HELP USA's Mentoring Program Founder Mrs. Matilda Raffa Cuomo Will Deliver Sept. 23 Speech About Family Stability at The World Meeting Of Families In Philadelphia; HELP USA Shares Mission Of Pope Francis To Give Homeless 'A Concrete Hope'

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Answering Pope Francis' plea to give the world's homeless "a concrete hope," Matilda Raffa Cuomo, former first Lady of New York and founder of HELP USA's mentoring initiative Mentoring USA, will call for an "interconnected" approach to "preserving the family" and "helping families heal themselves" as a featured speaker at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia this Wednesday, Sept. 23.  Held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See's Pontifical Council for the Family, the World Meeting of Families is the world's largest gathering of Catholic families.  Pope Francis will celebrate Mass with what is expected to be an audience of up to one million people as the closing event of the meeting on Sunday, Sept. 27

"We must preserve the family," Mrs. Cuomo will assert in her speech focusing on the social stability of children and families.  "If we fail, we will only perpetuate the terrible cycle of self-destruction.  We will raise a whole new generation of children unable to sustain themselves, to be respectful, to appreciate life with faith and caring, with love, patience, and respect, especially for their own families."

The "interconnected" solution to "help preserve the family and replace diminishing intergenerational family support" that Mrs. Cuomo will put forth in her speech combines mentoring children in need, prevention, and family preservation.  She will call for synergistic efforts between the different branches of government; partnerships between government and business; and a "commitment to helping families heal themselves.  Without such a broad cooperative strategy for prevention, no amount of well-meaning, individual efforts will be enough."

"If we want to help a child who is hungry or ill or illiterate, it will take more than just bread or an antibiotic or a lesson in the alphabet," Mrs. Cuomo will stress.  "We have to be willing to comprehend these problems as symptoms of a larger social and economic disorder, and understand that their causes are so deeply intertwined that we cannot effectively treat them one symptom at a time … We must find comprehensive ways to help the whole family, and to address the total well-being of the child."

The comprehensive solution that Mrs. Cuomo will offer in her remarks mirrors what Mentoring USA and HELP USA are doing throughout the country.  Mentoring USA is a leading national provider of one-on-one site-based mentoring for youth. It focuses on the three pillars of support for children: the home, the school and the community. 

These three pillars are also sat the heart of the "Decade of the Child," a New York State initiative Mrs. Cuomo helped spearhead that links together all of the human service agencies in the state government to serve the complex needs of children.   Since the effort began, some $5.4 billion has been invested in nearly 150 statewide programs and services to improve the quality of life for children and families in areas like pre-natal and primary care, parenting education, immunization, education, special care for children with disabilities, and the prevention of child abuse, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse.

HELP USA, one of America's foremost providers of housing and supportive services for the homeless population, is also a reflection of the "three pillar approach."  It, too, employs a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach combining permanent and transitional housing, rental assistance, education and mentoring, job training and employment placement, and an array of counseling services.

"As the world watches and listens to Pope Francis during his visit to the U.S, HELP USA applauds his unprecedented advocacy for the homeless, families and children," said Maria Cuomo Cole, the organization's chairman and daughter of Mrs. Cuomo.   "More importantly, we are heeding his call to action of providing 'a concrete hope' to help the homeless and those in need."

In Philadelphia, where the World Meeting of Families is being held, HELP USA has been serving homeless and low income populations with transitional and permanent housing since 1996.  Today, HELP Philadelphia is one of the largest developers of permanent supportive housing in Pennsylvania, having invested more than $41.5 million in capital projects with the creation of 214 units of housing for homeless and low-income families and veterans. 

For more information on HELP USA, please visit www.helpusa.org.   For more information on Mentoring USA, please visit www.mentoringusa.org. 

Contact: DKC Public Relations
Bruce Bobbins
(212) 981-5190 (office)
(908) 586-5742 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE HELP USA

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http://www.helpusa.org