Below, Brian enjoys the Villa’s KABOOM playground. The warm weather has really been a gift to the Villa campus this winter. Everyone is out and about, enjoying the new Pedestrian Avenue! Fun!
Archive for 02/12 (February 2012)
Career and Transition Services Program Takes Off!
The Villa’s Career and Transition Services program is really taking off! Students are busy with on-campus internships, delivering office supplies, serving food, sorting mail and shelving materials. Above, Meghan prepares food in the Villa’s new Culinary Arts Center’s training program.
Congratulations to Matt Kreydatus and LaSonia Lee for helping our students prepare for life after school!
Dana Hawes Named Head of Children’s Educational Services
On February 20, St. Joseph’s Villa announced that it has named Dana Hawes Senior Director of Children’s Educational Services. The appointment is effective immediately.
Mr. Hawes joined St. Joseph’s Villa in August 2011 and has served as its head of Dooley Center for Alternative Education since that time. As Head of DCAE, Mr. Hawes introduced several improvements to the program, including the adoption of the e2020 educational courseware and starting a new level system to build student engagement with the educational system.
Prior to joining St. Joseph’s Villa, Mr. Hawes served as principal, assistant principal and instructional leader in both Henrico County and the Capital City Program in partnership with Richmond Public Schools. He holds a Post Graduate Professional License with an endorsement in Administration and Leadership. Mr. Hawes has completed the University of Richmond’s “Next Generation of Leadership Academy” (2008), the EduLead’s “Leaders in Transition Summer Institute” (2009), and is currently dually enrolled in Walden University’s doctoral program in Higher Education and Adult Learning and a graduate certification program in Non-Profit Organizational Management.
As Senior Director of Children’s Educational Services, Mr. Hawes will be responsible for five educational programs at St. Joseph’s Villa (Dooley School, Dooley Elementary School, Dooley Center for Alternative Education, Brook Road Academy and Lewis Children’s Center), as well as the Villa’s Career and Transition Services (CATS) program. Mr. Hawes succeeds Ms. Susan Pokorski, who retired earlier this month.
“This is an important appointment for St. Joseph’s Villa, and we are delighted to have Dana accept this position,” said Cynthia Faison, Chief Operations Officer at St. Joseph’s Villa. “Dana is a skilled administrator, and he brings energy and innovation to our educational programs. Most of all, he cares for his students and will work as hard as possible to help them achieve.”
Flagler HRC in Petersburg is Working to Reduce the Community’s Homelessness
A small Villa outpost is quietly making a big impact in the Petersburg Community. In early November, St. Joseph’s Villa opened the Flagler Housing Resource Center in downtown Petersburg. The office is located in The Hope Center, an old warehouse which has been converted into a collection of six or seven offices for area nonprofits serving the Petersburg community.
The Villa office helps people transition from homelessness into stable housing. It has three tools: Prevention services for families (and individuals) who are on the brink of becoming homeless; Rapid Re-housing for families who are homeless; and services for homeless Veterans. In each case grant funds assist with rent and utilities to prevent eviction or help a household move into a new apartment. The effect? People who seemed to have no options suddenly have a roof over their heads and a chance to catch up and to plan for their futures.
The Flagler Housing Resource Center is manned by two women with plenty of skills: Claudia Perez (at right in photo), who most recently was the Housing Specialist at Flagler Community and who played a key role in the success of the Rapid Re-housing Pilot, and Maureen Hulsey (at left in photo), a longtime social worker who just joined St. Joseph’s Villa and also is the wife of a Marine at Fort Lee. Maureen works with veterans, and Claudia works with the other families.
In the first three months of operation, the Housing Resource Center helped more than 50 families escape or avoid homelessness, and demand for their services is steadily increasing. Funds are provided through a variety of grants, and of course, they are limited, so not as much is being done as what might be possible with more funding. Several grant applications are in the works, and given the outcomes from the first three months, we are optimistic the program can and will expand.
In the meantime, each of us owes a big “Thank you!” to Claudia, Maureen and the Flagler HRC for helping people get back on their feet and start on their path into stability.
