As part of PSF’s collaboration with Casey Family Programs to launch the Library Partnership, Casey provided several years of financial and technical assistance and support. Toward the end of their partnership, they gave the center the distinction of being one of their Community of Hope sites and honored the community at a special celebration in September 2013.
A Community of Hope is a place where all children are safe and have the support they need from the adults in their lives to grow up healthy and succeed. It is a place that recognizes that families and communities, not systems, are best equipped to raise children, and that all families need the support of a caring community to thrive.
Ultimately, the obligation to protect children extends beyond responding to child abuse and neglect that has already occurred. It also involves supporting innovative programs that help prevent maltreatment from occurring in the first place.
Since the LP opened, there has been a 76% reduction in the number of children removed from the home due to abuse or neglect in the communities the center serves. This and other compelling data was shared at the event. A Community Advisory Council, comprised of residents from the target communities, was also created at this time to engage local residents and patrons in shaping the future direction of the center.
Please check out the video commissioned for this event, which tells the story of the Library Partnership’s existence and designation as a Community of Hope site.
