Provides childbirth education, newborn care classes, safe sleep workshop, breastfeeding workshop/support, and other classes which vary by season.

Parenting Groups and Classes offered at Mother and Child Education Center

Mutual support groups for parents who share a common characteristic or circumstance such as being single parents, dual career parents, multiple birth parents, parents with children who are out of control, or parents of children with disabilities, who come together for educational and social purposes as well as for mutual support. Meeting formats may include in-person, telephone or Internet options.

Parent Support Groups

Programs that teach skills that enable parents to deal constructively and consistently with a broad spectrum of child rearing problems which may include sibling rivalry; school behavior and performance; poor self-esteem; shyness; drug use; sexual promiscuity; and the whole range of negative, acting-out behaviors including whining, temper tantrums, disobedience, insolence and destructiveness. Some parenting skills development programs utilize a step-by-step approach for managing specific problems and may incorporate application at home of techniques that were discussed and practiced in the classroom setting. Other programs may offer participatory family workshops which provide opportunities for parents and children to learn and practice methods for dealing with one another under the guidance of a trained facilitator. Most training programs teach the parent a particular way of talking and relating to their children that reinforces positive behaviors and communication and decreases negative behaviors while supporting the development of a relationship that is built on fairness, mutual caring and respect.

Parenting Skills Classes

Programs that provide information and instruction concerning appropriate techniques for nursing an infant for expectant parents or new mothers.

Breastfeeding Support Programs

Programs that offer classes or other educational experiences which prepare prospective mothers and their birth partners emotionally and physically for the labor and birth process. Topics covered include anatomy and physiology of birth, relaxation and breathing techniques, different types of labors, birthing/delivery options and postpartum care. Also included are programs that prepare other members of the family (grandparents and siblings) for the arrival of a new family member.

Childbirth Education

Programs that provide educational workshops, printed materials, Internet website information or other types of resources for individuals, families, business owners and others that deal with the essentials of money management, asset building and financial independence. A wide variety of money management issues may be addressed including banking services, consumer credit lending, debt consolidation/repayment, bankruptcy, small business development, retirement planning, investment management, savings, risk management, tax and estate law and other similar topics.

Financial Literacy Training

Programs that provide a wide variety of social services that are designed to support the healthy development of families, improve family interaction skills and help fragile families to resolve their problems at a pre-crisis stage before they become unmanageable.  Services may be center-based or provided on an outreach basis to families who are initially reluctant to seek support and generally target the specific needs of a particular community.  Included may be self-sufficiency programs which help families break the cycle of poverty by addressing the barriers to self-sufficiency; early child development and school success programs; programs which address the needs of teen parents; programs which target parents at risk for becoming abusive; programs for families with children who have special developmental needs and programs that focus on the maternal and child health care needs of first-time, expectant women whose babies are at high risk for low birth weight and infant mortality.

Family Resource Centers/Outreach

Programs that provide regularly scheduled opportunities for children to engage in supervised play with one another.

Children's Play Groups

Mutual support groups whose members are pregnant individuals or individuals who have had difficulties in areas relating to family planning, pregnancy and childbirth. Included are groups for individuals who are pregnant for the first time, individuals who are contemplating a home birth, breastfeeding individuals, families making decisions relating to birth control, individuals who have had a cesarean birth, who are at high risk for a problem pregnancy and parents of premature or high-risk infants. The groups meet in-person, by telephone or via the Internet; and provide an opportunity for participants to share their experience, strengths and hopes, understand their relationships and work through related emotions.

Pregnancy/Childbirth Support Groups

Bridgeview Resource Center is a community building that houses multiple services through partnering agencies, including housing, employment, financial management, food, educational, health, aging and disability, and crisis services. The following agencies offer services on site: Vancouver Housing Authority, Council for the Homeless, WorkSource, Partners in Career, Goodwill Job Connections, Clark County Food Bank, Rivermark Community Credit Union, Save First Financial Wellness, Ways to Work, Columbia River Mental Health Services, The National Alliance on Mental Health, Free Clinic of Southwest Washington, Clark College, Educational Service District 112, Vancouver Public Schools, Evergreen Public Schools, Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Washington, Friends of the Children, Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities, and YWCA/SafeChoice.

Community Resources and Services offered by Vancouver Housing Authority at Bridgeview Resource Center

Bridgeview Resource Center is a community building that houses multiple services through partnering agencies, including housing, employment, financial management, food, educational, health, aging and disability, and crisis services.

Programs that provide activities for people who want to improve their strength, flexibility, endurance, muscle tone, reflexes, cardiovascular health and/or other aspects of physical functioning.

Physical Fitness

Programs that provide or arrange for financing for individuals who want to lease, purchase or repair an automobile or other means of transportation. Included are programs that provide or arrange for low interest or interest free loans as well as those that provide access to loans at market rates.

Automobile Loans

One-stop centers that provide an array of employment and training services in a convenient, easily accessible location. Services may include job counseling, testing and assessment; resume preparation assistance, interview training and other prejob guidance services; job matching and referral; unemployment insurance and job registration; labor market and career information; information on financial aid for education and training; and referral for job training, transportation, child care, personal and financial counseling, health care and other human services resources in the community.

Comprehensive Job Assistance Centers

Programs that provide instruction, demonstrations and special programs in the culinary arts for individuals of all ages who want to become proficient in the selection and preparation of any of a number dishes that are representative of different cuisines. Included are programs aimed at teaching low income people how to cook nutritious meals from fresh ingredients at a cost much cheaper than pre-packaged meals.

Cooking Classes

Programs that offer individual and/or group sessions which assist participants to understand how their lifestyle impacts their physical and mental health and to develop personal practices that enhance their total well-being. Wellness programs are holistic and combine a variety of components which may include a general physical examination that is tailored to the individual's needs; an evaluation of the person's pattern of exercise, eating habits, sources of stress and other lifestyle elements that are potential risk factors; and the development and implementation of an individualized plan for prevention management and early intervention to optimize health and performance which may include physical fitness sessions, nutrition counseling, stress reduction techniques, biofeedback, practice in assuming responsibility for one's choices, and other specific measures for avoiding physical and mental health conditions.

Wellness Programs

Mental health agencies, counseling centers and independent, peer-run organizations that offer, as a component of their programming, the services of peer support providers with "lived experience" who have been trained and certified to work with individuals experiencing mental health concerns or psychological trauma. Peer support specialists work with individuals as they develop and implement a personal recovery plan, which can also serve as a contract for engagement, and function as a complement to traditional clinical care. Tasks may include assisting their peers in articulating their goals for recovery and learning and practicing new skills, helping them monitor their progress, supporting them in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self help strategies based on their own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. Peer support services are an evidence-based mental health model of care that is recognized by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as an important component in the delivery of effective treatment.

Peer Mental Health Support Services

Programs that provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn, become competitive in and enjoy the organized recreational activity, sport or game of their choice. These programs may be offered by local clubs devoted to a particular activity or sport; may provide individual or team coaching assistance or instruction, access to equipment and facilities, and uniforms, if necessary; and may sponsor or make arrangements for athletes to participate in amateur competitions, usually at the local, regional or state level, and provide officials for games. These events are generally for the enjoyment of the athletes and are not at a high enough competitive level to be considered spectator sports.

Recreational Activities/Sports

Programs that offer preventive dental care including professional teeth cleaning and information about the proper daily self-care of the teeth to remove plaque, food and other residue that is associated with periodontal disease and tooth decay.

Dental Hygiene

Consumer-based, community-controlled, nonprofit outpatient facilities that provide basic health care including physical examinations, immunizations, family planning, nutrition assistance and diagnosis and treatment of common ailments for low income people, people who are homeless or uninsured/underinsured or other medically underserved populations that are geographically, economically and culturally challenged. Services are generally provided on an ability-to-pay basis. In the U.S., most community clinics are part of the network of Federally Qualified Health Centers, and many are known as "free clinics".

Community Clinics

Programs that provide door-to-door (or curb-to-curb) transportation to help families who meet eligibility guidelines get their children to and from child care or children's activities when they are unable to do so on their own.

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Parenting Groups and Classes offered at Mother and Child Education Center

Community Resources and Services offered by Vancouver Housing Authority at Bridgeview Resource Center