Home Agency Overview Internships Donations Newsletters Events Wish List

Agency Overview

Mission
Sophia Project serves children and families who are at risk of recurring homelessness. Our core work is to ensure that the children are nurtured and that their physical, developmental and educational needs are met while providing their mothers with time, guidance and support to acquire new abilities to meet their children's needs and stabilize their families.

Statement of Need
It is well documented that the first 5 years of life is the chief formative period for the whole of later life. Healthy early childhood development is the essential foundation for the emergence of a strong, caring capable adult. The families at Sophia Project have experienced homelessness, poverty and often violence and abuse. By providing early intervention and a nurturing stable environment these young and vulnerable children will have a solid opportunity of developing into healthy adolescents and adults.
Studies have shown that homelessness tends to recur in families who have not become part of a community. By creating community with our families, and often serving as an extended family, children and mothers have a safe and nurturing space to develop the skills they need to stabilize. When a family (usually a single mother with children) comes to Sophia Project, they are in a state of chaos. Our work with their children allows the mothers to find their footing, knowing that the children are safe.
The road to stability for the family is a rocky one. The children's healthy development is at risk because of high levels of fear and experiences of instability. Typically, the mothers have few job skills, low self-esteem and a low level of education. They experience high and sustained levels of stress as they struggle with poverty, recovery from abusive situations and the myriad effects of homelessness. But, they are courageous and determined. We are located in a neighborhood in West Oakland where many of our families live and support is sparse. Sophia Project's dependable and continuous help is a powerful agent in healing and stabilizing our families and the neighborhood.

Program Description

Sophia Project provides early childhood education based on Waldorf principles, infant and toddler care, extended hours of childcare, a small before- and after-school program for siblings (both tutoring and care), a weekend respite program, parenting education and family support. All services are provided by live-in staff and interns, creating a safe home-like environment and providing the possibility of 24-hour availability to meet the urgent needs of families. This allows stability for the children as their mother is establishing herself in new employment which initially may require night or double shifts.

Sophia Project serves 65 children per month. Twenty-two of the children attend our preschool, infant/toddler development program or the before- and after-school program each Monday-Friday 6AM-6PM. The other children served by Sophia Project utilize emergency and respite services on the weekend.

Internship Program

Sophia Project offers an 11-month internship in service. Interns engage in direct service, curriculum and child development classes, study, reflection and community life. Interns come from varied backgrounds around the world. Sophia Project is also an approved AmeriCorps site.

Organizational Background

Sophia Project has been serving our low-income community in West Oakland since August of 2000. The organization was conceived by Carol Cole, who brings 25 years of experience working with disadvantaged children in need of special care. She has developed programs in such diverse areas as South Africa and Saudi Arabia and, most recently, at Raphael House family shelter in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, where she was the director of Children's Services.

Sophia Project currently includes two homes: Sophia House, for children ages three and up, and Myrtle House, for children birth to three years of age. Carol Cole and her husband David Barlow, who serves as operations director and treasurer, are supported by one full-time staff member, two part-time administrative staff and 7 full-time interns. The annual operating budget is approximately $499,000.

Download Sophia Project's Agency Overview