Page 19 - BCALA Summer 2018

Quinby Street Resource Center
Library Director Recognized as
Community Champion
By Roland Barksdale-Hall, Quinby Street Resource Center
BCALA NEWS | Volume 45, Issue 3 | 19
Roland Barksdale-Hall, library director, recognized as a HUD Community Champion for work strengthening and empowering families, developed the 2018
Life Empowerment Workshop to address issues and provide vital life- empowering skills in an underserved community. A combination of news items, interviews with focus groups and government data were used to identify critical community issues.
Residents along with consumers from service agencies enrolled in an intensive six-week training.
Classes met once a week for two hours sessions at the Quinby Street Resource Center. Sessions included Ending the Silence about the Opioid Epidemic, Avoiding Fraud and Scams, Budgeting to Paying Utility Bills, Repairing Damaged Credit, Domestic Violence and Building Healthy Relationships. Graduates received a $125.00 grant toward a life sustaining bill and a plaque for successful program completion.
The 2018 Life Empowerment Workshop program was one of several initiatives between the
Authority and community partners. His chapter, “Collaboration Fits
the Bill for Best Practices in Programming for Public Housing Residents” provides a case study and was selected for inclusion in “The Library’s Role in Supporting Financial Literacy for Patrons” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016).
Barksdale-Hall noted the Life Empowerment promoted respect
and changed lives. Program assessments supported financial literacy goals and looked “promising.” He thanked Shenango Valley Foundation, Winner Foundation and Prince of Peace Awesome for ongoing financial support.
Photo caption: Pictured community partners at 2018 Life Empowerment Workshop (l-r) include Madison Weimer, intern; Bonnie Dickson, health educator, Denise M. Jarrett, keynote speaker and bank assistant vice president Scott DeJulia, housing counselor, and Roland Barksdale-Hall, library director.