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April 10, 2009 www.ourfamilyservices.org

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Be a friend!
 
Our Family's Senior Companion Program is looking for low-income volunteers 60 and older to provide companionship, transportation, and help with daily living tasks to homebound seniors and disabled adults. 
 
Volunteers say helping others enriches their lives, gives them a sense of purpose, and helps them work through their own aches and pains. Clients' say their quality of life improves as they feel less isolated.
 
Senior Companions receive a stipend of $2.65 an hour, accident and liability insurance, reimbursement for approved meals and transportation on-duty, and monthly training.
 
Volunteers must be physically able and willing to give approximately 20 hours a week and have strong English skills.
 
For information, call (520) 323-1708 x 240.
IRA Charitable
Rollover extended 
 
Through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the IRA Charitable Rollover legislation has been extended retroactive to 2008 and 2009.
 
For those years, holders of traditional IRAs who are at least 70 1/2 years old can transfer up to $100,000 to public charities without having to count the distributions as taxable income.
 
Please ask your tax adviser for details.
 

spring

 
to
Our Family 
 
Making a difference, one life at a time 
 
In these challenging times, every day brings stories of hardship. Here at Our Family, every day also brings stories of hope. Even in difficult times like these, our support helps our clients improve their lives.

Here are a few recent examples:

· The man who was recently laid off from a good job but is worried about making ends meet and keeping his daughter in college. Like many others who have called the Information & Referral Helpline for the first time in recent months, he didn't know where to begin. Our information specialist gave him the referrals he needed to apply for food stamps, unemployment compensation and other aid.

· The young mother of two who left a violent relationship and came to our CommonUnity residential program. She got counseling for herself and her children, help with budgeting, case management, and life skills and parenting classes. After successfully graduating from CommonUnity, she moved to our offsite aftercare housing, which enabled her to save money and establish a credit history. Now living successfully on her own, taking classes at Pima College and working as an office manager, she is buying a townhome for her young family. She and the children's father have completed mediation counseling, and he is now paying child support and having unsupervised weekend visits with the children. She is grateful for the support that helped her find her strength as a single mother, and she keeps in touch with the other young women at CommonUnity.

· The adult siblings who couldn't agree on how to care for their mother, who is suffering from dementia. With the help of our mediators, they were able to voice their differences and come up with a plan of action. They were deeply appreciative of the mediation process, which allowed them all to be heard and helped them find common ground.

· The woman disabled with severe arthritis who was able to secure a part-time job last year, through the encouragement of her case manager and a few professional outfits from our clothing bank. She was laid off recently due to the economic downturn, and before her Social Security benefits could be adjusted to account for the loss of income, she fell behind on bills, couldn't afford to buy food, and her gas was turned off.  Her case manager worked tirelessly to find resources to help. With food back in the house and hot baths again to ease her arthritis, this client is back on her feet and back in the hunt for a new job. 
 
Turning your life around doesn't happen overnight. It happens when our clients, and the Our Family staff who care about and support them, work day after day to reach one goal at a time. To everyone who helps make these many small steps possible, we thank you.
rh smallTime-out for youth
and their families
 
When there's conflict at home, young people sometimes feel they have nowhere to turn and their only alternative is to run away.

Before the situation reaches a breaking point, call Reunion House. We can offer youth age 12-17 a free stay of up to five days. During this cooling-off period, we can help families get the services they need to get back together safely.

Call our toll-free hotline at 1-800-537-8696. Services are confidential.
Basic training for your employees 
 
Our Family's Comprehensive Orientation & Required Education training is a social service and behavioral health curriculum currently used by a number of Tucson agencies to train their staff and volunteers.

C.O.R.E. covers a myriad of social issues including homelessness, violence, addiction, domestic violence, child/elder abuse and LGBT awareness. It also includes training in communications skills of conflict resolution and crisis intervention, boundaries, confidentiality, HIPAA, suicide assessment/intervention and risk management.
 
For more information about sending your staff to C.O.R.E., contact Kathy Schlitz.
 
Keep your loved one safe 
 
If you've thought about getting the Lifeline medical alert system for someone you care about, now's a perfect time. Until June 30, you can save $125 with FREE activation and FREE first month's service by signing up through Our Family.

In the event of a fall or emergency, the Lifeline offers help at the push of a button -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No purchase is required, and there are no long-term contracts to sign. Email Sandy for information or call (520) 323-1708 x 261.