Home Start, Inc.

Organization Spotlight

By Christina Orlovsky

It’s often said that charity begins at home. For one local charitable organization, the name says it all: Home Start, Inc., incorporated in 1977 as a San Diego-based nonprofit agency dedicated to child-abuse prevention services and family-strengthening services.

Working with a mission of “promoting the safety and nurturance of children by fostering healthy families and communities,” Home Start provides family support services, therapeutic counseling services and family self-sufficiency services to help at-risk families avoid child abuse and neglect and build a bright future.

“Home Start is the only one of its kind in San Diego County,” says Laura Mustari, chief executive officer of Home Start, Inc. “Children’s Hospital is often looked at as the leader in child services and providing support for children; however, Home Start is the only nonprofit organization that offers services for support counseling and self-sufficiency.”

Recently, Home Start received a $5,000 grant from the Union Bank of California Foundation to support financial education classes for high-need high school students in City Heights and Southeastern San Diego. The new Home Start Financial Education Curriculum will teach topics including income and budgeting; tax; and basic banking, including savings, credit and debt, to groups of 10 to 15 students enrolled in grades 11 and 12, with the goal of increasing the financial literacy knowledge of 85 percent of the students who complete the curriculum by May 1, 2009.

“The project came about because Home Start recognized the importance of preparing young people as consumers of financial services — and before they become parents — by strengthening their knowledge of basic concepts such as budgeting, credit, savings and investments, and taxes,” Mustari explains.

Home Start, Inc. has a variety of opportunities for donation and wish granting, employment or volunteering. For more information, call 619-692-0727 or visit www.home-start.org.