Tools for Life Management

This is an intensive program of mentoring and monitoring designed to help those entering apartment living or those who are interested in the purchase of a house at the expiration of their lease. 

 

Please Note: It is only offered on properties where The Winter Center is the managing agent of an apartment complex or town-home group.  The program is specifically tailored to the individual or family and includes the following barrier reduction components:

General Transportation                        Legal Issues
Child Care                                                     ADD/AHD
Illness or illness of child                        Learning Disorders
Lack of health insurance                       Medication(s) needed
Housing issues                                             Head Lice
Utility assistance                                     Issues with child’s other parent
Lack of food                                                   Domestic violence in the home
Lack of clothing                                          Divorce or separation issues
Alcohol and drug issues                         Family member with serious illness
Pregnancy                                                     Recent loss of family member
Dental issues                                               Problems in relationship with family
Optical issues                                              Problems in relationship with partner

Additionally, we offer: educational and employment services, money management and investment planning, I.D.A.’s, checking and savings accounts and relationship counseling services.

 

Neighbor-2-Neighbor

 

We have had great success with our neighbor-2-neighbor communication program.     Sometimes it takes a little training to be a good neighbor.  This program is designed to ensure communication and understanding in a world where busy lives don’t always allow for opportunities to connect…until something goes WRONG!

 

Open communication is at the very heart of being a good neighbor!  In the majority of cases where the program is utilized, the reports have been that once folk know and more fully understand the situation(s) of their neighbors, solutions are right around the corner. Neighbors in the program utilize a standardized form and have access to negotiators, mediators and arbitration.   Most of the time, the form affords the necessary communication without the need of a third party. 

 Homeless Hoopties

Since 2005 this service has paired up 'well loved' donated vehicles (in need of minimal repair) with folk in need of 'wheels'. We fix 'em up and send them to their new homes in working condition (character dents and dings included.)  Cars, trucks and even a handicapped-accessible van and a mobile home have made found new homes through this program.  Recipients pay one dollar and must provide evidence of a valid driver’s license and proof of vehicular insurance.  Additional finical assistance is also available in targeted transportation areas.   Participants can not sell or trade these vehicles without written approval from the Winter Center board of directors.

 

JoyJob (and JoyJob Silver)

Providing training, leading to certification, in a number of areas; seeding and nurturing new small-businesses and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

JoyJob Silver.  The senior program was started in the spring of 2003.  We partnered with O.K.E.P. (the Older Kansas Employment Program) and started offering computer and employment classes for folk over 55.  Seniors have so much to offer employers.  Their wisdom and tenacity; their attention to detail and perfect attendance is of ‘role model’ quality.  Some have chosen to start a home business and so entrepreneur and E-Bay classes were added in 2006.  We are thrilled to bridge training gaps and proud of the many successes we have witnessed. 

 

JoyJob  We started this program to give career opportunities to  those under the age of 55 who were ‘stuck in a job’. By partnering educators and trainers with Community Colleges, local employers and employment services, the Society for Human Resource Management, the national INVEST program and the Kansas Association of Independent Insurers, participants had a new world of vocational options. 

 

In 2004, we added a 12 week entrepreneur training program. In 2005, Winter Center partnered with programs targeting offender re-entry and individuals in need of social reconnection (post-incarceration).   Our lead partner is the Residential Center in Gardener, a part of the Johnson County Community Corrections Department. The average age of residents is 23. This correctional facility is one of two community correctional facilities in the state. Approximately 95% of the residents work within the community and then return to the Residential facility each evening. Winter Center will expand our computer training program to offer an evening class for residents. The class will provide job skill development and resources for further workforce development.

 

­­­­­­­­­­­Finishing School

This program is designed to target juvenile participants from home-school, foster-care, or supervised living backgrounds.  Youth in the care of grandparents also qualify.

Its goals are to remove life-barriers and expose and integrate participants to leadership roles in their community.  It is an intense program of high school or G.E.D. education, vocational/technical training, internship, employment, community college concordance classes, leadership-development coaching and community service participation. 

 

There is a mentoring team assigned to each participant which consists of:

 

A Restorative Mentor          

An Advocating Social Worker        

A Workforce Development Specialist  

An Educational Consultant                                                             

 

This team works closely with the participants and their parents or guardians and/or reporting officers to ensure participants are successful in the planning and achievement of their life goals.

 

DueOver

This program assists those affected by domestic violence who feel ready for a fresh start! It provides practical short-term services like temporary housing, mail and email forwarding and subsidized cell phone service.  For the long term, it offers G.E.D., vocational and skills training. It also 'gifts' participants with a free computer and training on how to use it!

 

Year to date for 2007, we have assisted 27 folk who were ready for a fresh start.

 

Soul Food

More and more people face a diet filled with health-based restrictions. More and more people face a diet filled with health-based restrictions.  Sometimes the list of what they can eat is pretty small and the cost of healthy food is very high!  This combination is a weight on the very soul of those who are forced to choose between the health of their budget and the health of their bodies.  Our Soul Food programs combine the generous donations of health food stores and other retailers with the surplus and gleanings of local growers. This gets healthy food on pantry shelves for little or no cost to the participants.  Additionally, we work to get ‘good deals’ by splitting the cost on supplemental protein, like whole-hog sausage and whole-cow burger. 

 Soul Food Delivery Each month, participants receive a large denim canteen bag filled with items customized to the special needs of their diet.  The bags are “picked up empty and delivered full” by volunteers who help with meal planning and other types of assistance.

Soul Food Larders are established ‘on-site’ with participating local non-profit agencies and apartment complexes.  This is designed to provide a ‘community store’ atmosphere rather than that of the traditional ‘food bank’.  Participants can bring food to swap, bring in excess food to donate or just ‘help themselves’ to the type of food that their dietary needs dictate.

 In 2006, we served 99 participants. We are currently serving 34 households in 3 counties.