fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Project HOPE mentors teach women skills for the outside world

by Violet Snow
December 2, 2013
in Community
0
Abigail Ifill (photo by Merle Cosgrove)
Abigail Ifill (photo by Merle Cosgrove)

When women enter the social services system — whether due to poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, or crime — they are taught skills that will help them support themselves in the outside world. “When they get to the end of their training or their enforced participation,” said Judith Bromley, coordinator of Project HOPE, “the program gives them the okay to fly from the edge of the nest; but they can’t necessarily fly.”

Project HOPE, designed and administered by Jewish Family Services for HOPE’s Fund in 2008, was created to bridge the gap between service programs and independence by providing women with mentors in the community. Mentors have helped program participants, called “associates,” to apply for jobs, obtain child care, get a driver’s license, get a GED, enroll in community college, and meet other needs that their life situations make it difficult to negotiate.

Bromley, a psychiatric nurse with a background in staff development, matches up about 20 mentors and associates a year, based on the background of each volunteer and the needs of each associate. The pairs commit to a year of partnership, checking in with each other once a week to discuss the needs of the associate and strategies for moving forward.

“The mentors are learning — how do you help someone find their way?” said Bromley. “They try to provide advice requested as opposed to telling somebody what to do. It’s about listening. Associates want to know, ‘If I make a mistake, will you still be there for me?’ There’s no ‘I told you so’ when there’s a mistake.”

Merle Cosgrove, a Woodstock resident, has been a mentor to Abigail Ifill of Kingston. “Some women need a lot of encouragement,” reported Cosgrove, “but Abby checks out everything on her own. My job has been to help her with child care, to get to the GED classes, and to find resources for driving lessons and other needs.”

Ifill, who trained as a Certified Nursing Assistant with the help of Project HOPE, said Cosgrove has been “like a mother figure, and a grandmother to my kids. While I was doing my GED, she was an awesome help to me and my kids.”

Bromley emphasizes that Project HOPE is not a therapeutic program. Mentors serve as role models, sounding boards, and sources of practical assistance. For associates, participation requires a level of maturity that will enable each associate to maintain a healthy relationship with a mentor.

Page 1 of 2
12Next
Tags: Project Hope
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Student testing will be rolled back in New Paltz

Next Post

Abolitionism for the new millennium

Violet Snow

Violet Snow wrote regularly for the Woodstock Times for 17 years and continues to contribute to Hudson Valley One. She has been published in the New York Times “Disunion” blog, Civil War Times, American Ancestors, Jewish Currents, and many other periodicals. An excerpt from her historical novel, To March or to Marry, has appeared in the feminist journal Minerva Rising. She lives in Phoenicia and is currently working with horses, living out her childhood dream.

Related Posts

Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace
Community

Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace

February 3, 2023
Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5
Community

Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5

February 2, 2023
Not-So-Sweet Fundraiser returns to Saugerties Animal Shelter
Community

Not-So-Sweet Fundraiser returns to Saugerties Animal Shelter

February 1, 2023
Neighbors protest Ulster County Veterans’ Cemetery flagpole spotlights
Community

Neighbors protest Ulster County Veterans’ Cemetery flagpole spotlights

February 1, 2023
Year three of Black History Month Kingston continues crucial conversation
Community

Black History Month Kingston: Art, music, culture, and empowerment take center stage

February 3, 2023
Who is Howard Harris, and why is he so angry at Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna?
Community

Who is Howard Harris, and why is he so angry at Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna?

January 25, 2023
Next Post

Abolitionism for the new millennium

Trending News

  • One-man crime spree comes to end after Kingston man runs out of luck 3.6k views
  • Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5 1.9k views
  • The Bruynswyck Inn Oyster & Clam Bar offers fresh seafood and Shawangunk views 1.5k views
  • 20-foot, 10-wheel big rig overturns in Saugerties, injuring driver 1.1k views
  • Three-story, mixed-use building proposed for Agway property in New Paltz 1k views
  • Visit Kingston’s 12,240-square-foot squat, centrally located with wood-burning fireplace 1k views

Weather

Kingston
◉
-2°
Sunny
7:05 am5:14 pm EST
Feels like: -2°F
Wind: 3mph SW
Humidity: 48%
Pressure: 30.63"Hg
UV index: 0
SunMonTue
48/30°F
46/25°F
45/34°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing