Parenting Por Vida
Program Description: Parenting Por Vida has a long history of strengthening families by investing in low-income, primarily teen and young adult parents residing in central and south Phoenix. Presently, 42% of young children in the primarily Latino communities served by the program live in poverty. Since young parental age and poverty are risk factors for child abuse and neglect, Parenting Por Vida's participants are at an elevated risk of child welfare system involvement and having children removed from their care. In fact, most program participants reside in Neighborhood Ministries’ zip code, 85009, which is a nationally recognized at-risk zip code identified by the Arizona Department of Child Safety as having the third highest number of children removed from their homes due to child abuse/neglect.
To combat this, Parenting Por Vida provides comprehensive, evidence-based parenting services that improve family functioning. This includes parenting classes, support groups, and parent-child bonding activities. With a focus on supporting improved parental mental health and capacity, the program is expanding in 2023 to better promote the optimal development, learning, and health of young children in our community.
When Parenting Por Vida (originally called Moms' Place) originated in 2004, Neighborhood Ministries was serving a lot of teen moms (some as young as 14) and witnessing a lot of children from our underserved community being placed in foster care. Since then, Parenting Por Vida has resulted in an increased understanding of child development, bonding and attachment, play as learning, and communication. It has increased positive interactions between parents and children and equipped parents to be their children’s first and most influential teachers. The result is healthier life choices and ultimately healthier families and communities that span generations. We look forward to continuing this work in 2023 as Parenting Por Vida grows and evolves to better serve at-risk families.
For more information, contact Cassandra cassandra.carranza@nmphx.com