Dove Learning Center (DLC)
The DLC develops resilience skills which are key to transitioning our youth to independent living and to maintaining a positive living environment thereafter.
CHNJ has developed the Dove Learning Center (DLC) which utilizes a blended-learning approach to strengthen resilience skills. Resilience skills are key to transitioning our youth to independent living and to maintaining a positive living environment thereafter.
Forging strong, supportive relationships with our youth has been central to CHNJ’s approach since its inception. We have learned through our research that certain characteristics have been shown to promote resilience in youth. Such characteristics include cognitive skills; self-awareness; emotional regulation; delay of gratification; confidence; and connection with faith or spirituality.
Housing stability is the foundation upon which we hope our youth can gain their footing. We have identified five content areas for the DLC—Education; Employment; Financial Literacy; Social Navigation; and Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness—the mastery of which we believe will improve every young person’s housing resilience.
Content Areas to Promote Resilience
Building Reslience
Education
Support youth to achieve their own educational goals, beginning with an emphasis on attaining basic cognitive skills and credentials.
Building Reslience
Employment
Help youth obtain an immediate income and advise them to advance in their vocational goals.
Building Reslience
Financial Literacy
Teach youth financial literacy skills needed to obtain and maintain apartments and live independently, including shopping, saving, opening bank accounts, paying bills, using credit cards, and managing debt.
Building Reslience
Social Navigation
Strengthen communication and conflict resolution skills needed in professional interactions and other formal relationships (e.g. landlord-tenant), through improved self-awareness and emotional regulation.
Building Reslience
Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Wellness
Provide opportunities to exercise, improve eating habits, learn mindfulness and meditation skills, connect with spirituality, and contribute to the community by giving back to others in need.
DLC Methodology
We have found everyone learns differently. At the DLC we have combined core blended learning modalities (traditional classroom and technology) with methods addressing the non-traditional learners. Forever striving to do more, and do it better, we are hopeful that our innovative new approach to resilience-building will have a lasting impact on our youth.
To better understand and help our young people, CHNJ utilizes a mix of screening tools to understand the level of trauma each young person has experienced.
One such tool identifies the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) a young person has had before age 18. An ACE is a traumatic event including all types of abuse and neglect as well as parental mental illness, substance use, divorce, incarceration, and domestic violence.
Research has shown that people who have an ACE score of 40% are 8 times more likely to have learning and behavioral difficulties, and that non-traditional education methodologies (focusing on mindset and motivation) are particularly impactful to children who have experienced trauma.
Impact
Our initial research showed that the DLC program was well-received by our youth participants. Our youth were happy with the learning experience, with the DLC pilot achieving an average satisfaction rating of 7.4 and 8.8 out of 10 in Newark and Atlantic City, respectively. They worked hard in over three-fourths of sessions and were engaged in over 90% of sessions that they attended.
Attesting to the DLC’s impact, there was a strong correlation between greater attendance and engagement in sessions and greater gains in knowledge. Our youth improved their knowledge of important financial literacy concepts by 18% on average, and by almost 50% for high attenders.
Contact
If you have questions regarding the Dove Learning Center please contact our Coordinator of the Dove Learning Centers:
Alison Iannarone
Associate Director of the Dove Learning Center (DLC)
