American Canyon and other south county residents now have a Family Resource Center at the Napa Junction Magnet School campus on 500 Eucalyptus Drive.
This Family Resource Center is the result of a collaboration between the Napa Valley Unified School District, Napa Valley Education Foundation, On the Move and the city of American Canyon. Napa Valley Vintners invested more than $1 million to build the center.
Based in Napa, On the Move’s mission is to develop young people as leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities in which they live and work. On fhe Move works with established community partners to focus on the safety and inclusion of all people.
“American Canyon is a diverse community,” said Susana Garcia, On the Move program director for the Napa Junction Family Resource Center. “We have experience running four other resource centers at elementary schools: Shearer, McPherson, Snow and Phillips. We were committed to working in American Canyon, but we took our time to think outside the box and be intentional with what we offered. We spent six months gathering data from our survey of resident families. With that data and through the help of our Steering Committee, we identified the top things families needed from the center.”
The survey listed topics such as adult education, supports for children and youth, opportunities to connect and contribute, health and wellness, and concrete support.
“The top three requests were for English as a second language classes, for which we partnered with the Adult School,” said Garcia. “The second was support for parents and managing parents’ mental health. Housing was the biggest concern, with concrete support needs such as rental assistance and finding affordable housing. That issue has been the main one for a long time.”
Offering service in English and Spanish, the Family Resource Center also counsels those who need help with Medi-Cal applications and unemployment, job supports such as resume building and job skill development, parent training, translation services and disaster preparedness.
“We have many other programs and benefits to connect people to resources for the help they need. The main thing is that the resource center is open to the community. It is a bridge for parents to the school, to volunteering and to the teachers. But, although it is located at a school site, we want people to know that it serves everyone. The center works with partners in the community in areas such as food and health to collaboratively provide wraparound service. We want to make sure that no family falls through the cracks.”
Alissa Gentille is the executive director of On the Move.
“There are a couple of challenges in American Canyon,” said Gentille, who has been with the organization since 2014. “A lot of the services in the county are out of the city of Napa. Having the Family Resource Center at Napa Junction provides increased access to vital services to the community.
“We have strong, long-standing relationships that can provide for the unique needs of individuals and the school," Gentille said. "Our partners bring expertise and resources to the center. In all the schools we’ve served, our first and foremost goal is to hear directly from the community about what matters to them. That’s how we establish trust in the community; we listen.”
“Our incredible steering committee was made up of a cross-section of established leaders in this diverse community. Everyone came together to create the Napa Junction Family Resource Center.”
Jennifer Stewart, executive director of Napa Valley Education Foundation, explained why the American Canyon center was important to the foundation.
“We support student wellness programs across elementary schools and stress family wellness," she said. "If students are comfortable, that’s the key to their success. There weren’t too many services located in American Canyon until now.”
Stewart stressed the importance of health and wellness in the school and community.
“For example, studies have shown that that one in four students need mental health services, but 60% don’t have access to it because of finances or the stigma surrounding mental health. We provide access which is affordable or free. The school social worker can see what services are needed and available.”
The Family Resource Center is also important to the work of the Napa Valley Unified School District.
Matt Manning, director of elementary curriculum instruction and English learner services for NVUSD, said: “Napa Valley Unified School District’s goal is to provide outstanding services to the community. Teachers can refer students and their families to the resource center for help. Our community liaison works closely with all schools, and we are partnered with Adult Education to deliver an array of services. The Napa Junction Family Resource Center will provide excellent service to families through community partners like the Napa Valley Vintners Association.”
Since 2016, Napa Valley Vintners has invested more than $6 million in the American Canyon community through early childhood education initiatives and investments in nonprofits that serve American Canyon.
“We’re thrilled to see the center open to families in American Canyon and to know that they have easy access to help and resources on the school campus,” said Jack Bittner, chairman of the board of directors for the Napa Valley Vintners and managing partner at OVID Napa Valley winery. “Napa Valley’s most precious resource is its people, and we’re humbled to be able to invest in significant endeavors such as this.”
As Susana Garcia noted, “Our vision is to have the resource center be the community hub, open to families. They will have the resources to thrive, not just survive.”