Project Restoration
Our objective is to address the following areas in a creative, comprehensive, long-term approach.
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Statement of Need for Concept
According to Cityratings.com the average salary earned in New Jersey is $39,157.61. This annual income translates into what we believe to be the minimum salary a family can earn to live in the northeast in general, and in northern New Jersey in particular. The 39k income translates to pennies above $20.00 per hour.
A number of well-intentioned programs in our geographical area offer programs to assist their clients with employment opportunities and various programs leading to employment. However, the unskilled jobs that are accessed though this process most often lead to jobs that will pay $9 to $13 per hour rather than the estimated $20+ needed to facilitate a decent and acceptable lifestyle in our geographical area. In our estimation, the aforementioned programs, although there intentions are noble, they may be setting that individual and his/her family up for false hope and foreseeable failure.
The Urban Life Counseling Center was formed around the need to provide quality care and treatment for individuals and families living in urban cities throughout the state of New Jersey. It is the desire of the Urban Counseling Center Board of Trustees to be able to provide the same services that families who have private insurance receive, to those persons in the community who are either indigent or are earning very low to low incomes.
It has been the experience of the organizational founders, that a large number of individuals in our local urban cities have similar demographics and dilemmas . For example if we were to create a composite of the urban city very low-to-low income individuals we would see a common theme:
• Very low to low income
• Under/Unemployed
• 60% No H/S Diploma, GED or Equivalent
• No Career Direction
• Age 18-40
• Minority
• Male/Female
• Addictive Behaviors Exhibited
• Need for decent & affordable housing
• In need of Life Skills Training
• In need of Financial Literacy Training
• Criminal Records
• Loss/Suspension of Driving Privileges
• In need of Social Responsibility Training
• In need of a Spiritual Connection
The above-illustrated composite of a large portion of today's urban city resident has prompted Urban Life Counseling to come up with a more holistic approach to treatment. Often times the people who experience many of the conditions on our profile list above, become long term and extremely expensive financial burden on taxpayers. Most of our urban areas are already serving these people in active clients status through various agencies, i.e., DYFS, Work First, SSI, Welfare, SAi, and many others too numerous to name.
Urban Life Counseling ascribes to the philosophy that behavioral patterns such as drug and alcohol additions are often symptomatic of other mental health conditions . Unfortunately when these clients are evaluated many times it is discovered that the client is suffering from co-occurrence issues as well, and because of the program funding or re-imbursement plan only the addictions symptoms are treated and the other goes untreated.
Therefore, it is our intent in our pilot program, entitled "Project Restoration" to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of each program candidate and to prescribe a rigorous treatment plan to address the client's mental health needs as well as, their career, housing and life skill requirements.
A number of well-intentioned programs in our geographical area offer programs to assist their clients with employment opportunities and various programs leading to employment. However, the unskilled jobs that are accessed though this process most often lead to jobs that will pay $9 to $13 per hour rather than the estimated $20+ needed to facilitate a decent and acceptable lifestyle in our geographical area. In our estimation, the aforementioned programs, although there intentions are noble, they may be setting that individual and his/her family up for false hope and foreseeable failure.
The Urban Life Counseling Center was formed around the need to provide quality care and treatment for individuals and families living in urban cities throughout the state of New Jersey. It is the desire of the Urban Counseling Center Board of Trustees to be able to provide the same services that families who have private insurance receive, to those persons in the community who are either indigent or are earning very low to low incomes.
It has been the experience of the organizational founders, that a large number of individuals in our local urban cities have similar demographics and dilemmas . For example if we were to create a composite of the urban city very low-to-low income individuals we would see a common theme:
• Very low to low income
• Under/Unemployed
• 60% No H/S Diploma, GED or Equivalent
• No Career Direction
• Age 18-40
• Minority
• Male/Female
• Addictive Behaviors Exhibited
• Need for decent & affordable housing
• In need of Life Skills Training
• In need of Financial Literacy Training
• Criminal Records
• Loss/Suspension of Driving Privileges
• In need of Social Responsibility Training
• In need of a Spiritual Connection
The above-illustrated composite of a large portion of today's urban city resident has prompted Urban Life Counseling to come up with a more holistic approach to treatment. Often times the people who experience many of the conditions on our profile list above, become long term and extremely expensive financial burden on taxpayers. Most of our urban areas are already serving these people in active clients status through various agencies, i.e., DYFS, Work First, SSI, Welfare, SAi, and many others too numerous to name.
Urban Life Counseling ascribes to the philosophy that behavioral patterns such as drug and alcohol additions are often symptomatic of other mental health conditions . Unfortunately when these clients are evaluated many times it is discovered that the client is suffering from co-occurrence issues as well, and because of the program funding or re-imbursement plan only the addictions symptoms are treated and the other goes untreated.
Therefore, it is our intent in our pilot program, entitled "Project Restoration" to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of each program candidate and to prescribe a rigorous treatment plan to address the client's mental health needs as well as, their career, housing and life skill requirements.