Thriving in the New Normal

Thriving in the New Normal is a series of 4 online workshops using games, role plays, and scenarios to help people engage with each other and the material. These workshops were designed to be accessible and relatable for everyone dealing with the challenges of the New Normal.

This class is offered free as a gratitude offering to our community in Spanish and English, online or in person.

Module One: Mourning the Old Normal

Regular activities curtailed or non-existent
Socialization can now include dread and guilt
Loneliness and isolation vs connection and engagement

Module Two: Shifting to a Virtual Life

Setting boundaries and achieving work-life balance
Avoiding time wasters and catastrophizing websites
Dividing up devices, bandwidth, and attention

Module Three: Surmounting the Technology Learning Curve

Overcoming Frustration
Acknowledging capacity
Asking for help
Achieving competence

Module Four: Stress Busters in the New Normal

Small Powerful Practices
Mindfulness
Finding sanctuary in your own home
The Power of Humor
Integrating new strategies

3Rs: Resources and Resilience for Readiness

Our 3Rs Program is a two- (or even three-) generation whole-family approach designed to improve the socio-economic, physical, and emotional well-being of mothers, grandmothers, and children in order to break the cycle of generational poverty.

To help support families moving from poverty to opportunity, our program uses a two-pronged approach. First, it addresses the skills needed by children entering school for the first time with a kindergarten readiness curriculum. Additionally, the program serves people who have been out of the workforce as a result of having been engaged in full-time childcare. As the children enter school, that frees up their caretakers to enter or reenter the job market.

Our Kindergarten Readiness program teaches the children basic math, reading, and fine motor skills needed to prepare them for the first year of school. Parents also receive training and resources to support their child’s learning and encourage active engagement with the school community throughout their child’s educational years. Discussions of cultural and academic standards, and workplace norms of behavior level the playing field, giving our participants a head start on their educational and career journeys.

Our Workforce Training and Development program addresses numerous skills parents need to successfully enter the workforce and get ahead in order to better support their families. Using a holistic approach, parents learn to identify and manage aspects of their home and work lives to become gainfully employed and advance in the workplace with a goal of improving the well being of their immediate families and generations to come.

HPI’s mission is to provide leadership, communication, and other foundational skills training to historically and culturally excluded populations to empower them to reach their economic and social goals. This project directly supports this mission by reaching rural and minority people in Alabama, one of the country’s poorest states, to begin to move towards self-sufficiency and self-support.