WHAT TEAMWORK CAN ACCOMPLISH
by Amy DiBartolo, Supportive Housing Director,
Marie Duboulay, TANF Coordinator, &
Grace Richardson, TANF Coordinator Counselor
Housing Partnership, Inc.
Grace, Marie and Amy of Housing Partnership’s Supportive Housing Department, work with each other daily and share information. In between, they share more than information.
They help those who are in need in our community. By sharing information, they were able to help a client obtain her License for Massage Therapy.
This client is a single mother of two children. She joined a local school and spent several months and hours training for Massage Therapy. At the end of her training, she took the Florida State Exam for her license and failed. Well, if you are not in her shoes, you can¬not imagine how she felt. Shortly thereafter, the client joined HP’s Supportive Housing Program. Grace worked with the mother and her two children and placed them at Recovery Village. After moving into her new, two-bedroom, one-bath apartment, the client began another struggle. She struggled from being homeless and unemployed, to being employed at minimum wage while working part-time at local businesses that were not related to her field of study. Grace, who noticed the client struggling to meet her goals, began to discuss education and training with her. The massage therapy study resurfaced and needed to be addressed. By this time, the client had lost confidence and began to use phrases like “I’m not sure”. Does that sound familiar?
Grace and Amy discussed the client, her challenges and goals. As you may know, the TANF Program has three goals: stable housing, increased income and/or skills, and greater self-determination. The team approach was taken, and Marie offered to study with the client.
Marie gave the client her cell phone number and asked her to keep in touch, but she did not call.
A couple weeks later the client finally did call and that was the first step. The second step was to talk with her and ask Marie’s favorite question “What happened?” What happened when she last took the state exam? That question, “What happened?” usually leads to answers. The third step was to make a plan on how, when, and where to study.
The client and Marie began studying together at the client’s apartment in the afternoons when she was not working. They soon found themselves studying outside of the apartment, sitting at one of the benches at Gaines Park. In fact, that day at the park, human anatomy began to make more sense than ever to the client. And studying on the phone when they were unable to meet was just another way to study. In the meantime, the client maintained her part-time retail job.
Weekly Amy, Marie and Grace sat and discussed the client’s challenges and progress. Amy, who is a very supportive person, wanted the client to succeed. She listened to the client’s ups and downs. Amy also sat in a staffing meeting with the client to let her know that the TANF team supports her and her children in accomplishing her goals.
As they say, you take one step forward and two steps backward. At least, that’s the way it felt when the client lost her part-time retail job because she was not meeting her employer’s sales quota. After losing that job, the TANF team (Amy, Grace and Marie) went back to work and met with the client. A plan was created where the client would remain unemployed while living at Recovery Village and preparing for the State Massage Exam. Her expenses were provided during this period so that she could concentrate on her studies.
Marie continued with the daunting task of preparing the client for the exam, working with her three to four times a week, sometimes on Saturdays. Marie concentrated on teaching her study skills and the use of mnemonic devices, preparing oral and written quizzes.
In November 2008, the client passed the State Board of Massage Therapy and is now working at a local spa.
What we can’t do alone, we can do together!!!!
"RONALD" GROWS UP
by Denise Saunders, Targeted Case Manager
Parent-Child Center, Inc.
Ronald is a 17-year-old male who has been diagnosed with ADHD and mild mental retardation. This client has experienced many issues at home and at school, such as poor school attendance due to truancy, failing grades, low self esteem, and issues with lying to his mother and others. Previously, he showed a lack of motivation about future goals and viewed his possibilities as negative and nonexistent. The client and his mother shared that he also deals with a lot of emotional hurt due to not having any contact with his biological father whom. They have no idea were the father is currently residing.
When Targeted Case Management (TCM) completed Ronald’s service plan, Ronald was asked where he saw himself in five years. He said he had difficulty believing that he could be anything in life, so he never made future plans. As his Targeted Case Manager, I continued to question the client regarding the things he liked, and tried to assist him in seeing things that he viewed as hobbies or interests could eventually lead him into a future career. Ronald shared a love of fixing things and eventually said that he might look into being an auto mechanic or an electrician, saying “I love fixing things and I could make a good living.”
TCM worked with Ronald and his family to assist him in getting into the appropriate academic environment. He is now in a school that is nurturing his academic learning style. As his TCM, I have regular visits with him at his new school. I am so proud of his current accomplishments! He now has almost perfect attendance, and his current grades are A’s and B’s. I spoke with his career prep teacher, who informed me that Ronald does an excellent job in the automobile care class; he is his number one student helper.
I recently met with Ronald and told him how proud I am of his accomplishment. He said, “I think I am growing up and I want to be successful in life, so I need to think about my future like you said.”
A FAMILY EMPOWERED
by Pamela Moss, MSW
Family Advocate, Partners for Prevention
Parent-Child Center, Inc.
A 20-year-old, single mother of three living in Riviera Beach was referred to our program in September of 2008. She was a victim of violence from her six-month-old baby’s father, and living in the garage of his mother’s home. The P.I. worked to remove the paramour from the home, and the client worked towards child support and an order of protection. The children– ages three, two, and six months–were in day care, while mother actively applied for employment in a variety of venues. We were able to give support by supplying mother with food for the family; formula, food and diapers for the baby; clothing, toys and books for all the children; and work-appropriate clothing for this mother.
Because the living situation was considered unreliable and potentially dangerous, we immediately made contact and requested a check to reserve an opening for the first month’s rent for the family. Due to the economy, this client was unable to find work and soon needed a re-evaluation for day care. A referral was supplied. Our client later revealed problems were beginning amongst the family, and these problems soon escalated as the baby’s father tried to force his way in to see the children. However, due to the violent patterns of this man, she protected her children from him and was then chastised and asked to leave their home.
Our client was empowered with referrals of shelters, and was able to recruit help to move her family and their garbage bags full of their belongings. This agency assisted in household equipment, supplies and food to set up her new home. The other family would take her food, leaving her without. Meanwhile, she continued to search for work, took the children to the doctor and located a day care, using bus passes that we supplied.
This family was then chosen to receive a complete Christmas supplied by an angel of our program, who chose all the gifts of clothing, toys and books for the children, gift cards for mom, and a Christmas dinner for the family. They were so very thankful and wrote a note to thank their benefactor. Recently, this client was informed that her apartment was ready, so we helped supply the essential furnishings of beds, table and chairs, a couch, and dressers – all delivered to their new home. This client is so proud and happy she has succeeded to this point, giving her hope and determination to continue to improve her life and provide for her children, who she loves and remains dedicated to.
THE BEACON CENTER'S FULL-TIME VOLUNTEER
by Marilyn Jones, Community Liaison at Pahokee Beacon Center
Housing Partnership, Inc.
I met Ms. P (not her real name) when I joined the Beacon as the Community Coordinator over four months ago. Originally, I thought she was an employee because of her fulltime status here. But, I found she is our only fulltime volunteer, who views this position with all the responsibilities required for a job, calling in when she will be out and letting us know if she needs to leave early.
You may wonder what is so special about that. Well, Ms. P is in her mid-twenties, has five children under the age of 10, and resides with her mother and step-father. She understands commitment and will do well in life, currently being a Beacon-sponsored GED student and school volunteer during special events.
Ms. P is committed to educational excellence for herself and her children, often retrieving extra GED sample lessons for herself and FCAT sample lessons for her children from the internet. Recently, she took the GED test and is awaiting the results.
Ms. P. truly understands the Beacon purpose (knowledge we want all residents to have) and has taken advantage of our services. Prior to taking the GED, she met with the Palm Beach Community College (PBCC) representative for educational counseling. Now that she has taken the GED, she has scheduled another meeting with the PBCC rep to map out her next step. Additionally, she attended our college information session that provided help completing financial aid and college applications, and is preparing to continue her journey to becoming a medical transcriptionist and may be leaning towards radiology.
I often discussed with Ms. P that her role here should be viewed as a gateway of experience that can lead to a permanent fulltime job. She truly embodies the symbol that self-improvement leads to self-empowerment—a motto we at the Beacon try to instill in our families.
A CLIENT HELPED BY TARGETED CASE MANAGEMENT
by Rachel Trammell, Senior Targeted Case Manager
Parent-Child Center, Inc.
Our client had been with Parent-Child Center off and on for three years. He was very impulsive, starting fires, using substances, and exhibiting behavior issues, having run away several times. The family tried every service in the county with little to no success.
This client was not able to be stabilized in the community and was therefore brought into MDT staffing after 55 Baker Acts. He was initially denied, but the family asked to continue services. In the meantime, he acquired his GED. However, the Targeted Case Manager did not want to give up in getting the services needed, and asked the judge for a court order. This would allow his case to be heard by multi-disciplinary staffing again. With much persistence from Targeted Case Management (TCM), the case was heard again.
The client was placed into Sandy Pines. While in the facility, he helped with the other children and served as a mentor. After completing Sandy Pines, he volunteered to help his Targeted Case Manager with the Parent-Child Center Food for Families Program. The client enrolled into a trade school and is actively learning to be an ACE Certified Mechanic. He just completed his TCM services as he just turned 18 years old and has moved into the Crossroads Program to continue with his success.