Debora Gilbert in The Columbia Paper has a story about the potential Dec. 31 demise of the 12-year-old Hudson Family Literacy Program (HFLP) without $17,000 in funding. The program helps kids and their parents, many from non-English-speaking families, and, "is based on research that shows a child's first and most important teacher is his or her parent, and that the early childhood years before school are critically important learning periods," Gilbert writes. “The concept was to work with kids and families,” said John L. Edwards Elementary School Principal Carol Gans. “That's the big difference between Even Start and Head Start, which just works with kids. We started with the family from birth,” Gans told The Columbia Paper. HFLP serves 30 families of 107 people at no cost to the families. Services include an early childhood class for two- and three-year-olds, after-school tutoring, summer day camp, counseling, adult education, GED and Regents exam help, transportation to and from school, and aid with employment. HFLP helps parents with adult education, and advises new immigrants on citizenship applications and drivers licenses, and with so many immigrant families in Hudson it seems to work. "So far, 35 participants have become citizens, and two are first-time homeowners who will move into houses on Columbia Street early next year because they were introduced by HFL to the county chapter of Habitat for Humanity," Gilbert writes. “We've connected people with resources in the community they don't know about,” HFL Director Sophia Becker told The Columbia Paper.