The smiles from caregivers and toddlers beamed light inside the Rise Early Learning and Family Support Center on a rainy Tuesday, celebrating a grand opening of the innovative initiative in Upton/Druid Heights.
A child being read to at the Rise Early Learning and Family Support Center.
“Rise reflects a new model by making the success of our caregivers and children inseparable,” said Wendy Shaia, EdD, MSW ’01, clinical professor and executive director of the UMSSW Center for Restorative Change, during the May 13 celebration. “We believe that when one member succeeds, the entire family system succeeds.”
Across two floors at 940 Madison Ave., families will find everything that they need to receive support for caregivers and their children. Early childhood educators will spend time with children from birth to 4 years old in classrooms while their parents or caregivers can access resources, supplies, food, classes, and rooms to unwind in after a busy day. In other areas, families with teens can receive guidance and assistance. Expecting moms and soon-to-be fathers can learn how to navigate pregnancy and the first months of their newborn’s life during classes.
That’s just a snippet of Rise’s pioneering approach as a family support center unlike any other in Maryland thanks to the School of Social Work. Families will not find an academic social work program operating a family support center like this in the state, creating a wraparound approach at no cost to the families.
Rise Up
Rise includes three primary programs:
- which works to ensure good health for parents and that children are born healthy and developing well in every area possible.
- collaborates with families and children from birth to 48 months to support child and family development.
- Family Connections Baltimore works with families and children from preschool through teenage years to achieve safety, well-being, and stability.
The resources and opportunities don’t stop there. Through partners who offer programming and services on site, families have access to workforce development, benefits screening, GED prep classes, health screenings, housing assistance, and more.
Other partners include: , , , and the .
The provided funds for a playground at the center.
is now housed inside the space, which offers a range of free legal services, holistic support, health care management, and mental health services tailored to survivors of crime — all in one place.
The University of Maryland School of Nursing also provides support for health screenings.
For Rise families like Maleena Brockington’s, the resources offered have helped tremendously. Having experienced homelessness, she has a safe space in Rise where while her child learns, she’s able to plan for stable housing.
“I've been able to learn about Cash Campaign and how to budget so when housing does come available, knowing how to make sure I'm prepared financially,” Brockington said.
Brockington said she has seen the difference it’s made in her son, too, whose gone from throwing tantrums to being excited to come to Rise.
“For me that warms my heart because he feels the love, he feels the connection just as much as I do,” she said.
University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, praised the School of Social Work for leading a mission-driven approach to transforming communities through education and care.
“This is an example of walking the walk,” Jarrell said. “And every time I come over here, we've learned so much about what you're doing with the community, in the community as part of the community, and particularly around early childhood. And it's something that I as a surgeon, never knew a whole lot about until I've learned it from all of you of just how important that is.”
Funded by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and supported through the Maryland Family Network, Rise carries forward the vision of UMSSW’s initiative, which began in 2009 to improve outcomes for children and families in West Baltimore. The 2018 U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods grant helped bring Rise to life, and the first year has already made an impact.
UMSSW Dean Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, said the center fulfills a longstanding commitment to stay rooted in the Upton/Druid Heights community beyond the life of Promise Heights. The federal funding for Promise Heights sunsets this year.
“We wanted to stay committed to the community, and we wanted to stay and have a footprint here so that the community could still be engaged and part of the process,” Postmus said.
UMSSW and Rise welcome the opportunity to partner to continue to provide food, supplies, and programming for these families. Make a to Rise or donate items from its
A New Model for Maryland
Furthering that vision is where MSDE steps in, with the state’s multiyear plan to fund more early childhood education programs.
“Research is clear — a multigenerational approach benefits everyone, not just those who are participating,” said Assistant State Superintendent Sarah Neville-Morgan, MS. “And we all know that starting early creates the highest return on investment. The more you invest in those babies, even prenatally, the stronger and the better the outcomes are.”
MSDE sees Rise as a model that could be recreated across Maryland.
“I truly believe that the three-pronged approach used here at Rise would be a model of what we can replicate across the state when expanding Patty Center Family Support Services,” said Vanessa Jones, MEd, director of Family Support Services and Head Start Collaboration at MSDE.
Another parent, Shaniqua Roberson, shared how Rise’s investment in her helped her lift her spirits and created stability with child care, housing assistance, and bonding activities with fellow parents.
“I became a different person coming here,” she said. “I love coming down here.”
That wraparound support is what makes Rise unique.
Family Connections Baltimore helps families access immediate help, whether it’s access to cell phone service or rental assistance, while building a plan to stabilize their life.
“We want to have a conversation,” Family Connections Baltimore Director LaShonda Godwin MSW, LCSW-C, said. “We want to know how life is really impacting you. How are these stressors really impacting you?”
Those conversations extend beyond the walls of Rise.
“We are in the community. We set up on corners. We have conversations, we go to homes, we have real conversations. We catch buses with people to appointments. We sit and just let folks cry,” said Rise Director Tyrone L. Roper, MSW.
Yes, Rise is there for the dark days, too, knowing that there are sunnier days ahead thanks to the families’ commitment for their futures.
“It’s a good day for Rise,” said Stacey Stephens, MSW, LCSW-C, clinical assistant professor and director of B’more for Healthy Babies Upton/Druid Heights. “It’s a good day to rise in Baltimore. In West Baltimore.”