Parenting Center Receives Grant

BELLE GLADE, Fl. -- NOAH (Neighbors Organized for Adequate Housing) has
received a three-year, $235,500 grant award from the John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation for its Prenatal Parenting Education Center. The Center
provides teenage mothers with instruction on how to properly care for
themselves during pregnancy and teaches young parents how to care for
their infants.

The Center was established in 1988, as part of NOAH's mission to assist
Glades residents with family development. It was initially underwritten by
the Children's Services Council and also briefly supported by the Palm
Beach County Department of Housing and Community Development. Funding from
Knight Foundation enables NOAH to offer the Center's services without
interruption.

Prenatal Parenting Education addresses the need to change individuals'
behaviors and attitudes about maternal health, family planning and child
rearing. Pregnancy rates among teen mothers in Belle Glade and Pahokee
are two to three times higher than the Palm Beach County average, and
the 17.5 percent infant mortality rate in South Bay is twice as high as
the rest of the county.

Established in 1983 to address the need for adequate, safe housing in the
Glades, NOAH provides residential, social and family and child development
services for local residents. NOAH's mission is to improve housing in the
Glades area of Palm Beach County, which includes Belle Glade, Pahokee
and South Bay; to empower disadvantaged individuals toward self-help and
self-sufficiency; and to build bridges among the diverse racial, ethnic
and economic groups. Its main offices are located at 601 Covenant Drive
in Belle Glade.