TotalChild is making a difference in C.R.

By Diane Ramsey

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As I drive through the streets of Wellington Heights, noticing houses being renovated and observing kids playing in their yards, I can't help but think of the first meeting five years ago, when Jim Ernst and my fellow Four Oaks board members dreamed up the idea of TotalChild.

As we analyzed all the obstacles a child served by Four Oaks must hurdle to be successful, the board realized that the strides a child made with behavioral issues and family problems were being curtailed when the family was struggling to meet their most basic needs.

Having a home that was habitable and a neighborhood in which it was safe for children to play topped the list of unmet needs.

And, Wellington Heights was the first neighborhood the board felt was important to address. A large number of children served by Four Oaks reside in this beautiful neighborhood of hardworking people, dotted with decaying homes, reported drug dealers and increasing crime problems.

The Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association, the Affordable Housing Network Inc. and Four Oaks are working to transform Wellington Heights into a safe place where families can afford to live and want to live - all in order for children to be successful.

Everyone involved in the TotalChild program understands that the child will only make long-term gains if the family finds stability and learns skills that will sustain their lives, and housing is one piece of that stability puzzle. Through AHNI, these families will have rent-to-own opportunities in renovated homes.

AHNI owns 32 properties within the 18-block area of Wellington Heights. The organization identified the most distressed properties and the ones most frequently visited by police. AHNI owns 15 of the top 30 houses on the police-call list.

AHNI also manages 23 additional properties in the neighborhood, thanks to a successful business owner and former Wellington Heights resident, Tim Terry.

Those of us involved in the Wellington Heights Initiative highly commend Tim for purchasing properties to turn over to AHNI. And, we thank him not only for his support of this neighborhood initiative, but for his passion for the TotalChild program.

TotalChild is based on the idea that when children hurdle all obstacles to success, then families, homes, neighborhoods and communities become stronger. Instead of a silo approach, where one social service agency treats one of the child's problems with a short-term solution and another agency treats the same child one time to address another problem, TotalChild takes a deeper, broader and long-term approach.

TotalChild monitors and addresses the four main factors that can negatively impact a child's life: childhood basic needs, education and work, family and community.

I am extremely encouraged to see the progress that has been made so far through the TotalChild program. In just one year, TotalChild has made more than 100 referrals to other agencies in order to help children and their families tackle those risks that could stand in their way of a bright future. The excitement that continues to grow throughout the community as the program continues to progress is uplifting.

In the next several months, I foresee more collaborators and partners coming forward to make TotalChild even more successful.

In the next several years, I see more neighborhood associations coming forward as partners to revitalize their communities. In the end, we are all better for it.

I hope that others acknowledge what Tim Terry has done for the Wellington Heights Initiative and become inspired to follow in his footsteps.

I am confident that Four Oaks will continue to find innovative ways to provide children with the resources required to hurdle all obstacles to success.

Diane Ramsey is the outgoing chairwoman of Four Oaks board of directors, Cedar Rapids. Four Oaks provides services for children and families; online at www.fouroaks.org. Comments: dhramsey@rockwellcollins.com