Howe Community Resource Center marks three decades supporting local families

GREEN BAY – Howe Community Resource Center (HCRC) is celebrating three decades of strengthening and empowering families this summer.

“Our mission is really to ensure that children in Brown County are safe, healthy and ready for both life and academic success,” said Corrissa Frank, HCRC executive director.

Founded in 1996, HCRC was established to support children and families in the Howe neighborhoods. Now, it has expanded to serve children and families across the greater Green Bay area.

“The initial dream or vision was to support families at Howe Elementary and the surrounding neighborhood,” Frank said. “It was really neighborhood focused. While we continue to look at strategic partnerships in the neighborhood… We definitely want to continue to get the message out that we are here for the surrounding neighborhoods and that we’ve expanded offerings across the county.”

HCRC offers support for children and families prenatally through entering school and beyond through school-based mental health services at Howe Elementary, evidence-based home visiting, early literacy resources and monthly family events.

Adding to the excitement of the organization’s 30th anniversary, HCRC was recently selected as a recipient of a Green Bay Packers Foundation Impact Grant to support an innovative pilot initiative that integrates mental health support into HCRC’s Parents as Teachers home visiting program while strengthening school-based mental health services at Howe Elementary Community School.

“Thirty years is an opportunity to celebrate everything our community has built together, but it is also a chance to look ahead,” said Frank. “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has been part of our journey over the past three decades and we are equally excited about what is next. The Green Bay Packers Foundation’s investment is a wonderful example of how our community continues to believe in the future of children and families in Brown County.”

“We have one licensed mental health counselor right now full time at Howe Elementary…” Frank explained. “We are looking to hire another full-time mental health counselor where we would expand that even further for more preventative support, so that counselor may consult with our home visitors because we already are serving families within the county.

That would mean more of the preventative, strategic tools and building routines for families in that mental health space, or they may need additional one-on-one support working collaboratively with the family with a mental health counselor and home visitor.”

For more information about Howe Community Resource Center, visit howecommunityresourcecenter.org.