Early in 2000, the leadership at Westhab, Westchester County's agency to combat homelessness, was not happy with conditions at their two largest family shelters. Coachman and the Family Center each housed about 100 families and each faced the same issue: not enough quality programs for the many young people of the families they served. Westhab was determined to change the way in which these children interacted within their shelter environments and provide them with the necessary tools to transition to better lives. In raising the bar, Westhab, under the watchful eye of CEO Robert Miller, decided to NAFI/NFI for help.

Established in 1974, NAFI/NFI has developed a national reputation for its success in creating and operating programs for children and adolescents with abuse, neglect and mental health issues, as well as histories of delinquency. NAFI/NFI has also received numerous accolades for creating community-based solutions for adults with mental illness.

After touring Coachman and the Family Center, NAFI/NFI personnel met with residents, staff, managers and Westhab executives to analyze problems and possible solutions. They determined that to effectively help Westhab's young people, it would be necessary to address the larger community issues of each locale. In concert, Westhab and NAFI/NFI decided to concentrate on three key areas:

1.Supervision of children and youth
2.Overall cleanliness of the shelters
3.Reduction of violence and disruptive behaviors

Westhab invited NAFI/NFI to submit a proposal for training and consultation to impact these three areas.

In response, NAFI/NFI proposed a training plan for Westhab's management and staff to create centers with expectations and norms designed to reflect their vision and mission. The proposal also offered to train trainers who could perpetuate cultural changes and future trainings. NAFI/NFI knew from years of developing successful programs that the training needed to be a "top down" process - endorsed and supported from the leaders of the organization who had agreed to participate in the initial training. All members of the Westhab management team were eager to learn and participate.

NAFI/NFI has pioneered a unique approach to creating successful environments and communities called the Normative Process. Building Normative Communities is founded upon the notions that people have a powerful desire to be part of a group and that a successful community must establish and maintain positive norms. True Normative Communities must then empower its members to continually adjust norms that promote the mission.

The first three-day training was held in early November of 2000. Approximately 30 staff, including the top leaders of the organization, attended. The sessions were interactive and experiential, interspersed with short lecturettes and group activities. The NAFI/NFI trainers put a premium on providing all trainees with the opportunity to process their ideas and feelings after each session. Trainees were asked to develop a mission statement and, in turn, discuss ways to make it operational. In this process, the NAFI/NFI trainers emphasized the need for a common understanding of how to achieve their goals.

By the end of the first training, the trainees had developed a blueprint for success that illuminated their original goals. They would create strong supervision and programming opportunities for the children they served, and they established a commitment to norms that fostered cleanliness and a reduction in violence. The trainees had learned how to utilize the group process. They established specific methods to run effective community meetings. They formed ongoing "Norms Committees" and established systems of accountability to monitor progress.

In the next 16 months, NAFI/NFI implemented additional Normative Approach trainings for other members of the Westhab staff and developed a "train the trainers" program. The youth living in the shelters participated in their own trainings, including three-day teambuilding trips along the Appalachian Trail.

The work at Westhab continues. The family shelters have changed. At Coachman and the Family Center, the maintenance staff are still pressed to keep up with work orders, but the nature of the requests has changed. Repairs to walls and windows that once resulted from abusive behavior are a fraction of what they used to be. It has been two years since buildings that commonly displayed graffiti have been defaced and grounds often peppered with trash are usually litter free. Floors that were formerly stained by spills now glisten and once blank walls display the art of its children.

Incidences of violence have also diminished. Violent acts that warrant calls to police have decreased dramatically. Security personnel who once were viewed by residents as cold and oppositional are no longer separated from the main hallways by thick glass partitions. They now roam freely, talking to residents more easily about their concerns and occasionally playing with the children in residence.

Initially, the young people of Westhab had almost no after-school or weekend programs. Now they participate in an array of tutoring and recreational activities offered almost every day of the week. Among the highlights are computer lab programs, art projects, a teen ministry program, a "going drug free" lecture program and evenings devoted to reciting writings and poetry.

As the building of Normative Communities has helped shape the process of growth and healing at the centers, new leaders have emerged from the ranks of staff who have enrolled to become trainers of the Normative Approach. They act as culture bearers, committed to perpetuating norms that make Coachman and the Family Center safe and nurturing. The staff is focused on a mission that is posted throughout the shelters and reads: "RESPECT, SAFETY, SELF, IMPROVEMENT, CLEANLINESS."

At Westhab, it is no longer a mission of wishful thinking, but a statement of fact, grounded in everyday reality.