A Bed of My Own, Inc. is a 5013c serving Homeless Single Moms in Salt Lake City, UT and Los Angeles, CA
MISSION: to end the homeless of children living on the streets
A Bed of My Own, Inc. is a 501c3 in Spa 8 (the South Bay) of Los Angeles County. Our mission is to support the employability of homeless and near homeless women and their children. While women with children are our primary focus we do not discriminate against men or intact families experiencing homelessness. We are currently in start-up mode. Our fundraising is for mobile employment advocacy for families in transition to economic rehabilitation and recovery. Questions? Email Maureen: abedofmyown (at) gmail.com. Let's talk possibilities.
How Do we Accomplish our Mission?
✓ Job Training
✓ Job Coaching
✓ Job Success
Our Focus is Employability
Our Founder, Maureen O’Crean, is the former Associate Director of the Educational Opportunity Center in Troy, New York. In the late 1990’s she was the first Director and primary designer of a $1.3 million dollar funded Welfare-to-Work program in upstate New York. The program involved training and employment support for single mothers receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for three counties: Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady. The participants were mandated by their county to attend the program and the vocational agency was required to assist the participants with no regard to their background, employment history or willingness to succeed. At the time, the trend for Welfare-to-Work was a one size fits all approach, locking up funding without regard to the client’s real need. There had to be a better way to target resources. A research study was conducted to see if we could identify Barriers to Employability and get participants the help they really needed. Our goal was to address the real issues that kept a person from employment success: Getting and keeping a job. (N=225)
THE ASCENT CONTINUUM: A PROGRAM OF POSITIVE OUTCOMES
A TRAIN-THE-TRAINER APPROACH FOR FRONT-LINE CASEWORKERS
Once the barriers to employability were identified, Maureen was asked an important question by the then commissioner of Social Services for Albany County: “If there is a way to identify barriers, is there a way to remediate them?” After leaving her former position, Maureen took on a consulting project in Albany County (N.Y.) working with 5 caseworkers with a caseload of over 600 families receiving TANF. In 16 weeks of training, the ASCENT Team accomplished 99.4% of the goal by serving 610 families in eight months. Copies of the research reports are available on request. This is what we learned:
There are five statistically significant areas that influence outcomes. For purposes of the research, positive outcomes were defined as completing the program and securing employment. A a negative outcome occurred if a person was terminated, not ready for employment or remained on public assistance. Here are the top 3.
BARRIER #1
UNDIAGNOSED MENTAL ILLNESS
There are several areas of psychological distress which left untreated proved to have to have a statistical relationship to a negative outcome .
BARRIER #2
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
A Positive belief in oneself creates positive long-term outcomes, despite setbacks in life.
BARRIER #3
NO ONE CAN GO IT ALONE
Persons with higher levels of non-support in their life experienced more negative outcomes.
Our Board
Maureen O’Crean
Our Founder, Harvard educated Sociologist Maureen O'Crean, M.B.A., is committed to the power of vocational training in providing a stable life for vulnerable women and children. With over 20 years of results to her credit, Maureen has written successful grants and raised funds in the non-profit and public sectors. An expert in women's issues, Maureen understands the challenges of being a single parent.
Since 1996, Maureen has been working with small businesses and entrepreneurs on living the life of their dreams and making money at it. It is this entrepreneurial thinking, self-motivation, self-reliance, and persistence that employers love. To learn more about Maureen, please visit maureenocrean. com
Sarah Ban Breathnach
Sarah Ban Breathnach (pronounced “Bon Brannock”), is a best-selling author, philanthropist, and public speaker. She is the author of thirteen books, including Simple Abundance: A Daybook ... Also in 1995, Ban Breathnach founded the Simple Abundance Charitable Fund, which has aided over 100 non-profit organizations. To learn more about Sarah, please visit sarahbanbreathnach.com
LaTania Michelle
LaTania Michelle is a bestseller author, motivational speaker, and minister. Her experiences as a businesswoman, mentor, coach, mother, and friend have given her an insight into what it takes to overcome great obstacles and turn impossibilities into possibilities. Her background includes employment training for youths and over 20 years of experience with non-profits serving the community. To learn more, please visit lataniamichelle.com.
