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Greetings from the CEO,
Ahhh... it's "Summer time, and the living is easy.." as the song goes. Fire up the barbeque...kick back and relax. The kids are almost out of school and vacations are just around the corner. In the best of worlds, we get to spend more time together, enjoying longer days and more leisure time. Being home can be great, relaxing and fulfilling. But is this always the case? Perhaps not all the time.
Summer is also a time when we see an increase in home and recreational accidents and emergency room visits. As you know, safety is a very important theme here at Family Continuity, and we know that every year, people are endangered by carelessness and accidents even more often than by dangerous, neighborhoods, threats, and violence.
We hope that you'll take a look at this month's "Family Corner" as you plan out your summer. Unfortunately, we can't control everything, but let's do what we can to stay safe and get out there and have fun with our families!
Earl "Skip" Stuck |
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 The Family Corner
Keeping Our Families Safe
 Keeping our families safe and out of harm's way is a top priority for most of us. When we tell our kids to "come home before dark", or to "stay in the neighborhood", we are making an inherent assumption that our homes are safe places. Unfortunately, too many of our homes can be dangerous - preventable injuries and deaths continue to rise in homes and communities.
In 2009, there were an estimated 90,300 home and community-related unintentional injury deaths, accounting for 70 percent of all unintentional injury deaths that year. An additional 30.5 million people suffered nonfatal medically consulted injuries due to home and community-related incidents, which correlates to about one out of every 10 people. The National Safety Council estimates everyday
that approximately 245 people die of unintentional injuries in homes and communities.
Click here to continue reading... |
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Program Highlights
Family Continuity Staff Volunteer at Lazarus House in Lawrence
 | Lawrence Staff Volunteering
Their Time & Talents |
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month in May several staff members from our Lawrence office volunteered their time at the Lazarus House in Lawrence. The Lazarus House helps head of households and individuals living in poverty regain their dignity and become self sufficient members of our community by offering emergency shelter, food and clothing to people in crisis and then providing transitional housing, advocacy, health services, education and work preparation to permanently break the cycle of poverty.
Family Continuity staff members participating in this day of service were Jen Orlando (organizer), Lindsay Averbook, Stacey Trull, Ellie Espinosa, Laurie McLeod, Dawna Conversano, Pamela Garcia, Nina MacLean, Yakira Nunez.
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Our Lawrence Office recently kicked off our
Spring/Summer All Staff Day Events
 | | Lawrence Staff Enjoying an Essex River Boat Cruise |
On Friday, May 18th, 28 members of the Lawrence Team enjoyed a fun filled day in Essex MA. The weather was 70 degrees and sunny and the day started off with a service recognition award from our Senior Administrative Team that honored Thomas Byron for his hard work and dedication to Family Continuity. To make sure no one felt left out, Jen Orlando led a "comical" recognition ceremony for all team members by calling our staff out for some of their "superlative" qualities.
Everyone enjoyed team building activities such as working in small groups to get to know each other and a group scavenger hunt. The second half of the day provided a relaxing river boat cruise and private beach BBQ where staff played games and enjoyed the nautical views.
Be sure to check back next month for more highlights from our other hub site all staff days! |
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Forward this issue to a friend or colleague and encourage them to sign up. |
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Real Stories
Children's Services from MY Perspective - Kenny's Story
In the Sept. and October, 2011 editions of the Family Continuity Newsletter, we featured a two part series "Children's Services from the Family Perspective," with the help of Mary Lambert, PPAL Senior Family Support Specialist and Family Continuity Board member. This month we've called upon another Board member, Kenny Pierre to share his experiences with the child welfare system, this time from the perspective of a youth in care.
I am 22 years old, and shortly will be graduating from college with my Bachelors Degree. Soon, I expect to pursue a full time career working with children and youth, perhaps for DYS, or one of its nonprofit providers. I am proud of what I've accomplished, but getting here has been a long and difficult journey.
I was born in Haiti, and moved with my family to Massachusetts before I could remember, settling in Medford. When I was 6 years old, I was removed from my home by DSS (now DCF) because of reports from my school and their suspicion that I was being abused at home. I was sent to a group home, where I spent the next two years. It was not a happy experience, I felt like I was dumped there, with my worker rarely visiting, and my family not making me feel very welcome at home either. When they said I could leave, I didn't return home, but was sent to live with...continue reading Kenny's story here. |
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High Five-5k...Come Run With Us
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We are excited to announce a new event to benefit Family Continuity's Family Support Fund. On Saturday, October 6, 2012, at 9:00AM, we will be hosting the first "High Five, 5k" road race starting and finishing at the Hemisphere Restaurant on Town Neck in Sandwich, MA. This will be a USA Track and Field Sanctioned event organized thanks to the work of former Hyannis Flex Team member, Neil Bohlin and Eric Soderstrom, of the "Mullet Marathon" Running Club. With great autumn weather, and a race course that covers a scenic stretch of Cape marsh and beach, we hope to draw runners from the Cape, southeastern Mass and beyond for this Columbus Day weekend event.
You will be hearing more about the event in the months to come, and we hope that you'll think about encouraging friends and family members to come, (and even think about running or volunteering yourself)! In the meantime, learn more at the race link at www.highfive5k.com. |
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Volunteers Needed 
Volunteers wanted to help us support family success in every community! Volunteers are needed in all of our hub locations (Beverly/Peabody, Hyannis, Lawrence, Plymouth & Whitinsville/ Worcester).
We don't need much of your time, we simply need some of your time!
Click here to view a list of our available volunteer opportunities.
Volunteers interested in working with us do not need to have a human services background but must share in a strong commitment to supporting families. Volunteer opportunities vary by location with all sites looking for volunteers who can commit to working a set number of hours per week or month or who can help complete a specific time limited-job/project.
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Family Continuity's Mission Statement:
Supporting family success in every community by empowering people, enhancing their strengths, and creating solutions through partnerships to achieve hope, positive change and meaningful lives.
Agency Values: Family, Community, Advocacy, Leadership, and Change
Treatment Philosophy, founded on the belief that positive change is always possible:
* The most effective treatment provides a continuity of care, acknowledging that connected, relevant supportive services to clients/client families promote recovery, stability, self advocacy and permanency in the midst of changing needs.
* Therapeutic change occurs in the context of a dynamic treatment partnership between clients and helpers that is founded on choice, respect, honesty, and a shared responsibility for and participation in the development of solutions.
* Effective treatment is empowering and strength-based, recognizing that all clients possess resources for change and that change is possible when these resources are utilized.
* Creating meaningful lives starts with identifying goals and connecting that to individualized, flexible and creative treatment planning that incorporates a client's family/community relationships, culture, and context. |
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