Two-generation approaches build family well-being by working simultaneously with children and the adults in their lives. Charlotte Family Housing (CFH) provides supportive programming and access to youth enrichment programs. Our programs build academic and life skills, thus providing the tools needed to create generational success.
Early Learning and Education Support
Access to early learning opportunities is a key predictor for life-long success and childcare is a crucial component to financial success for families. Many families are faced with decisions that affect their ability to work and maintain adequate housing. CFH partners with Child Care Resources, Inc. to provide our families with access to safe, affordable, and quality childcare through subsidized vouchers. Additionally, our clinical family social workers assist families by ensuring they are aware of the Head Start and MECK Pre-K programs for children ages 4 and 5 years old. By linking our families to Head Start and MECK Pre-K, preschoolers can get a jumpstart on their education.
CFH closely follows the model of our collaborative partner, Read Charlotte, to promote reading literacy throughout the year.
The 30 for 30 Literacy Program promotes literacy by encouraging parents to keep a log of the books they read with their younger children (or that their older children read independently) during the summer. Parents who participate receive motivational achievement points, which they can exchange for prizes, and children receive gift cards for participation. This incentivized summer reading program also supports family bonding, enhances literacy, and helps to prevent of summer learning loss.
The Youth Financial Literacy Program, hosted in partnership with State Employees' Credit Union, teaches financial literacy skills to our adolescents ages 12 to 18. This incorporates a semiannual training event called the "Reality of Money. During this financial simulation, teens are assigned an education level, a job, an income and a credit score. They then experience creating a monthly budget based on those parameters. This allows teens to learn about how factors such as education level, credit score, family size and marital status can impact their financial futures. Afterwards, teens create a plan with their parents to earn monthly points by completing chores, and meeting school or behavior-related goals. Points are then converted into cash or gift incentives. This provides the experience of teens working to earn income, while also providing the parents with an opportunity to incentivize behavior improvement, thus supporting positive decision-making and economic mobility.
The CFH Youth Connect program provides access to various extra-curricular opportunities to provide exposure and promote normalcy and relationship building. Opportunities include access to art classes and music classes through the Community School of Arts, character and leadership development through the Girl Talk Foundation's teen program and arts, character and career development, life skills, and health and well-being through the Boys and Girls Clubs programs. So that we continue to promote dignity, investment and empowerment, we ask that parents pay a small, feasible portion of the fee.
Special thanks to Speedway Children’s Charities for investing in two-generation programming and making these opportunities available for our families.
For information on sponsoring a two-generation program, please contact us at
grants@charlottefamilyhousing.org