ABOUT US - PROGRAMS
The Mission:
Fostering partnerships that can help us promote motherhood and strong families, develop youth, and build safe communities via Entrepreneurships, Education, Well-Being, and Self Preservation.
Purpose
The purpose is for single moms to help other single moms in need with gaining the skills and knowledge to reach greater levels of well-being and self-reliance. To empower these moms in need with parenting skills to build strong families, to help their kids be successful in school and life, and encouraging each to build relationships and become connected to their community.
Mothers are in a unique position and play a vital role in helping to shape neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and society by the type of kids we produce. Real Families Real MOMS of East Nashville’s provides (in a Christian context) single mothers, parents, and families (in need) with opportunities to learn and put into practice the skills and knowledge that equips them to raise strong, healthy, caring children.
Objectives:
To form a network of moms (Real MOMS Network RMN) in each neighborhood where each family becomes the others needed network of help, support, and accountability. Moms hold each other accountable for becoming healthy, empowered and loving moms.
How:
We use a strength-based approach to build parent capacity instead of focusing on weaknesses. We meet once a week to talk about what is important to us as parents. During these meetings, we talk about issues affecting us, our kids, and our community. Each parent is welcomed to lead the group and we all decide which topics and challenges need to be addressed. This helps us reach out to other parents, build support networks, and take action together for positive changes for our own families.
Programs:
1 – Food Truck -Pizza Oven - Garden – Single moms = One Income
MOMS cater various events, activities, and host birthday parties around town and at our home location to earn needed monies. Our mobile kitchen or Food Truck and Pizza Oven allows moms to earn needed monies by doing what we do everyday - cook. us a call and help a single mom work to empower herself and her family!
According to a 2005 study of the 70 largest U.S. cities, the two most important factors in the disproportionately high female poverty rate are the unpaid labor of women in childrearing, care giving and domestic work and the demographic shift towards single female-headed households.Single female-headed households have 31% poverty rate while single male-headed households are 14%. The social safety net programs that most often help women, particularly welfare, are available only after recipients are impoverished and are funded at level that keep them living below the poverty line.*
2 - Garden - Healthy Eating - Preventative Renewed Thinking
Most think eating healthy is too expensive but don't realize processed foods are expensive too. They do not nourish or feed our bodies or our children’s bodies. Compare food cost to health care costs over all, vitamins, doctors co-pays (if you have insurance), as well as food. Eating healthy foods is much healthier and will in time decrease these visits and reduce the need for vitamins because it's in our food. In fact we can’t afford not to eat healthier foods - it's essential for a healthy flourishing body. Our A community garden is gardened collectively by neighborhood moms and their kids. MOMS share the fresh herbs and produce. Gift baskets are given to grandmothers raising their grandkids. And MOMS also sell fresh herbs and produce to raise needed
monies.
3 – Real MOMS of East Nashville – neighborhood mothers are compiled on a list noting their strengths, needs, and weaknesses. This list is made available to all moms and the mom’s use the list to become the others needed network of help, resource, and barter system.
Every mother is unique and has different needs. Real MOMS has organized to help meet each right where they are.
4 - Parenting Classes - court ordered. Call for information.
5 - Youth Action Councils – consists of the kids whose mothers are a part of the “Real Moms Network” to help empower the entire family.
a. Vice Chancellors Youth Council (VC – YC) – youths take an active role in addressing issues affecting them, especially why males are graduating from college at lower rates than females.
b. Gems and Gemstones (G’s) - younger youths are taught altruism and the importance of giving back through volunteering. Gems and Gemstones is a pre-requisite to the VC – YC. Education and literacy is stressed and youths design service projects on topics that concern them.
6 - AM Program - (Adjusting To Motherhood)
This program teaches mothers skills and activities to be done while their children are in school. Ex. How and why to join the PTSO, establishing and maintaining a relationship with child’s teacher, mommy management, preparing for when kids come home from school, and helping or getting help for homework.
7 - The Parent School Visitation Program - available to all MOMS who feel comfortable with allowing other moms to fill in/visit their child’s school function(s), teachers, and meetings when they are unable to attend.
8 – College Tours – two college campuses will be visited each year. To date we’ve toured American Baptist College, Lipscomb University, Berea, and AI Culinary Institute.
*Sara Lichtenwalter (2005) “Gender poverty disparity in US Cities: Evidence Exonerating Female-headed Families”, in Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, June 2005.