MyHousing.org Bulletin
Volume 3
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MyHousing.org ¡Si En Espanol!
GED and ESL
MyHousing.org by Cindy
Parent Support Resources
Banking by Betty and Moniquica
How to Get a Guard Card
First Avenues June 2008
Past Volumes
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MyHousing.org ¡Si En Espanol!
Ahora usted puede utilizar MyHousing.org en español. Marque dentro de
esta fotografia
 y eleccione "Spanish" inmediatamente la
página se
traducirá al español. |
Now is the Time to Get a GED or Take ESL
 Obtaining your GED (General Education Diploma) or Taking ESL (English as a Second Language) can open doors to new opportunities. The GED is the equivalent of a High School diploma while the ESL programs are designed to help individuals develop their general ability to listen, speak, read and write English. Here are some resources:
San Francisco
City College of San Francisco, GED Testing Center: 415-561-1015; ESL Department: 415-239-3000. The GED test requires a registration fee of $75. Discounts of $46.50 are given to individuals receiving public benefits and to qualifying low-income residents that are referred by a counselor.
Click here for more information about GED classes in San Francisco
Click here for more information about ESL classes in San Francisco
Alameda County
Alameda Adult School 510-522-3858. The GED test requires a registration fee of $120. Discounts can be given to individuals who complete 60 hours of the GED preparation class at Alameda Adult School.
Click here for more information about GED classes in Alameda County
Click here for more information about ESL classes in Alameda County
 Contra Costa County
Loma Vista Adult Center 925-685-7340, #2751. The GED test requires a registration fee of $145. If taking the GED preparation classes at LVAC, students can possibly receive up to five $25 coupons to be used towards the cost of registration
Click here for more information about GED classes in Contra Costa County
Click here for more information about ESL classes in Contra Costa County
This news is brought to you by
Jenn Sanchez
First Avenues Eviction Prevention Specialist
MyHousing.org thanks students from the 9th Annual Lasallian Assembly for their artwork for this article.
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MyHousing.org by Cindy
I might never have become homeless if I had access to MyHousing.org years
ago! Before I knew about MyHosusing.org, finding the resources that my family needed was a lot of trouble.I had to hunt for
resources and ride the bus around the city to get things done.
Recently, I got an apartment with assistance from Hamilton Family Center's First Avenues Program. First Avenues referred me to a computer class at Hamilton Family Center, and I learned about MyHousing.org.
Now I use www.MyHousing.org to find the resources my family needs. MyHousing.org gives you access to the resources you need to better your household. Here are my favorite pages on MyHousing.org (You can click on the names to see the pages):
The MyHousing.org Message Board also helps families by giving parents a tools to share information with each other. I posted information on the Message Board about Section 8 in San Mateo: the wait list is opening on July 7th. Click here to read my posting.
You can post announcements to the MyHousing.org Message Board. Just send an email with your announcement to myhousingmessageboard.post@blogger.com the subject line of your email will become the orange title of your posting on the message board. The words in the body your email will become the blue words in the main body of the message.
Do not post inappropriate information on this site. Inappropriate information will be removed, a nd the person who posts the infomation will not be allowed to post again.
This site really helps, especially as a single mother. I plan to use the site in the future, and I hope you will too.
This news is brought to you by:CindyFirst Avenues Program
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Parent Support Resources In San Francisco
Are you stressed? Are you interested in resources to take care of yourself as a parent?
There are quite a few options
out there for parents seeking support. Take a minute to go to google.com
and searchi for "parent support groups in San Francisco."
Here are Some Recommendations:
 Support for Families of Children with Disabilities:
www.supportforfamilies.org
email at: info@supportforfamilies.org
(415) 920-5040
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities is a parent-run non-profit organization provides free services to families of
children with any kind of disability or special health care need to make informed choices that support
the child's health, education, and development. Among the services provided are
a phone line, drop-in center, support groups, and educational workshops. They
are located at the Open Gate
Family Resource Center: 2601 Mission Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA.
Talk
Line Family Support Center
www.talklineforparents.org
(415)-441-KIDS (5437)
The
TALK Line Family Support Center provides a variety of programs for parents: a 24-hour crisis line, parent and child counseling, parent drop-in
center, children's playroom, and job assistance. TALK Line is located at
1757 Waller
Street @ Stanyan in the upper Haight in San Francsico. Its 24-hour
parental stress line number is: (415)-441-KIDS (5437). This is a crisis and
counseling line that parents should feel free to call for support, information,
and referrals. TALK Line also provides parents with a children's playroom so
that they can bring their children to a safe place while they meet and share
their concerns with other parents, talk with a counselor, attend a support or
parenting skills group, attend a workshop, use a free phone, or simply relax
with refreshments.
Tender Lion Family Program
(415) 474-7310
Offers outpatient mental-health services for
multicultural, low-income, uninsured children ages 5 to 18 and to their families
in the Tenderloin, South of Market, and Western Addition districts of San Francisco. Tender Lion
holds a Drop-In Parent Group, which meets every Monday from 6:00 pm to 7:30pm.
This weekly group is open to parents or other guardians of children ages 5-18,
and is designed to help parents find helpful ways to deal with their children,
find out about community resources, learn about child and adolescent
development, and discuss the stress of daily life. No fees are charged to
families. Tender Lion is located at 1010 Gough Street, 2nd Floor.
Jewish Family and Children's Services
(Parents
Place)
Click Here to See the Website
(415) 359 2454
Parents
Place is the Jewish Family and Children's Services'
(JFCS) resource center that offers a variety of programs for families with
children of all ages. Well-known for its parent education classes and
counseling. 1710 Scott
Street San Francisco, CA.
Developmental
Education for Parents Program (DEPP)
(415) 282 1090
Services are provided at no
charge or on a sliding scale. DEPP is located at 2730 Bryant Street San Francisco, CA.
Golden Gate Regional Center
www.ggrc.org
(415) 546 9222
A variety of services can be found at
their website They are located at 875 Stevenson
Street, 6th floor in San Francisco.
This news is brought to you by:
Rosey Rouhana
Hamilton Family Residences and Emergency Center
Children, Youth, and Volunteer Program Coordinator
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How to Get a Bank Account By Betty and Moniquica
We are Betty, and Moniquica, and we are opening new bank accounts with the One California Bank in Oakland. Hamilton  Family Center's Pathways to Technology Program hooked us up with the accounts, but anyone can get an account at this bank. Also, when you open an account, you get a free financial class!
The One California Bank is located at 1438 Webster St Oakland, CA 94612, near the 12th and 19th St. BART locations in Oakland. Click here to see a mapThis bank will open bank accounts for people who are not allowed to
open bank accounts at other banks, because of problems in the past. Moniquica is really glad to have her new bank account now. It will help her manage her money, and it is much safer than cash. Now that Betty know how much money check cashing places take from your check, she is glad to have a free account. Betty is also excited to have a new budget: budgetting is hard for her family.  Both of us went to one of the free financial education classes, and we learned a lot. Moniquica learned about online banking, and how to save and manage her
money. Now she is ready to write checks, save her money, and avoid
overdrafts. Liza Jager from the One California foundation says,
"Through our financial education classes, participating individuals will learn about personal banking, budget, and money management while having access to a fair banking product that will allow them to save money for their future goals." Betty is glad to know that she can have a free bank account with a free class that was clear and thruough. Betty was able to get all of her questions answered. Here is how to get a bank account and free financial classes at the One California Bank :1. Call or email Andrea Walker 510-663-2253 awalker@onecalfoundation.org- Tell Andrea that you are interested in the bank account and free financial class
2. Schedule a free financial class- Classes are held at the bank in Oakland on Tuesdays. Andrea will scheudule your class with you.
3. Go to the free financial class- You will learn how to:
- Use the One California Bank Website
- Manage your money online
- Pay your bills online
- Save for your future goals
- Make a budget and stick to it
- How to transfer your money online
- How to avoid ATM fees and access free ATM's
4. Open your account!If yo u are intersted in opening a bank account in San Francisco, clic k here to learn more about the Bank on SF program.
This news is brought to you by
Betty and Moniquica
Pathways to Technology
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How to Get A Guard Card
 Security Guards is a growing
profession and these positions are in demand! If you have ever looked into
applying for one of these jobs you will
see that many of them require you to already
have a Guard Card or you must be hired on by the company to receive the
training. With that being said, obtaining a Guard Card can often times
seem puzzling.
Some organizations actually
provide the training without having to be hired
first:
The Nor-Cal Training Academy offers a Guard Card
Training at least once a week. The training costs
$75, accepts cash or check only, and they are located at 2016 Oakdale Avenue (a t
Industrial) in San Francisco. Check out their Guard Card Training schedule click here or
call 415-550-8282 for more information.
McCoy Security offers Guard Card Training every Wednesday from
10:00AM-1:00PM. The training fee is $150 and must be paid by cash or money
order. Their training site is located at
6271 3rd Street (and Ingerson) in San Francisco. For more
information regarding this training, you can call 415-467-1470 Monday- Friday
between 8:00AM-4:00PM and ask for Michelle.
Look ing for free Guard Card
Training? Contact your Welfare to Work worker or PAES worker and they may be
able to set you up with one of these trainings for free!
Free Guard Card trainings are also offered sporadically throughout the
community.
To find out about upcoming
local and free Guard Card Trainings contact any of the One Stop Employment Centers:
Mission
Center
3120 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
or call 415-401-4800
Southeast Center
1800
Oakdale Avenue
San
Francisco, CA 94124,
Civic Center
801 Turk
Street
San
Francisco, CA 94102
or call 415-749-7503
With a Guard Card,
you can work anywhere as a Security Officer!
 This news is brought to you by:Andrea Munger
Hamilton Family Residences and Emergency CenterEmployment Specialist
Case Manager
MyHousing.org thanks the students from the 9th Annual Lasallian Youth Assembly for their artwork for this article. |
The First Avenues Newletter is Now Online
Check out Hamilton Family Center's First Avenues Program June Newsletter Online. Click here to see the latest news from First Avenues, brought to you by MyHousing.org.
This news is brought to you by:
Sergio Samame
Hamilton Family Center
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Past Volumes of the MyHousing.org Bulletin
Volume 2
Volume 1
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Interested in writing an article for the MyHousing.org Bulletin?
Email Megan Owens at mowens@hamiltonfamilycenter.org
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Thank you to authors and readers!
Megan Owens
Hamilton Family Center
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