110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - magazine - Index

BLOOM I BY DON HUNTINGTON I PHOTOS BY RUSSELL BYRNE
BIG TOBACCO’S
GOOD DEED
I spoke with Mandy Bladl, who is the Program
Director for the Delta First 5 Center, and with
Adrienne Carew, who is the VP of Marketing for
the Mount Diablo Region YMCA. The YMCA operates
the First 5 facility as part of its Children and
Family Services, plus it also offers pre-school and
childcare services.
The Delta First 5 Center is run under the auspices
of the Y but receives funding from California grant
money mandated by Prop 10, the 1998 voter initiative
calling for a percentage of tobacco tax sales to
be set aside for social development purposes. The
First 5 Contra Costa Children and Families
Commission allocates the tobacco tax locally. Tracy
Irwin, the Commission’s Public Affairs Manager, told
me that they will allocate $300,000 to the Delta
First 5 Center this year.
Brentwood’s Delta First 5 is one of five centers in
Contra Costa County — the only ones in the state.
The other four centers are in Antioch, Bay Point,
Concord, and San Pablo. The centers are one of ten
county funding strategies that receives funding
from California grant money mandated by Prop 10,
the 1998 voter initiative calling for a fifty cent tax on
tobacco products to support the healthy development
of young children.
The goal of the centers is to provide resources for
families with children below age five — hence the
name “First 5” — plus expectant mothers.
68 www.110mag.com September/October 2008
THE FIRST 5 CENTERS PROVIDE A POSITIVE
COUNTERPOINT TO THE SOCIAL ILLS THAT
SMOKING CREATES.
Mandy oversees the center in downtown
Brentwood. “We provide programs to help parents
nurture and support their children,” Mandy said, “so
they grow up ‘healthy, happy, and learning.’”
“We’re building relationships between parent
and child.” Elements of the First 5 program fall
into four categories:
• Parent Education
• Early Learning
• Family Literacy
• Tobacco Education
The program is creating some amazing outcomes.
“Some families have moved three children
through the entire process,” Mandy said, “and
they are delighted with the quality of the support
they have received.”
Mandy said, for example, that one area couple
adopted two infant Russian children and brought
them into the center, which provided help every
step of the way. The parents gave witness to the
amazing progress of their children in language
development and improved socialization skills.
“We gave the mother resources to replicate in her
own home what we were doing at the center,”
Mandy said.
The center is providing young parents with
opportunities to network with other families, plus
providing education and other resources that
young families need.
The Delta First 5 Center has been serving
Brentwood parents for nearly five years. “Our
center provides an amazing resource for the
community,” Mandy said. “But we’re too much of
a secret. More families should be accessing our
services.” The First 5 Centers provide all the activities
free of charge to recipients.
The activities of the Delta First 5 Center fit handin-glove
with the mission of the YMCA. “The Y has
an open-door policy,” Adrienne said. “We customize
our program and things to get people involved at
the level of their need.” Adrienne said that the Y is
the county’s largest provider of childcare.
Besides Delta First 5, Adrienne said that other
projects include Youth Sports, Senior Programs,
Health & Fitness, and Summer Camp. “We feel
strongly that we really serve to give local families a
head-start,” Adrienne said. “The center is the
embodiment of our goal to build strong kids, strong
families, and strong communities.”
Mandy added, “Our family-based services,
therefore, provide a way to change the world
forever for good.”
°
For more information go to www.firstfivecc.org,
www.mdrymca.org, call 925-516-3880, send email to
deltafirst5@mdrymca.org, or visit 760 First Street,
Brentwood. Send any comments on the article to
editors@110mag.com.