MESSAGE FROM THE RETREAT: SOLID DIVIDENDS EARNED FROM HARD WORK

Executive Director Thomas Roberts injected news of breakthroughs into emotional comments that made for a stirring address to the staff and Board of Directors at NOAH's summer retreat, held June 27-29, 2008. Among the announcements:

• After three years of delays, the reconstruction of the hurricane damaged apartments in Pahokee, the Amaryllis Gardens Housing development, would begin June 30, 2008.
• The day before the retreat, NOAH's Healthy Families Program was selected to be the sole provider of parenthood-preparedness services in the Glades area.
• The construction of new homes in Belle Glade would begin in July 2008, despite a situation that might have halted the project until July 2009.
• NOAH completed the purchase of land in the Radarville section of Belle Glade to begin construction of additional homes.

Cheers erupted from audience who knew the achievements did not come easy, and Roberts continued to put their efforts in perspective. At its inception, NOAH stated its mission was to improve housing in the Glades area; to empower disadvantaged individuals toward self help and self sufficiency; and build bridges among the diverse racial ethnic and economic groups.

"NOAH has carried out its mission, not by words, but by deeds. And what are these deeds?" Roberts asked. "NOAH has developed (more than) 500 units of affordable rental housing for its residents. NOAH has established child development centers to educate children from 6 weeks to 5 years of age. NOAH runs a Healthy Families program that helps families with newborn and young children. NOAH runs a Healthy Start Care Coordination program to counsel and guide new mothers with young and newborn children, and those programs serve more than 200 families a year. NOAH runs a youth mentoring program for youngsters between 8 and 18, years of age, trying to help them to work out issues that are distracting them from being successful in school and in their families. NOAH runs a prenatal parenting center to strengthen the parenting skills of new and young mothers.”

Then he acknowledged the work of staff.

"Our activities are successful because the people who supervise them and work in them believe in what they do," Roberts said. "They are driven by faith to make life better for their fellow human beings. They believe everyone should be given an opportunity to obtain the American dream. That is why we teach the young children to love to learn in our child development centers. Because once they learn to love to learn, they'll understand with study they can become and do almost anything. That is why we work to have healthy children we raise and love, and not abuse and neglect. That is why we work to create the financial assets of a new home to give these families stability and a basic asset in which to compete in America's capitalist system.

"If all NOAH is doing is babysitting children, giving families a place to live, providing turkeys on Thanksgiving and toys on Christmas, then I don't feel we are successful. NOAH is about change; changing the attitudes that hold people back from achieving all they can. It isn't an easy task and nor is it often an appreciated task, as we find out daily, as people work against us or don't see the vision.

"I believe all who are involved with NOAH are called by God to undertake these tasks. And like Noah or Jonah, we cannot escape our calling. That's why we're here. That's why folks who work with us stay so many years. They love what they're doing because many have the talent and the skill and the education and the experience to work almost anywhere they want to, but they choose to stay in the Glades."

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