June 2016
- Human Services Department Staff
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With the successful request of the City's Human Relations Commission and Senior Citizen Commission funding, which supports 19 social service agencies, will be increased by $200,000 in the FY 2016-17 budget, thanks to City Manager Fred Diaz, and a vote of the City Council on June 21st. This increased allocation brings the total dollars going to support services such as health screening and legal assistance for seniors and operational support for a new memory loss center, as well as children's services, and programs for the homeless to $785,000 annually. Funds for these "safety net" services are pooled from the City's General Fund, Community Development Block Grant Program and Measure BB. Click on the link City Funded Grants for a complete listing of City of Fremont's funded agencies and their services.
Thomas J. Long Foundation partners with the Human Services Department
After more than four decades of supporting hundreds of programs in the East Bay, the Thomas J. Long Foundation's Board of Trustees decided to spend out the Foundation's assets by 2019. Through invitation the foundation intends to fund projects that promote Healthy Aging in a Supportive Community. We are happy to announce that over the next three years, the Human Services Department will be one of the Foundation's partners. The Department will explore what it means to be an Aging Friendly City, how neighbors can help each other to remain living at home, and what role the Senior Center can play in older adult's ability to age well. These exciting projects will include obtaining input from the community and we welcome broad participation. More updates to come.
Restorative Justice Training
In May team members from Fremont's Family Resource Center and Youth and Family Services Divisions, joined team members from Union City's Youth Service Center for a 5-day training on Restorative Justice Practices. Both teams work with juveniles involved in the criminal justice system.
Restorative Justice is a community-based approach to dealing with crime, the eff ects of crime, and the prevention of crime, which operates from a belief that the path to justice lies in problem solving and healing rather than punitive isolation. Restorative justice is different from contemporary criminal justice in several ways. First, it views criminal acts more comprehensively -- rather than defining crime as simply law-breaking, it recognizes that offenders harm victims, communities and even themselves. Second, it involves more parties in responding to crime -- rather than giving key roles only to government and the offender; it includes victims and communities as well. Finally, it measures success differently -- rather than measuring how much punishment is inflicted, it measures how much harm is repaired or prevented.
The goals of circles include: promoting healing of all affected parties, giving the offender the opportunity to make amends, giving victims, offenders, family members and communities a voice and shared responsibility in finding constructive resolutions, addressing underlying causes of criminal behavior, and building a sense of community around shared community values. Circles may also be used to obtain better understanding among diverse members of a community and to resolve issues when conflict arises.
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Fremont Senior Center Increases
Online Capabilities!
Fremont Senior Center staff have been working hard the last few months to upgrade our online presence. We are proud to announce that MEMBERS can now sign up for classes online at City of Fremont Senior Center from the comfort of your home. Click on the Web Portal Link to register to become a member, or renew membership online. There will be classes in the near future to help those who would like to learn how to register for classes online. Stop by the Senior Center at 40086 Paseo Padre Parkway in Fremont or call us at (510) 790-6600 to find out all about what the Senior Center has to offer!
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Four Seasons of Health Expo
a Huge Success!
June 3, 2016 - Each year, the City of Fremont's Human Services Department, in collaboration with the Tri-City Elder Coalition, hosts the Four Seasons of Health Expo at the Fremont Senior Center & Lake Elizabeth, and this year it attracted the largest crowd in its seven year history. Nearly 2,000 attendees,115+ vendors, and 100+ volunteers found the event extremely useful and enjoyable. Seniors were connected with local organizations and businesses providing information on transportation, housing, legal, and health programs and other services.
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Crab Feed a Success Thanks to Community Support!
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|  | | $1,000 sponsor Karen and Joboy Koshy of Fremont Warm Springs Sunrise Rotary with the wine and quilt baskets they won. | |
Fremont Senior Center's 9th annual Crab Feed held at Fremont's Elk Lodge on Friday, February 19th was a fun and successful event! Fifty-eight baskets were raffled off to lucky and excited winners like one donated by Black Oak Casino that had two $40 food vouchers, two $25 free play cards, and more.
Our oldest guest in attendance at 99 ½, George Sekovich, was awarded $100 spontaneously by Mission Peak Incorporated President John Wong. The endless supply of crab shipped in fresh from Oregon, was delicious along with the popular pasta and garlic bread. The senior center is grateful to all those who attended which included city council members and the Mayor. The community event raised over $25,500 for the senior center. All in attendance are looking forward to next year's crab feed which will be on Friday, February 17, 2017.
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Youth & Family Services (YFS)
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Children's Mental Health Awareness Day and Mental Health Awareness Month
The City of Fremont Human Services Department - Youth and Family Services Division participated in multiple collaborative community events during the month of May to raise awareness of the importance of children's social and emotional health and mental health:
- May 7th - Fremont Unified Student Store (FUSS) sponsored an education and fundraising event at ClubSport.
- May 11th - Youth and Family Services hosted a family and child-friendly awareness event at the Fremont Family Resource Center that included art activities facilitated by YFS Family Partner Tamara Garnes.
- May 13th - The inaugural Alameda County Conference on Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health. This event was sponsored by Alameda Behavioral Health Care Services. YFS Clinical Supervisor, Helen Hsu (President-elect for the Asian American Psychological Association) was the event emcee. State and County data was presented about plans to reduce mental health care disparities. Focus groups were conducted with consumers, caretakers and family members, service providers to plan future care.
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Family Resource Center (FRC)
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 FRC Participates in East Bay Gives
On May 3rd, the Fremont Family Resource Center (FRC) participated in East Bay Gives, a 24-hour online fundraiser sponsored by the East Bay Community Foundation. Despite some challenges with the nationally-driven giving software, the FRC raised a total of $8,545 in online and matching funds that will assist individuals and families to regain control of their own futures. Services provided by the FRC Core Team include coordination of the FRC Collaborative, Family Support Services, SparkPoint financial services and VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). Special thanks to Unitek College, Johnny and Betty Yee, and Suzanne Shenfil and Ross Smart for match funding. If you missed seeing our new FRC video, please go to FRC Video and if you missed East Bay Gives but would like to give to the FRC now, you can do so at FRC Donate .
First Sparkpoint University Graduation!
On Feb 24th, 14 Spanish-speaking women, all Searles Elementary School parents in Union City, graduated from a pilot program called SparkPoint University. They attended a series of financial education workshops designed to increase their financial awareness and skills and to promote parent engagement. Our partner, Wells Fargo Bank, provided the education and taught four workshops on Savings and Budgeting, Credit and Managing Credit, Using Credit to Your Advantage, and Money Tools and Tips. In addition to certificates of completion, the graduates received a $100 savings account from SparkPoint Fremont to start college funds for their children. Most of the SparkPoint University graduates had never walked across a stage before so this graduation ceremony was even more touching as their proud spouses, children and families looked on.
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| | Janeth, SparkPoint Graduate |
"I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to share with you this wonderful experience in this course. Learning this process has allowed us to grow in all areas, because we now have more tools that will allow us to have better control of our personal finances and create the habit of saving." (Translated)
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Aging & Family Services (AFS)
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CAPS Wins Encore's 1st Place
Fast Pitch Award! 
We are proud to announce that the Community Ambassador Program won the $5,000 Encore Fast Pitch Award! Encore is an organization that is building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world (Encore.org). The 3-minute Fast Pitch competition was held on February 11th during Encore's annual conference. CAPS Program Manager, Asha Chandra, represented the City of Fremont and gave the pitch. The competition was designed to showcase organizations with socially innovative programs.
100+ CAPS Ambassadors Trained to Support Older Adults
April, 2016 - The CAPS Program offered its' 6th training opportunity and over 100 volunteer Community Ambassadors participated, both new and returning! CAPS Ambassadors serve seniors and their families by providing them information and referral to local resources and services. Ambassadors speak multiple languages and conduct outreach via faith and ethnic organizations, libraries, farmer's markets, health fairs, and more. During the training, Ambassadors learned from local presenters on topics such as social security, health benefits, housing, and active listening. To connect with a CAPS ambassador, please call the City of Fremont's Senior Helpline at (510) 574-2041. For more information on this nationally-recognized award-winning program, please visit www.capseniors.org
Meet HIP Housing's Fremont Home Sharing Program's Newest Match!
In August 2015, the City of Fremont partnered with HIP Housing's Home Sharing program in an effort to provide affordable housing options for the City's residents.The Home Sharing Program creates affordable housing from existing housing stock by matching people who have spare bedrooms with those seeking a place to live.
HIP Housing's most recent home sharing match was made between two seniors: a Fremont Homeowner and a Fremont native who is a retired Civil Engineer. The Home Provider has lived in her home since 1988 and has rented a room in the home for additional income. She found out about HIP Housing's program by seeing an ad in the Tri-City Voice. and decided it was time to get additional support. Living on a fixed income from retirement and being able to afford the high cost of housing in the Bay Area was a challenge and Home Sharing became a solution.
On June 3rd, the Home Sharing clients completed their Living Together Agreement with HIP Housing staff and proceeded with the move-in. Both clients are retired but find that they have busy schedules. The Seeker who is very handy has been a great help to the Home Provider by providing assistance in fixing things around the home.
For more information about HIP Housing's Home Sharing Program, please contact HIP Housing Coordinator Laura Moya at 510-574-2173 or visit Fremont's Human Services Department at 3300 Capitol Ave., Building B in Fremont.
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Transportation & Mobility Services
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Need Help with Transportation?
Transportation Resources Specialists from the Tri-City Mobility Management Program are available to help Tri-City seniors and people with disabilities with their specific transportation needs.
We can help you:
- Learn how to use public transit buses or BART trains
- Get a Clipper Card and learn how to use it
- Find transportation alternatives if you no longer drive & cannot take public transit
- Understand how to renew your driver's license & maintain driving safety as you age
- Any other transportation needs!
We will work with you to assess your individual transportation needs and get you linked with the most appropriate services. We can complete applications for transportation services and make arrangements for rides to medical appointments and other needs.
Please contact us for assistance: Pamela Gutierrez (Se habla Espanol), 510-574-2053 or email pgutierrez@fremont.gov or Shawn Fong, 510-574-2033 or email sfong@fremont.gov
Learn How to Ride Bus and BART!
The Tri-City Travel Training Program offers workshops and individualized training sessions to help seniors and people with disabilities learn how to use local buses (AC Transit and Union City Transit) and BART as well as Clipper, the all-in-one transit card. If you are interested in learning how to ride transit, register for one of our workshops listed below or contact us to schedule an individualized training session. Upcoming Travel Training workshops will be held at the following locations: Fremont Senior Center 40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont - July 25th and 26th from 9am to 12pm
- August 29th and 30th from 9am to 12pm
Ruggieri Senior Center 33997 Alvarado-Niles Rd., Union City - August 22nd and 23rd from 9am to 12pm
To register for a workshop or for more information, contact Pamela Gutierrez at (510) 574-2053 or pgutierrez@fremont.gov.
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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! |
SF Pride and Fremont's 4th of July Parades
For the fourth year, the City of Fremont, led by the Human Relations Commission, joined in the SF Pride Parade on Sunday June 26. This 46th annual celebration of gay culture and life is one of the biggest in the nation with over 200 marching contingents and hundreds of thousands of spectators.
In addition, the Human Relations Commissioners, Human Services staff and volunteers will once again participate in Fremont's fun-filled 4th of July Parade.
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Support the FRC Without
If you shop at Amazon, you can easily support FRC services and it won't cost you anything extra. Just go to FRC Amazon Donation Link whenever you make a purchase from Amazon, and the Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of your purchase to the FRC. Just save the link in your favorites and use that URL whenever you shop at Amazon; or if you forget the link, start shopping at smile.amazon.com and choose the Fremont Family Resource Center. It's that easy! To learn more about the FRC and our services to the community, check out our latest video at FRC Video!
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Instructor of the Year
FRC Clinical Supervisor Ana Lilia DeLeon Gonzalez was recently honored by San Jose State University as the MSW Field Instructor of the Year for her work with social work students who intern at the Family Resource Center.
The Award is given to the individual who best exemplifies the qualities of a professional social worker, including devotion to teaching and learning, critical and independent thinking, supportive, and who has provided field education to students for SJSU's School of Social Work for a minimum of three years.
We are very proud of the work Ana Lilia does recruiting, training and managing our intern program.
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2016
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Family Resource Center (FRC) Events:
39155 Liberty Street
Fremont, CA 94537
CalFresh/Food Stamp Application Assistance
Low income and need money for groceries?
Call FRC for an appt
574-2000
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Suite #A110
Back Tax Preparation Service
Free assistance with filing back taxes, plus IRS advocacy and resolution.
Call FRC for an appt
574-2020, Ext 2
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Suite #A110
6-7 PM
SparkPoint Financial Services Info Session
Free financial services for low-income residents who wish to strengthen their finances.
574-2020 Ext 1
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Millennium Room
Friday July 22, Aug 26
10 AM - 1 PM
Debtors' Rights Clinic
Are you being harassed or sued by creditors? Need info on bankruptcy or wage garnishment claim of exemption? Bank account been levied? Struggling with the after effects of foreclosure? Do you have a court date coming up? Free info from Bay Area Legal Aid.
Call to register: 574-2026
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Millennium Room
6-8 PM
Peer Lending Info Session
Program helps you establish credit or increase your credit score.
Call to register: 574-2020, Ext 4
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Millennium Room
Tuesday July 26 6-8 PM
Credit 101 Class
How to fix your credit report and increase your credit score.
Call to register: 574-2020 Ext 3
FRC, Bldg ABCD, Millennium Room
Fremont Senior Center 2016 Events:
Fremont Senior Center
40086 Paseo Padre Pkwy
Fremont, CA 94537
Tuesday July 5
12 PM
4th of July Barbecue Lunch
$6 members/$8 non members.
Thursdays, starting July 7
1:00-2:00pm 10 week session American Sign Language Class Thursday July 14th
11:00am-12:00pm Life Elder Care presentation Preregistration required. Thursday July 21 11:00am-12:00pm
Vision Zero 2020 Presentation will discuss safer streets, safer people and safer vehicles. Preregistration required.
Friday July 8
1pm
Monthly birthday party
Entertainment by Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble
Monday August 1
9:30-11:00am
Finding Wellness 7 week Series of Free Nutrition & Medication Management Classes
Preregistration is required, space is limited.
Thursday August 4 11:00am-12:00pm
Bay Area Community Services presentation Preregistration is required. Monday August 8 10-1pm 3 hour Personal Emergency Preparedness (PEP) Class.
Learn basic skills in hazard mitigation, utility control, shelter in place, emergency supplies & fire suppression.
Preregistration is required. Thursday August 25 11:00am-12:00pm Presentation by Alzheimer's Association on Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body: Preregistration is required. Friday August 12 12:00pm - 3 PM Luau Party, Lunch and Entertainment Preregistration required.
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Mark your calendar for this year's Make a Difference Day on
Saturday Oct. 22, 2016! Make a Difference Day is the largest national day of community service and is a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. The event was created by the USA WEEKEND magazine in 1992.
For more information contact Project Manager Christine Beitsch atmakeadifferenceday@fremont.gov or 510-574-2099 or HS Deputy Director Arquimides Caldera at acaldera@fremont.gov or
510-574-2056.
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 The Human Services Department is proud to become social media savvy! "LIKE" the Fremont Senior Center Facebook page to learn more about exercise classes, activities or the daily lunch being prepared at the Fremont Senior Center.
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