Families First Program seeking eligible families to apply

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – The Salvation Army’s Families First Program is seeking eligible families to apply for aid in Campbell County. The program can help with educational opportunities, employment opportunities, financial education, financial assistance, childcare and more.

According to Knox Area Salvation Army Families First Engagement Specialist Alex Hooker, Families First has “programs to help the whole family and includes individualized services for families with children who desire to improve their quality of life.”

Campbell Countian April Ray Berry is the Families First Program contact for Campbell County and Anderson County. Berry is a Case Manager Specialist and can be reached at 865.404.0330 or via email at april.ray-berry@uss.salvationarmy.org.

Services include job training, health services, childcare and education, housing options, legal services, community referrals and more.

The program is designed to help families with things that would be a “barrier to improving their employment status, their educational status or improving their station in life,” according to Program Director Chris Taylor.

“We want to help families and we’ve got some funding to do that, but we need families to reach out to us and apply,” Taylor said.

The program “assists families by implementing long-term case management that allows them to set their own goals to become self-sufficient,” Hooker said.

Several classes offered through the Families First Program include cooking classes, financial literacy courses, job training and more. The program also has a youth specialist to help with any needs that children might have such as setting up tutoring or helping with educational programs for children with special needs.

To be eligible, families must have at least one child under the age of 18 in the household. They must be United States citizens because the grant is state funded. Families must also be at an income level that would qualify them to receive benefits such as SNAP or TANF, according to Hooker.

The Families First program is being funded by a Families First Community Grant through the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Families First “aims to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty in motivated, eligible families,” Hooker said.

According to Taylor, their goal with the grant funds is â€œto make a lasting change in the county.”

The Knox Area Salvation Army serves six counties in the greater Knoxville area, namely Knox County, Blount County, Cocke County, Sevier County, Anderson County, and Campbell County.

The Salvation Army is also seeking to “build partnerships within the county as well to better serve the whole community.”

“It is imperative that we build relationships with other community partners that share our vision to better serve our community,” Hooker said.

Both Taylor and Hooker encourage any area churches, non-profits or organizations that would be interested in partnering with the Salvation Army to contact them.

“We want to be able to refer our families where they need to go and being able to do that is all about relationships with other service providers,” Hooker said.

“We want families to know that we’re here in Campbell County and we want to help them,” Taylor said.

If you are interested in partnering with the Knox Area Salvation Army, Program director Chris Taylor can be reached at 865.971.4915.

For families interested in applying for the Families First Program, contact Campbell County and Anderson County Case Manager Specialist April Ray Berry at 865.404.0330 or via email at april.ray-berry@uss.salvationarmy.org. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 02/08/2024-6AM)