Antioch FRC is one-stop shop for students and families
It was an emergency. Ice and snow blanketed the city, closing schools day after day. That was difficult for many families, but a real hardship for families that depend on school meals to provide much-needed nutrition for their children.
When United Way and Second Harvest teamed up to provide free food supplies, PENCIL was delighted to open all six of our Family Resource Centers as distribution sites. This is the first of a series highlighting the services of PENCIL FRCs at Antioch, Glencliff, Maplewood, Madison, Bordeaux and Tusculum schools.
Despite some slippery roads last week, Nicole Hill made her way to the PENCIL Family Resource Center at Antioch High School. As Director of the FRC, Nicole knew her Antioch-area families needed her.
The Antioch FRC was a natural choice for distributing food boxes, Nicole said, because “it’s a one-stop shop for families to receive aid for their needs and/or be referred to agencies that are experts in their area of need. In short, the FRC serves as a liaison between Antioch High School and the community at large.”
Working in partnership with the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and Metro schools, Antioch's FRC provides many services such as basic food and clothing, support groups for girls, character-building courses, teen mom groups, classes for refugees and immigrants, and referrals to Nashville social agencies. Since the Center began year-round operation in May 2013, the FRC has “built a strong rapport and level of trust with students and created a safe and hospitable environment where students and families feel comfortable,” Nicole said.
Clearly, the Antioch FRC has done a great job of fulfilling PENCIL’s mission of linking community resources with Metro public schools to help young people!
