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NEWS from Unity Care Group
Community Partners Newsletter
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Dear Friends,
As we survey the landscape for 2008, we are faced with many challenges with the biggest being the impact of the State Budget. During these tough times, Unity Care is planning ahead and working hard to raise alternative funds that will ensure our youth and families receive the assistance and support they need.
I believe 2008 is going to be a great year for Unity Care in spite of the economic downturn because our passionate staff will go above and beyond the call of duty to serve our youth and families with great compassion, enthusiasm and teamwork. Our Wraparound team's recent experience with a family in crisis is a perfect example of our staff's dedication and committment. Through exceptional teamwork our staff successfully resolved a family crisis situation highlighted in this newsletter.
Additionally, Unity Care is one of the Top Four Charities in the Birdies for Charity Fundraiser. We hope you will continue to support our efforts to help change lives one at a time by making a donation before Friday, February 15, 2008.
Best wishes,
André Chapman
André Chapman
What's Happening at Unity Care
Birdies for Charity Fundraiser!
Unity Place Provides Affordable Housing
Birdies for Charity Fundraiser
Thanks to your generous support Unity Care is one of the top Four Charities! As one of the Top Four Charities Unity Care will get the opportunity to host a booth at the upcoming AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament on Thursday, February 7, 2008. For one full day we get to ask participants and celebrity golfers to donate to our cause. If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to stop by our booth and say hello.
Although we are in the top four we still need your support. Remember the Monterey Peninsula Foundation will match 10% of each donation we receive. So if you have not donated, you still have until Friday, February 15, 2008. So please take a moment to make a simple donation online and help Unity Care continue to change lives one child at a time.
Since 1993, Unity Care has served over 900 youth and their families in a variety of culturally competent residential, mental health, and community based programs. However, as County budget cuts continue to rise, Unity Care is working harder to ensure vital services to our Foster Youth and families receive the services they so desperately need.
Unity Care will be here to work against the numerous odds stacked against Foster Youth who will be/or who are currently emancipated from the foster car system at 18 years of age.
According to California's statistics for emancipated Foster Care Youth:
More than 54% of youth who age-out of Foster Care do so each year without a high school diploma
African American's make up 7% of California's child population but account for 32% of children in Foster Care
For every one African American and Latino youth that goes to College - 3 to 4 go to prison
70% of San Quentin inmates grew up in Foster Care
Only 3% of Foster Care Youth go on to a 4-Year College
Two years after leaving foster care, less than half had jobs and only 40% had held a job for a least one year.
These alarming statistics demonstrate a clear need for Unity Care's culturally appropriate positive youth programs and services.
Please make a quick donation online or by printing and filling out the pledge form by Friday, February 15, 2008.
You may fax your pledge forms to Linda Vu, our Communications and Development Specialist at (408) 971-9820. Or if you have questions, do not hesitate to give her a call at (408) 971-9822.
Unity Place Apartments Provides Affordable Housing
Did you know between 1998 and 2005 the number of emancipated foster youth increased by 38%? Or the fact that at age 18 foster youth leave the foster care system without any financial, housing, or emotional support.
With the number of emancipated foster youth growing annually and the likelihood that they will end up homeless or incarcerated, Unity Care worked swiftly to address the need for affordable housing as well as additional supportive services.
Nearly one year ago, Unity Care successfully opened Unity Place I, an affordable housing apartment complex.
Unity Place I is a 12-Unit complex featuring two bedroom and one bathroom units, which provides transitional and permanent housing and case management services to foster youth.
Unity Place II is currently being renovated, but will be opening within the year. The complex has 8 units featuring two bedroom and one bathroom apartment units. Additionally, this complex will serve young foster youth who are single mothers and fathers.
Through Unity Care’s Transitional and Permanent Housing Program provides foster youth ages 18-24 receive affordable housing as well as individualized comprehensive supportive services. Upon acceptance in the program participants receive a full needs assessment and have access to transportation assistance, food, clothing as well as the following services:
Job Readiness, Search and Retention
Education Assistance
Financial Planning
Independent Living Skills
Therapeutic Services
Unity Place apartments offers a source of hope and stability to young adults and provides them the opportunity to live in a safe and secure positive living environment, while enabling individuals to work towards their goals and dreams. Our individualized programmatic services have clearly proven to successfully assist at risk youth as they transition into adulthood.
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Wraparound Goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
Last week, Unity Care’s Wraparound team received a call regarding a crisis situation with one of our families. The daughter had physically harmed herself the night before and the Department of Social and Employment Services (DSES) showed up ready to remove the daughter from her home into a group home.
Immediately, our Wraparound team dropped everything to attend an emergency Family Team meeting. The team successfully worked with community partners and established a Super-Wrap plan that would allow the daughter to remain in her home. Super-Wrap is a short-term, intense intervention whereby the family is provided with up to 24 hour a day, 7 days a week support to assist in stabilizing the crisis situation while learning new skills.
Within two hours of the meeting, four team members had divided up separate shifts and took turns staying with the family in order provide full crisis support throughout the day, into the evening, overnight and into the next morning.
Super-Wrap continued throughout the week and the entire Wraparound team did not hesitate to contribute round-the-clock support. The team quickly became a part of the family routine, by providing in the moment coaching, encouragement, and mediation towards specified goals.
Just one week later, a team member stopped by for an in-house family meeting where she was greeted with a smiling, energetic and bubbly daughter. The daughter provided a grand tour of the house and showed off her hard work in helping to clean up the house during the week.
In addition to a very successful week, the daughter also exhibited remarkable behavioral changes, which was in stark contrast to what the team had remembered her for. The girl was known as an extremely troubled youth who constantly needed reminders to go to school, was often written up at school, argued with her mother and had incidences of self-harm. Due to Super-Wrap’s extraordinary support, the daughter made astonishing changes in her behavior by attending school with minimal prompting, coasting through the school day, had no incidents of self harm or arguments with her mother.
Super-Wrap makes it possible to stabilize a child within the comfort and familiarity of their home and community. By identifying safety issues, and working as a team to put plans in place to address those issues before they rise, our team is able to help families grow beyond their crisis. We help them to see their strengths, and teach them how to use “what’s working?” to accomplish their goals. By walking side by side with families, we support them in achieving the type of lifestyle that they once only dreamed about.
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Unity Care Group, Inc. |
ph: 408.971.9822 |
