Bloc Ministries
911 W. 8th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Supports for At-Risk Urban Youth in Price Hill
Program Description:
1) Youth Teaching Kitchen – culinary job training & job preparedness for youth at risk of dropping out, and for special needs students with programs adapted via life coaches, through partnerships with 4 urban public high schools
2) Immigrant Welcome Center – ESL classes for older Hispanic students and a Youth Empowerment group for Latino students that offers academic help, mentoring and field trips.
3) Horses on the Hill - first-of-its-kind in southwestern Ohio, program utilizes horses, equine-assisted therapy and nature-based learning to grow life skills, build stronger character and help some of our area’s most wounded and at-risk individuals to overcome trauma and heal.
Our staff volunteer at Western Hills High and Oyler Schools to develop connections with students and make them aware of our services. School resource officers also refer students to our programs. We have a strong relationship with Hamilton County Juvenile Court who refers students from Diversion Court as well as those on probation to work with us.
Program Goals:
Teaching Kitchen: a mentoring and cooking program that equips students with the essential certifications and life and job skills needed to get a quality, well-paying job in the culinary (or related food) industry. Our TK instructors are licensed chefs, who coach in ‘soft’ skills (like following directions, teamwork, attention to details, problem solving), nutrition and culinary skills based on industry standards. The goal is for each student to receive school credit, when applicable, and to pass the first level of Servsafe certification and obtain a food services job. This program is for ages 16 and up, focusing on those struggling to graduate so as an alternative they can choose TK’s vocational training to get school credit and graduate. The goal of Project Life is to build foundational skills for employment and independence in adulthood for differently-abled teens and others who struggle with classroom-style learning.
Immigrant Welcome Center: The Welcome Center seeks to meet a variety of needs of our immigrant community, including teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), acculturation, youth empowerment and identifying employment opportunities for adults and older teens. IWC staff are available to help families meet with teachers or school administration to develop relationships and build understanding of academic and social successes or challenges for their children. The original goal of the IWC was to build connections for Hispanic children, students and adults that help them move forward in acculturation with language, understanding of American culture, and employability. That goal has now expanded to include all immigrants, not just Hispanics.
Horses on the Hill: Our staff offers physical, mental and spiritual wellness services including equine-assisted learning for school aged students and at-risk women in the Price Hill neighborhood. Services are Medicaid-reimbursable, trauma-informed care and skill-based learning and access to mental health professionals to further support the growth and care of our clients.
Program Results:
Teaching Kitchen: Through our Teaching Kitchen program, we were able to serve more than 60 youth and young adults in the youth program, 25 special needs youth in our Project Life classes, 65 elementary & middle school students in Junior Chef and more than 250 parents, caregivers, siblings or other relatives who attended our special events. We served 14 students through the Hamilton County Youth Employment Program and did a few "special events" this year, including a Mother’s Day event for community, Father’s Day event for community and catered two meals at Western Hills High School. One was a teacher appreciation meal.
Immigrant Welcome Center: The IWC of Cincinnati is undergoing continuous development to gather resources and expand partnerships throughout the Greater Cincinnati area to best serve new community members who come from across the globe. BLOC Ministries enlisted the expertise of Elemental Group, a consulting agency, to help establish a 3-year plan for the direction and expansion of services at the IWC. West Price Hill represents an area void of many accessible resources for the immigrant community, and the strategic location of the IWC will enable BLOC Ministries remedy this dearth of opportunities by providing invaluable resources to our new neighbors. To further advance the reach of the IWC, we are creating an app that can be used by immigrants, care navigators and partner organizations to assess the current resources and immediate needs of immigrants in our community. The app is currently in the development phase, but it will launch soon. In addition to the Latino Youth Empowerment after school program, BLOC Ministries’ Hispanic Outreach has served over 130 community members via our ESOL program in addition to their families and over 1000 individuals have been served by the Hispanic outreach program over the course of the last year. We are also beginning to partner with other organizations that will eventually have space in the IWC to offer services such as legal aid.
Horses on the Hill: Since opening in June 2023, HOTH was able to see 8-10 individual clients per week, as well as regular youth groups from Talbert House and other organizations. Within the past few months we hired two more part-time counselors that allowed us to expand our weekly sessions to 20-25 individuals per week. We currently have a waiting list for services. Some diagnoses we have worked with include PTSD, Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, & Depression. We are working to treat these by building life skills to improve relationships, daily functioning, and better manage the symptoms of these diagnoses. Reported benefits of these services include reduced stress in clients suffering from PTSD and/or anxiety as they work to develop effective coping skills and experience co-regulation in a relaxing environment, increased confidence in those that struggle socially, with independence, and/or self-esteem, improved mood from those struggling with depression as they are receiving social support & are able to engage in enjoyable activities in a positive/natural environment, improved impulse control, focus, and sense of social norms in clients struggling with ADHD and interpersonal effectiveness has improved in clients struggling with setting boundaries or communicating appropriately in their personal relationships.
Website:
http://www.onebloc.org Amount: $100,000
Date: September 2022
