We will surely make sure to keep you updated on the success of Baby's First Home over the years! Baby's First Home will be quite viable once we receive the initial funding needed to open BFH and establish its sustainability plan. With the capacity to two more units to Baby's First Home, we will have transitional housing that will help fund the rest of the building. With rent and government support combined, we project that Baby's First Home will be roughly %60 self-sustainable.

In terms of advice for others I feel like I could write a book, but I think the main advice I would give is just start implementing your idea. In actually trying to do it you are going to learn so much more than you ever possibly could just thinking about it or talking about it. Network with people in a similar field and they will tell you right away if the idea will work or if it sucks. If they think it will work keep trying to find people who will point out what is wrong with it and if they think it sucks then work with them to improve it. The best thing you can do is try and find some negative feed back because it will make you really think about your idea and what you can improve. Find somebody who thinks in a totally different way than you and debate it until you come to some type of solution. For us, that is how we finally figured out how to develop a sustainable model. You have to be able to bounce back from negative feedback and use that feedback as fuel to improve your project.

You are absolutely right about the key in transitioning young mothers out of homelessness. We need to provide them with a basis of skills, knowledge, and empowerment to build independent lives for themselves and their children. Here is our vision:

BFH intends to hire a full time s licensed social worker with a Master of Social Work to live at the Home and provide counseling for the Home’s residents. New York University’s Silver School of Social Work will provide BFH with unpaid interns who will receive field placement credits. Clients will receive counseling services based on their individual needs with an emphasis on family and social development services, mainly focusing on school, career and lifestyle choices. Each Mother will be expected to attend a weekly individual counseling session and achieve weekly goals, as well as a group counseling session including every Resident in the home.

BFH intends to offer educational and vocational assistance, including health education to the Residents. These services will be provided based on the needs and interests of the Residents. BFH will utilize outside volunteers with expertise in certain educational and vocational topics to come to the home and present weekly workshops. These workshops will include specific classes focusing on topics such as writing a resume, going to a job interview, information on pursuing higher education while parenting, looking for affordable housing in New York City, health and nutrition for mothers and children, and other topics that may benefit the Residents and their families.

What makes us most innovative is our emphasis on women's and youth empowerment. Peer mentoring from NYU and leadership training through Youth Venture will be a huge asset to BFH. We will also take advantage of the many educational and cultural resources that NYC has to offer. Upon completion of the program, we not only want our residents to have received necessary skills, but also the education and cultural awareness necessary to provide them with determination to succeed and strength in character.

Hello,

I know you must feel very lost right now, but everything is going to be just fine. Although Baby's First Home is not opened yet, we are in contact with other residential programs and services that are. We will need more information from you to figure out how to help you in the best way possible. Please email me at araposo@babysfirsthome.org with your name, date of birth, current address, and any other information you might have such as a telephone number, social security, and public assistance number. Through email I will provide you with my number and any other contacts that will be able to help you as soon as possible. Be strong. You are going to be okay.

With love,

Amanda Raposo
Baby's First Home

Bruke,

Thank you for contacting us! As a youth-led organization we need a lot of help, advice, and expertise to accomplish our mission. We see that you have experience in this field and would love the opportunity to meet with you. If you are interested, please contact us by emailing araposo@babysfirsthome.org. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Amanda Raposo
Baby's First Home

Hey Romina,

One of our most challenging and important obstacles in establishing Baby's First Home is the development of a sustainable program. As young entrepreneurs we know that eventually we will move on to other ventures and will only be able to do so if we are confident that Baby's First Home can survive on its own. Although many organizations of our kind rely only on donors, grants, and corporate sponsorship each year, we feel that this is not stable enough. As of now, our most valuable asset is our building. It is a 6 unit space that will be able to house 5 families and one live in house manager. However, we will also be able to add an extra floor. We are going to use this floor as transitional housing that will offer affordable rent to young mothers that already have a financial basis and just need access to services. We will also be renting out space in the basement to the Boro Pregnancy Support Center which is currently located in Flushing, Queens, but will be looking for space in the near future. We have estimated that these combined sources of income will provide us with half of the total annual budget. Eventually, we hope to pursue the possibility of buying another space that we can use as more transitional housing. In doing so, Baby's First Home will be entirely self-sustainable.

If you have any more questions or concerns please let us know! Thank you for your time and interest.

Hey Charles,

Thank you so much for all of your support. We have been working hard to make this mission and dream possible. Just this past summer we received our 501(c)3 tax-exempt status and will spend the upcoming year primarily focused on planning big fundraising events.

1) Baby's First Home will be a structured 2 year program for each accepted resident. Upon entering Baby's First Home. there will be individualized program goals set for each young woman depending on her current situation. By the end of two years each resident must have established some basis of financial savings, have pursued an educational or vocational tract, and have made plans for future housing. As a residential program, our job is to provide our young women with all the resources needed to reach both program and personal goals. Progress will be reviewed each week and if certain criteria are not met, then that resident's placement will be reevaluated. We have found that two years provides ample time to build the independent and stable lifestyle that each resident will be striving for. However, we will continue to support these women as long as they are making an effort and are willing to receive our help.

2) Our building is currently occupied by tenants who will continue to live there until we are financially stable to pursue Baby's First Home. In order to establish a sustainable and dynamic program, we feel it is important to focus its start-up goals, in their entirety, rather than rushing into the opening of Baby's First Home. The programs most vital components are the many in-home services and workshops it will offer, all of which will only be possible when the building is fully open for remodeling. We also value the sense of community that will be established in bringing the residents in together. We understand that to receive media attention there must be action present and hope that with our fundraising events we will be able to provide it.