Franklin Vance Warren Opportunity provides a multitude of programs throughout its service area that gets right to the heart of its mission of supporting people and helping them make their lives better.

For Dr. Abdul Rasheed, CEO and senior advisor to the FVWOpp board of directors, that’s what it’s all about. Rasheed said a community must leverage its assets in order to excel. “The first thing that we have to do is invest in our assets,” he said on Tuesday’s TownTalk. “Our Number 1 asset is people.”

Rasheed and Roy Brown, FVWOpp’s Media and Communications coordinator, talked about an upcoming podcast and live conversation called “Where Our DOGs At?” whose target audience includes males in the community.

DOG stands for “Dads on Guard,” Rasheed explained, and he said FVW is launching the live conversation and podcast to help men of all ages identify positive norms and principles, creating a “moral compass” to help guide men in their own lives and then translating that to their own families and the larger community.

Several local leaders are scheduled to take part in the program, including Eric Sanchez, founder of Henderson Collegiate, Jamon Glover, Incredible Years Program Coordinator at Vance County Cooperative Extension and Anthony Ragland, owner of Southern Charm event venue in downtown Henderson.

“All of these young men are excellent role models that even an old dog like myself can learn from,” Rasheed said. He and Brown will also participate in the conversations, rounding out the complement of young fathers and community leaders.

FVWOpp will be making announcements on its social media platforms soon about how to participate in the program.

With a $10,000 grant from Triangle North Healthcare Foundation, Rasheed said FVWOpp is going to be able to strengthen its capacity to reach into the community by building positive pathways that allow individuals to survive and thrive.

The theme of the first podcast is safety and gun violence. “We do have a problem here in our area,” Rasheed said. “I think our police are doing the best job they can with the resources they have available to them. We have to rally and support law enforcement in our community,” he said.

Offering young people ways to access workforce development, certificate programs, paths to graduation and mental health resources help young men look to something other than criminal activity, guns and violence.

When Brown was in the Navy, he got to travel extensively and lived in U.S. cities where he saw Black professionals – doctors, lawyers, business people – being successful in places that supported them.

“When I came back home, I thought, ‘why can’t we do that here?’” Brown said. Programs like the Community Services Block Grant that helps individuals pursue certificate programs that help them get better jobs is just one program that FVWOpp works with.

The Section 8 program is another way to support renters secure housing with private property owners by providing a rental subsidy.

A weatherization program helps mostly senior adults and people with disabilities better insulate their homes to keep them warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

These programs, among others offered by FVWOpp help people in the community establish a better quality of life. Helping individuals helps neighborhoods, too, which ripples out into the larger community, Rasheed said.

Partnerships with city and county reap benefits, too. The area’s largest Headstart location is at the former Eaton Johnson campus, with upwards of 100 children getting high-quality instruction in 5-star state certified classrooms.

This Thursday, Oct. 2, at 11 a.m., FVWOpp will welcome Assistant Secretary for Rural Economic Development at the N.C. Dept. of Commerce Reginald Speight to Henderson. This arm of the state government is focused on strengthening rural communities across the state.

Rasheed invites the community to attend this event as a way to establish relationships for positive growth and development for the area.

Visit www.fvwopp.com to learn about all the programs the center offers.

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