Mrs. Juana’s Story

Mrs. Juana attended a Mission Learning Center outreach program at Paul Revere Elementary School. She was very interested in the Home Visiting Program that Mission Learning Center offers. We contacted her and we made an appointment for a home visit.

At the first home visit we attended she was very depressed because her brother in Mexico was very sick. We noticed that she lives in an isolated and unfavorable condition -- in a camper in an industrial area occupied by a mechanic’s workshop.

During the home visit we noticed a positive change in her attitude. As a result of our home visits Mrs. Juana obtained information about different community services such as The Good Samaritan, City College of San Francisco, and Mission Neighborhood Health Center.

Also, she was integrated into an educational workshop at Mission Neighborhood Health Center. Mrs. Juana was very interested and responsible. She was on time to the workshops she attended each day. She was able to finish the workshop and get a certificate.

After that, Mrs. Juana started to take Child Development classes at City College of San Francisco. Now, she is going to this class with her daughter. Mrs. Juana is still attending different educational workshops. She is involved in activities that are going to help her educate her daughters in a very positive way.

Maria’s Story    top^

María was walking one day near Mission Learning Center. She was looking kind of lost, so one of our staff approached her and offered her assistance. María, a recent immigrant from Mexico, was looking for resources in the community to help her family.

She is expecting her third child and lives in one room with her two daughters, and her husband. She is living in an extremely precarious situation; her husband without a job, the four of them sleeping on the floor in one mattress, and scarce food and clothing for the entire family.

We provided Home Visits for them and as a result of this we were able to guide and link them to different resources in the community where they were able to obtain furniture, food and clothing, and some toys for their children. Now the children have their own bed, and there is a crib for the new coming baby. María also gets a weekly provision of food.

One of the Parent Program’s goals is to encourage parents to enroll their children in preschool as soon as possible. We were able to assist in the placement of their three and a half year-old daughter to Compañeros del Barrio. Their daughter is now attending preschool on a daily basis and María has become actively involved in her child’s education, frequently participating in some of the school activities.

Another great accomplishment throughout these home visits was the acquisition of a library card. Through the Home Visiting Program she has learned many ways to support her children’s literacy skills. As a family they now read together every day and use the library regularly.

In an attempt to get families out of isolation we invited her to attend our series of educational workshops and to participate in a program that Mission Neighborhood Health Center in collaboration with San Francisco City College offers to expecting parents or parents with children 0-5 years of age.

María is currently attending this program and is benefiting from our parenting workshops.