Alyssa Ruiz didn’t own a computer. So in order to get her education, she had to take her young son to her mother’s house and run to the adult learning center so she could attend her online classes there, from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. Project Unity solved that problem by providing her with a laptop and internet service at home — “the types of things that [our clients] need to be successful,” says Jeannie Mansill, founder of Project Unity.
Project Unity began in 1995, primarily focused on preventing child abuse and neglect. Since then, the nonprofit has helped thousands of individuals and has been able to include more programs, which include Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (H.O.P.E.S.), Family, Self-Sufficiency, and Support, Special Health Services, Fresh Start 4 Vets, and Job Training and Employment. Most of the programs are grant-funded. “We are really about long-term economic change in families that are living day-to-day,” Mansill says.
Through H.O.P.E.S., guardians are given support, engaging in a curriculum that is designed to help parents of children from newborns to age 5 to increase their knowledge of child development, child social and emotional competence, and more. “Success is often based on those first three years of brain development in a child,” says Mansill, “So we get in early with families.” Parents are given access to group meetings, which allow them to create connections. Project Unity will do home visits, developmental screenings, hearing screenings, and vision screenings for the children.
The nonprofit’s newest program, Job Training and Employment, offers help to individuals, particularly those with children, who earn less than $37,000 a year. Through this program, clients gain training and education for careers as a clinical medical assistant, certified medication aid, phlebotomy tech, pharmacy tech, or to become proficient in facilities maintenance. “What we do is we meet the families where they are,” Mansill says. “We look at those barriers per individual, and then we try to remove them.”
Due to COVID-19, many people and families left without jobs have turned to Project Unity for help. The programs are currently handled virtually. Project Unity is not currently seeking volunteers; however, donations are welcomed. “We need gift cards that could help people with transportation,” Mansill says.” If you've got a laptop computer you don't need anymore but works, we need laptop computers. That’s the kind of support we can take right now."
The Comeback is Stronger than the Setback is Project Unity’s tagline, meant to give individuals and families hope. “I'm searching for that happy ending for everybody,” Mansill says. For more information, visit projectunitytexas.org.
