HCN's April Silas is the AT&T Community Spotlight Hero!

AT&T, in cooperation with San Francisco radio station Energy 92.7, honors one local person each week who contributes to improving the quaqlity of life in the Bay Area. On November 26, 2007, they awarded that honor to HCN's Executive Director April Silas.

Congratulations, April Silas !

HCN Executive Director April Silas was one of eight recipients of The California Wellness Foundation's 2005 Sabbatical Program Award, in recognition of her many years of dedicated service. Learn more...

Accomplishments

- HCN's First "Family and Provider Resource Forum" was held October 3, 2000 at Mission Neighborhood Centers. It was an all day event with various speakers (presenting on topics such as culture in social work, immigration, tenant's rights, and more) and discussions pertaining to homeless families. The audience consisted of about 50-60 people-representatives from HCN's collaborative shelters/agencies as well as representatives from non-collaborative agencies. We received excellent feedback about the Forum.

- HCN was featured on the television show "Everybody's Angels," a local TV show focusing on philanthropy in the Bay Area.

- Certificate of Honor received by San Francisco Board Supervisor, Barbara Kaufman

- HCN was featured on WB News

- HCN was awarded grant from San Francisco Giants Community Fund for Literacy and Communications Center. HCN was awarded grant during Home Plate Ceremony at baseball game on September 21, 2000.

- The Excutive Director, April Silas, is a member of Strategic Planning Committee, which determines how Proposition 10 funds will be allocated to San Francisco's children ages 0-5. April played a large part of the Press Conference held on July 20, 2000.

- HCN is highly involved in new grassroots campaign, "Young Voices-Speak Out on Poverty and Homelessness." It is a new city-wide grassroots campaign to create awareness on the issue of the growing number of homeless children and families throughout the Bay Area. This campaign is also assisting the introduction of a school curriculum on homelessness within the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Our goal is to eradicate any myths and stereotypes about homeless people. Through education, we can teach compassion, and understanding about a subject that is having a devastating effect on our society.

- HCN is a member of the Homeless Education Council (HEC). HEC is a program of the San Francisco Unified School District, which aims to provide equal educational access and opportunities for homeless children.

- HCN facilitates a monthly Service Providers Meeting where representatives from each of HCN's fifteen collaborative shelters join to discuss various topics.

- HCN facilitates a quarterly Steering Committee Meeting where Executive Directors from each of HCN's fifteen collaborative shelters join to discuss programmatic and collaborative issues.

- Trainings provided to collaborative shelters. Topics have included Anger Management, Empowerment for Homeless Families, and Early Childhood Education.

- HCN has expanded its collaborative membership from 6 in 1992 to 15 agencies in 2000.

Recent Achievements

As the largest collaborative in San Francisco providing accessible mental health services to homeless children and their families, HCN has achieved numerous accomplishments. The following are specific examples illustrating the positive transformation of families we have served:

- With HCN's support, a teenage mother strengthened her own definition of motherhood and solidified her relationship with her newborn baby. Our therapeutic support has empowered her during a critical period of her life in being a new mother, while simultaneously being homeless.

- HCN has helped a 5 -year old child increase his confidence in himself such that he can now feel comfortable without his mother (who was previously afraid to be out of her sight) and be alone with his Therapist. He now takes the lead in his play therapy sessions at HCN. Overall, there was a remarkably improved relationship between mother and son.

- Through our Literacy and Communications Center, HCN assisted an illiterate mother in a domestic violence relationship by helping her learn how to read and learning basic computer skills. In effect, she was able to obtain employment through the Internet and leave her battering spouse. She is currently doing well.

- With the new hire of two bilingual/bicultural Children and Family Therapists (Spanish-speaking and Chinese Mandarin-speaking) late last year, HCN was able to reduce barriers to access to homeless children and their families who have limited English proficiency. HCN was able to serve an increased number of monolingual children, thereby reaching an underserved population who desperately needed our mental health services.

- Shelter-Based Child Care Consultation Evaluation Tool: HCN created this unique tool designed to inform the clinical direction and efficacy of all programs specific to the support of homeless parents with children ages 0-5.

- During this year, HCN has seen a more consistent and increased participation at our monthly Service Providers meetings. Service Providers have expressed that our meetings are valuable to their work as they receive peer support, viable information, and an opportunity to discuss issues surrounding their work.

The following are examples of success stories from our Literacy and Communications Center:

- A child seen by an HCN Therapist preferred to type personal stories on the computer as opposed to handwriting them. Typewritten stories allowed the child to freely communicate to the Therapist. The child preferred to use the computer as a medium of communication because she associated better with word images, the print-out of her story was more 'real,' and numerous copies of her story can be reproduced.

- Another way children use our Center is through Art Therapy. Children enjoy drawing pictures through the computer as it gives them a way to communicate. They also enjoy the color copies they receive as a result of their final project. Therapist is able to use the drawing as a form of communication. Art Therapy is a great opportunity for creative expression from the child.

- A teenager that an HCN Therapist is serving likes to use the Internet to research information of her interest. Through this medium, the Therapist is able to learn more about her client's interests, as well as establishing a rapport and a trustworthy relationship with her client.