Mission
To be the leading provider of vital health, education and employment services to families, children and seniors living in low-income housing communities. Our goal is to help keep family members employed, children in school, and seniors active.
Vision
Project Access envisions that all residents of affordable housing communities have the opportunity to achieve self-sufficiency and maximize their full potential.
History
What is Project Access?
Project Access is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded in 1999. The seniors and families served by Project Access are “low-income”– that is, with incomes at or below 60% of the area median; and a substantial number are “very low-income” – often with incomes below $10,000 per year. Project Access runs resource centers at more than 45 low-income properties throughout California and provided direct services to more than 10,000 people in need in 2011.
The Project Access Approach...
Project Access works with affordable housing developers/owners in a partial fee-for-service relationship to bring free services to residents and in some cases, those living within the overall community. This partial financial commitment and in-kind donation of space allows Project Access to bring additional resources together to develop comprehensive programs at our Resource Centers. Project Access’ bilingual Service Coordinators offer a variety of programs and services to address individual and community needs, such as:
HEALTH
Health & Nutrition Programs
Health Insurance Application Assistance
Prenatal & Maternal Education
Child & Family Safety
Onsite Community Health Fairs
EDUCATION FOR YOUTH
School Readiness for Preschool-Age Children
After-School Tutoring & Enrichment Programs for Youth
Teen Programs
INDEPENDENT LIVING FOR SENIORS
Transportation Assistance
Social & Recreational Activities
CAPACITY BUILDING FOR ADULTS
Employment Readiness & Job Search Assistance
Financial Literacy & Self-Sufficiency
Parenting Education
English as a Second Language (ESL)
TECHNOLOGY
Computer Access & Training
OTHER SERVICES
Information & Referral to Offsite Services
Community-Building Events
Translation & Interpretation
Case Management
Evaluating Success
We consistently measure our core programs: after-school, health, capacity building for adults and senior socialization. New initiatives are also evaluated such as the financial capability and asset building program for program effectiveness. We evaluate programs in several ways. First, we track unduplicated participation in programs through a database to understand our reach. We then measure the impact of services on those that participate using a variety of tools including pre and post-tests, observational tools, self-report surveys, report cards and community wide surveys. Surveys indicate how our programs and services have changed residents’ lives as a result of learned skills, behaviors, or values. Pre and post-tests and report cards measure skills and knowledge. Annually, we collect and analyze data to compose the social impact report, which a culmination of our yearly outcomes. We then use this data to formulate a best practices plan for program improvement.