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June 2013
More Exciting News from the Human Services Department!
In just 2 months since the launch of our first e-Newsletter, we have more great news to share, successes to celebrate, and programs to highlight! We hope you enjoy our June edition. Happy Summer!
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Human Services Department Receives $10,000 Award for Make a Difference Day!
 | Human Services honored on April 21st at
the Washington DC Luncheon |
Congratulations to the City of Fremont for winning one of three city awards for Make a Difference Day, a national day of volunteering! Sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Gannett, Newman's Own and Points of Light, the Make A Difference Day contest honors 'America's top volunteers from the nation's largest day of doing good.' The recognition comes with a $10,000 prize earmarked for future community projects. Last October, the City's Human Relations Commission recruited 1,339 residents for 76 projects throughout Fremont, including park and creek cleanups, painting schools, fixing code violations for seniors' homes, collecting 200 pounds of peanut butter and jelly for the homeless, and oil changes for single moms to name a few. Read more...
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Aging & Family Services (AFS)
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4th Annual Four Seasons of Health Expo
 | | Health Expo: To be held June 7, 2013 |
Join City of Fremont Human Services Department and the Tri-City Elder Coalition as they host the 4th Annual Four Seasons of Health Expo for Adults 50+ years, seniors and veterans! The Expo will take place on Friday, June 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Fremont Senior Center and Lake Elizabeth, 40086 Paseo Padre Parkway.
The Four Seasons of Health Expo, one of the largest health fairs in Alameda County, will feature a variety of health screenings, dental screenings and private consultation sessions with pharmacists. Over 120 senior service and veteran vendors from public and non-profit organizations and private businesses will be at the Expo to answer your questions. Read more...
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Fremont Senior Discount Recycling Program
The City of Fremont has established a discounted trash, recycling, and organics collection rates for senior citizens who are serviced as single-family residents in the City of Fremont. Customers between the ages of 70 and 79 years of age receive a 50% discount for once-a-week collection of 20 or 32 gallon garbage, recycling and organics containers, and customers 80+ years receive a free once-a-week collection of 20 or 32-gallon garbage, recycling and organics containers. Read more...
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Youth & Family Services (YFS)
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L-R: Maria Sotelo and Deb Scott
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Youth & Family Services Displays Client Art
Deb Scott, MFT and staff therapist at Fremont Youth & Family Services frequently listens to amazing poetry her teenage clients have written. She was aware that other YFS therapists were also hearing and seeing some of the creative ways their clients were expressing themselves and wanted ways to share their work. A wonderful new display of client art is now in the YFS waiting room - take a look! Read more...
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YFS introduces Mandarin Parent Workshops
Parent education refers to workshops or classes that teach parents about child development, health, family communication, and how to best support their child's learning and development. Research has shown that children's academic performance improves if parents are actively involved in learning and maintain healthy family communication habits at home.
YFS has conducted Parent Project in English since 2006, and in Spanish since 2009, allowing us to strengthen families. In academic year 2012-2013 the Chinese Team at YFS developed a unique curriculum for Mandarin speaking parents that is tailored for the specific concerns of immigrant or bi-cultural families. Read more...
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Family Resource Center (FRC)
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2nd Annual Citizenship Application Day
at FRC Serves Many!
 | | Citizenship Application Day |
The Fremont FRC partnered for the second year running with the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) to host a successful citizenship day here in Fremont at the FRC on April 27, helping 40 people with application assistance or advice on their citizenship applications. Clients came from around the world with 16 countries represented.
Over 50 volunteers, including the Interact Club from Kennedy High School, were ready with language capacity that included Spanish, Chinese, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Farsi, Vietnamese, Pashto, Korean, Arabic and other languages. One volunteer, Sammy Casas, a first-generation American, had a meaningful experience volunteering. He said "This reminds me of when my parents helped Mexican families fill out the paperwork for Amnesty during the 1980's." IIBA now holds monthly immigration workshops at the FRC and will soon be holding office hours as well at the FRC. For more information call IIBA at 510-451-2846.
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$3.6M Returned to Tri-City Residents
It was another record breaking tax season for the FRC's free tax preparation service called VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). From January - April, 126 volunteers, speaking 25 different languages, prepared tax returns for 2,379 low-income families at the FRC as well as three other Tri-City locations.
Through this effort, our customers received $3.3M in Federal refunds and another $383K in State refunds for a staggering total amount of $3.6M in refunds! We are very grateful to our wonderful volunteer coaches, quality reviewers, tax preparers, screeners, ambassadors, translators and office assistants who make this free tax service possible.
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Services to Increase Your Credit Score
 | | Lending Circle Customers Increase their Credit Score! |
These days your credit report and score affect more than your credit card interest rate. Your credit score can raise your insurance rates and affect whether you can rent an apartment, obtain utilities or even get a job. With so much riding on your credit score, it's critical to have a good score, and our SparkPoint financial services program offers several ways to get there. Our Credit Repair class covers what's in your credit report, typical errors that you should look for and fix, and general education so you know what raises and lowers your score. Your first step is to attend a one-hour SparkPoint Information Session on June 20th from 6-7pm at the FRC. Call 574-2020 to register. Read more...
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Community Voice: Shawn Fong
Promoting Senior and Disabled Access with Forward-thinking Solutions
Shawn Fong and her partner walk their Temescal neighborhood every weekend, their two year old sprinting ahead of them on his bike. An Oakland resident since 1996, Shawn has been an avid transit rider for over 25 years. Her favorite way to get to work is to ride her "beater bike" to MacArthur and take BART to Fremont. She says, "The commute is less than an hour and it's stress-free!" For the past 11 years, Shawn has managed the City of Fremont's Paratransit Program and has been instrumental in developing a comprehensive network of transportation and mobility programs for seniors and people with disabilities in southern Alameda County. Read more...
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We hope you enjoyed the second edition of the Human Services Newsletter! You will receive our next one in August.
Sincerely,
City of Fremont
Human Services Department
3300 Capitol Avenue
Fremont, CA 94537
(510) 574-2050
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|  | | Your support means a lot to our community! |
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Friday June 7
Four Seasons of
Health Expo
Fremont Senior Center
40086 Paseo Padre Parkway
Fremont, CA 94537
9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Free Admission
Family Resource Center (FRC) Events:
39155 Liberty Street
Fremont, CA 94537
June 10, 26, July 10, 24,
or Aug 14:
CalFresh/Food Stamp Application Assistance
Call for an appointment
FRC 510-574-2000
FRC Welcome Center
June 20, July 18 or Aug 15:
SparkPoint Financial Services Info Session
Free financial services for low income people who want to strengthen their finances.
6-7pm Contact: SparkPoint 510-574-2020 Ext 1 FRC Millennium Room
July 2:
Peer Lending Info Session
This program helps people establish or improve their credit score.
Contact SparkPoint
510-574-2020 Ext 4
FRC Millennium Room
Fremont Senior Center Events:
Fremont Senior Center
40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy
Fremont, CA 94537
June 17: Father's Day Lunch (please purchase in advance)
July 5: July 4th BBQ (please purchase in advance) July 15-Aug 8: Finding Wellness Class, pre-registration required, no charge July 31: Scam Stoppers Event, arranged by Assemblyman Quirk's office, 1-3 pm
SAVE THE DATES
Seniors Night Out
20th Anniversary!
Friday October 18, 2013
5-8 PM
Fremont/Newark Hilton
Holiday Boutique
Fremont Senior Center
December 6 & 7, 2013
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Do you know about the Tri-City Elder Coalition?
Formed in 1991, the Tri-City Elder Coalition (TCEC) is an affiliation of over sixty-five organizations, including senior service providers, cultural and faith groups, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and businesses - all with one goal - to provide programs, services, and opportunities for seniors living in Fremont, Newark, and Union City, CA.
TCEC networking meetings are held 5x times/year and are open to the community. Contact: Dr. Ray Grimm at rgrimm@fremont.gov.
TCEC Networking Meeting:
Date: June 18, 2013
Time: 12-1:30 PM
Venue: Merrill Gardens
2860 Country Drive
Fremont, CA
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Fremont Senior Citizens Commission Accepts City Proclamation
 | | Senior Citizen Commissioners L-R: Pat Helton, Esther Hobbs, Amrit Chugh, Eeshwari Vaidya, and Robert Creveling (Chair). |
In recognition of Older American Month, members of the Senior Citizen Commission accept a proclamation at the May 3 City Council meeting. The proclamation stated that the City of Fremont is committed to valuing all individuals and recognizing their ongoing life achievement and recognized that older adults are vital citizens who greatly contribute to the community.
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Click on the link to be directed to the Fremont Family Resource Center Facebook Page
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