Pahrump Valley Gazette, Thursday, January 23, 1997 15
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Seeking solutions to social problems is a life time
pursuit for Claudia Knight, Case Manager for the Pahrump
Family Resource Center. She is aware of the myriad social
problems. From personal experience, Knight knows there
are solutions. She knows the solutions start with the per-
son.
Until recently, Knight's primary focus has been on
high school students. She wants young people to have the
tools they need to become productive citizens. A teacher
for over 30 years, Knight has been dedicated to giving her
students a foundation to build on. For 12 years she was the
department head for Business/Vocational Education at a
high school in Mr. Clemens, Michigan near Detroit.
At Mt. Clemens, Knight was part of Michigan's excel-
lent Technical Preparation Program. She is sharing her
expertise in this area as a member of the Steering Commit-
tee for the Southern Nevada School to Work Program. One
of her goals is to become more involved with School to
Work.
"The sooner young people start thinking about goals
the better," the educator says. "Young people in Pahrump
must start thinking globally." She says they need to be
aware of the opportunities that exist outside Pahrump,
beyond Nevada and past the boundaries of the United
States.
Knight' s mother thought beyond the boundaries of her
Mississippi home. When Knight was five years old, her
parents moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee to seek
better employment opportunities. Knight's mother was
soon on her own with three daughters to raise. With only
a seventh grade education, the woman determined to raise
her children without welfare. She did. She taught her
children the value of education and all three became career
women. One graduated from business school and two
became school teachers.
In time Knight's mother moved to Chicago. Knight
remained in Memphis to attend the Methodist College. In
college, Knight was involved in social issues. "I saw the
need," she says, "and, I wanted to be involved in the social
solution." When Dr. Martin Luther King marched in Mem-
phis, Knight marched with him.
She received her Bachelor's degree before joining her
family in Chicago. She taught there for six years before she
moved to Michigan where she taught for another 25 years.
During those years, she raised her daughter facing the
challenges of single parenthood after a divorce. Although
busy, Knight managed to find time to be an active volun-
teer for the Girl Scouts, Y-Teens and the Y.W.C.A.
Knight was a student as well as a teacher. She contin-
ued her own education earning a Master's Degree in
Education. More recently she received her Specialist De-
gree in School Administration. She is only a dissertation
away from a Doctorate Degree.
The move to Pahrump, with husband Reggie in July
1995, opened new vistas. The wide open spaces and the
friendly people the west is noted for both appeal to Knight.
Living in a small town has taken some adjustment, but she
likes it. Las Vegas is close enough to fill the need for urban
cultural and commercial activities.
No need to miss friends in Michigan. They come to
Pahrump and Las Vegas. Knight laughs when she says,
"Life in Pahrump is so busy. We have a lot of company
especially this time of year."
Once settled into her new home, Knight sought a place
in the community where she could use her education, talent
and experience to continue on her life path of helping
young people prepare for a productive, fulfilling future.
Knight was not discouraged when she didn't find a
niche tO fill in the Nye County School system. She agreed
to teach computer classes in Pahrump for the Community
College of Southern Nevada. She will continue teaching
weekend and evening classes when the new semester
begins February 5th.
Last summer she responded to an ad for Case Manager
for the new, grant funded, Pahrump Family Resource
Center. Knight was hired by PFRC as Assistant Program
Director. She started the part-time position in September.
She filled her schedule by accepting a second part-time
position, Director of Kids Klub, a latch key program that
provides after school supervision and activities for chil-
dren of working parents.
Her volunteer position with the School to Work Pro-
gram provided an opportunity to continue helping young
people find direction and prepare for their tomorrows. Her
new positions put her in touch with a broader spectrum of
the community.
In November, Knight became the Case Manager for
PFRC when Christine Hill accepted a position as coordina-
tor of the new Even Start Program. Mrs. Keating took over
directorship of Kids Klub and Pat Lyle joined PFRC as
Assistant Project Director.
PFRC is a referral agency to help people in the com-
munity access services they need. Services may be avail-
able in Pahrump or Las Vegas. Where services are not
available, the agency tries to provide them. The latch key
program is an example where PFRC decided to provide a
much needed service.
Reaching out to adults who need assistance to find
work, on Friday, February 7, the agency will be conducting
FREE job searc h training/assistance to all eligible citizens
of the area through the Displaced Homemaker/Dislocated
Worker Program. For more information about the program
to be held at the Bob Ruud Community Center contact
Knight at 727-3885.
Another area where PFRC will be directly involved is
developing programs to help prevent teen pregnancy. On
February 12 at 7 p.m., in cooperation with County Health
Services, the agency is presenting a program on teen
pregnancy at the Community Center. Knight believes this
is a program that the entire community needs to be in-
volved with, and she hopes all interested people will attend
the program.
The problems created
by teen pregnancy are so
great, Knight wants to form
a group of concerned citi-
zens to volunteer as "Citi-
zens Against Teen Preg-
nancy." People who are
willing to help can contact
her at the center.
"Teen pregnancy
causes such enormous prob-
lems for young people and
limits so many opportuni-
ties. ! just want to make
signs and hang them all over
begging teens to GIVE
YOURSELF A CHANCE,"
says Knight.
Other programs Knight
oversees, under the "guid-
ing-light" of the Neighbor-
hood Council, are Adult Lit-
eracy, Help Seniors, English
as a Second Language, Job
Readiness, Parents Support
Group, Peer to Peer
Mentoring and Cross-Gen-
erational Mentoring.
Volunteers are the life
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blood of PFRC. All types of skills are needed with the only
real requirement being a caring heart and a willing attitude.
Someone to be in the office and answer the phones one or
two days a week would be terrific. People are also needed
to tutor students in the latch key program, to help adults
learn to read and to assist people who don't speak English
learn the language. Others are needed as companions for
elderly people. Sometimes, just having someone sit and
visit with them for a couple of hours a week can make a big
difference in a person's life. People who are willing to do
errands or take someone to the grocery store also perform
a much needed service. Willing helpers are urged to call
Knight at 727-3885.
Knight enjoys working with all facets of the commu-
nity, but guiding and assisting young people will always be
near to her heart. She says, "The community is responsible
to the young people who live among us. We should be as
concerned as we are critical and celebrate their oodness."
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