OP Annual Report 2011: Building Bright Futures

NURTURING GROWTH

A S A CHILD, I would help my mother in the vegetable garden preparing the soil, planting, cultivating, and harvesting the vegetables that my family would eat throughout the year. I learned many lessons from my mother during those moments in the garden. Occasionally, these gardening lessons would be applied later in life to my work in education and now directing Operation Pathways—the resident services division of The NHP Foundation (NHPF). In 2011, I celebrated my 5th anniversary as the director of resident services, and I reflect back proudly on the progress that NHPF’s Operation Pathways has made in the last five years. At first, we realized that we needed to decrease in size in order for us to become even greater, and 2011 was that new beginning. By January of 2011, we had ensured a stable infrastructure, enhanced programs and services, and rededicated ourselves to making Operation Pathways a more efficient

and effective organization. We challenged ourselves to make 2011 a year of growth and I’m confident we reached that goal. I remember my mother teaching me about the art of pruning. Sometimes we need to cut back our plants if we want them to grow fuller, stronger and produce a greater harvest. In the first six months of 2011, NHPF had reinstated resident services at four program sites that had been closed for more than two years. The new resident services coordinators were trained in a new brand of programs and services that highlight “opportunities” and “personal responsibility.” The NHPF creates innovative and effective programming from which our residents choose where they wish to participate. If the soil is rich and well prepared with fertilizer and nutrients, the seed will decide to sprout and the plant will decide to grow. One great example of our 2011 year of growth comes from our Louisiana properties. Because health issues have kept many of our residents from being productive in the workforce, we initiated a nutrition and fitness program aimed at lowering blood pressure as part of our “Pathway to Healthy Living.” After an extensive needs assessment, NHPF found that the most pressing health issue in our housing communities in Louisiana was hypertension. With the help of the Freddie Mac

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