Dear Monroe Harding Family and Supporters,
All of us at Monroe Harding wish you continued health, safety, and peace as our community continues to navigate uncharted waters.
Our number one priority remains the health and well-being of our young people, families, staff, volunteers and partners as Nashville and surrounding communities continue to follow public leadership’s roadmap for reopening our economy.
To do our part in ensuring there is no surge in COVID-19, our offices will remain closed at least through July. This includes our Youth Connections Resource Center and Opportunity Now Reengagement Hub in downtown Nashville.
Our staff and board continue to work hard to support our families and young people. The past three-plus months did not slow us down one bit. In fact, our connection with and impact on young people since our mid-March transition to a virtual work environment increased significantly:
- Foster Care: We recruited and trained several new foster parents and placed 13 children in foster homes. And, we are servicing and supporting our kids and parents virtually with resources and guidance.
- Supportive Housing: We provided homes to 12 young adults and all 29 young adults currently living with us are pursuing their education, working, or both. We are excited to expand our housing program later this summer with the addition of a new, seven-bed house and a three-bed house in partnership with Piedmont Natural Gas.
- Youth Connections & Opportunity Now Reengagement Hub: We are engaging a record-setting pace of young people in our Youth Connections Resource Center programs this year. For example, we currently are working with a record-enrollment of 22 young adults in our Education support program and helped 11 earn their online diplomas these past few months. Our Hub is helping 35 Opportunity Youth reengage with their education and employment pursuits, and we are working aggressively to reach and serve more.
These are just a few of the many highlights and positive impacts we are making on the lives of young people. You will read of more in this June edition of our newsletter and as always I encourage you to follow us on Facebook.
Thank you for your continued support of our mission of changing young peoples’ lives!
Sincerely,
David Popen
President & CEO