates and individual discipleship upon request.

City of Schenectady Drug Court – provide screening and alternative housing, community service hours to participants.

County of Schenectady Drug Court – provide screening and alternative housing, community service hours to participants.

Departments of Probation and Parole – provide screening and housing to participants.