On the Job Training
Cortez Program Helps Moms, Dads Learn the Ropes
Three kids under 3, no husband, no job and no friends in a new town. Heather Heppler, 22, acknowledges she wasn't exactly in the running for Mother of the Year when she walked through the door at the Piñon Project Family Resource Center in Cortez last November.
"Honestly, they said I had to take the parenting class in order to get on TANF," says Heppler, referring to the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. "I didn't know what I was getting into until I got there. And it's been amazing. They helped me to cope with my divorce and they got me back into taking care of my kids, because I was really in a depression."
The parenting classes are among 19 programs offered by the Cortez nonprofit, which also provides child care, health screenings, health care advocacy, employment training, youth leadership training, and nutrition education and assistance. Formed in the early 1990s, Piñon is focused on opening doors to healthier futures for families and especially their children.
"We're able to meet a lot of family needs – anything from providing child care to helping them find a job," says Diana Buza, executive director of the organization. "We have a nice flow-through. When people walk in for a health screening, they can see one of our family advocates about wrap-around services. If someone comes in because they don't have enough money for rent next month, during our screening we can say, 'I see you don't have health insurance. Can we direct you to our health advocate?'"
Health advocacy is a primary component of Piñon's day-to-day success. Family health advocate Steve Brace was formerly a hospital social worker. "He has a huge amount of knowledge about what doctors are taking what insurance, and he has great contacts in the medical community," Buza says. "He knows how to fill out the forms. And he helps families to understand what they're eligible for because the wordage can be pretty tough to figure out."
Finding dental care in the remote Four Corners area is always a challenge for Piñon clients. Brace recently secured funding for one woman in her 20s whose dental health was so poor she had to have all her teeth pulled. He also has found funds to help families travel to pediatric dental clinics in Grand Junction.
One of Piñon's most successful offerings, the 10-year-old Parents as Teachers program, helps parents who are struggling to help their children. It combines home visits by a child development specialist with a monthly "Mom's Night Out" when all participants get together for the evening for dinner and some group instruction – with free baby-sitting.
"They receive information on nutrition, on child development, on family support services and some literacy information to help them become better parents and to understand and recognize milestones in their child's development," Buza says.
Heppler views it as a lifeline.
"It helps me meet other new moms," she says. "I don't have a lot of friends because I just moved here.It's nice to meet other moms who have kids in the same situation as mine. And it's good to hang out with adults rather than spending 24/7 with the kids. That's how my life was. I didn't have anybody. Now I'm hanging out with people from Piñon and I love it."
- The Pinon Project featured in The Colorado Health Foundation's newsletter
