Like many little lives, Juan’s arrival four years ago was greatly anticipated by his mother, Olga. She had begun attending one of Deaconess Children’s Services’ Latinos Unidos groups and was eager to start the parenting class because she had just found out that she was pregnant. Like many expectant mothers, Olga was excited but scared at the same time. She did not have family in the area and only a cousin to count on. She depended on the Latinos Unidos group for advice and support.
Baby Juan was born prematurely and had to be kept under constant watch. He was very ill and doctors believed he might not make it through that first night. Members of the Latinos Unidos group were at the hospital to celebrate with Olga at the birth, but instead circled around her and offered their love and prayers that Juan would gain strength and beat the odds. Morning came and although still very ill, Juan had survived that first crucial night. Juan’s physical difficulties were significant: he had been born with his stomach attached to itself so he could not eat; his lungs were not fully developed and his brain was surrounded by fluid. Doctors told Olga that Juan’s chances of making it through the first week were slim. Members of the Latinos Unidos group continued to stay with Olga and Juan to offer their support.
Little Juan had tubes coming from his head, lungs, and into his stomach. Olga diligently followed instructions from the doctors and nurses and learned to take care of Juan. She pumped her breast milk and tubes attached directly to his stomach would deliver her milk to him. Juan was kept in an incubator for three months, and was finally released from Children’s Hospital when he was six months old. As Juan’s strength and immunity grew, Olga began to bring him with her to the Latinos Unidos group. He continued to live with tubes going into his stomach, but members of the group were amazed at his growth and at Olga’s devotion.
Juan is now four years old. Although his tubes were removed when he was 2½, he lives with significant physical and cognitive disabilities. He eats solid food, but issues remain with his stomach, lungs and bladder. The fluid in his brain also left its mark and learning is slower than other children his age. Even with these challenges, however, Juan is a happy boy and he and his mother are very close. Juan’s young life is a shining example of what can be achieved when we have support in the community and people who love us. With support from Latinos Unidos staff, Juan’s mother, Olga, applied for and received social security funds, which ensure that he has enough money for medical supplies, special food, and diapers. Juan attends special classes to help him overcome some of his fears and challenges, and visiting nurses love to work with him.
Olga is a determined mother and as started a business cleaning houses in order to be able to be available for Juan. Olga continues to be an active member of the Latinos Unidos group and credits the support of the group for helping her to care for Juan, and for teaching her that when we have children, we will be tested and our love for the children will help us endure the battles.
For 114 years, Deaconess has been transforming the lives of children in the Pacific Northwest by breaking the cycle of child abuse and neglect and putting Children First!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Host a Party this weekend to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect
HOST A PARTY.
HAVE FUN.
TALK PREVENTION.
RAISE MONEY.
JOIN US FOR HOUSE PARTY WEEKEND!
Prevent Child Abuse America and Deaconess Children's Services invite YOU to participate in a series of events coast–to–coast to raise awareness of and support our mission.
On the weekend of October 23-25, 2009, supporters across the nation will gather in homes, restaurants, clubs, campuses and places of worship to have fun and take action for children. Main event components include:
PRIVATE PARTIES
Hosted by individuals for friends and family—our goal is to have 150 parties, engaging 3,000 attendees
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Block parties, neighborhood suppers and community concerts
PROMOTIONS BY BUSINESS (bars, restaurants, retailers, et al)
Centered in Chicago, comprises coupon promotions, percentage of sales, and similar activities, that may extend beyond the event weekend
SO GET INVOLVED!!!
Host a party! Register your party.
Keep updated via our Facebook Group , Twitter , our Blog, or our actofgood.org page.
Can't host a party that weekend? No problem. Pick a weekend that works best for you, just make sure to register your party at housepartyweekend.org. Questions? Email Kirsten Runkle at krunkle@preventchildabuse.org.
To learn more about Prevent Child Abuse America please visit our website: http://www.preventchildabuse.org/
HAVE FUN.
TALK PREVENTION.
RAISE MONEY.
JOIN US FOR HOUSE PARTY WEEKEND!
Prevent Child Abuse America and Deaconess Children's Services invite YOU to participate in a series of events coast–to–coast to raise awareness of and support our mission.
On the weekend of October 23-25, 2009, supporters across the nation will gather in homes, restaurants, clubs, campuses and places of worship to have fun and take action for children. Main event components include:
PRIVATE PARTIES
Hosted by individuals for friends and family—our goal is to have 150 parties, engaging 3,000 attendees
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Block parties, neighborhood suppers and community concerts
PROMOTIONS BY BUSINESS (bars, restaurants, retailers, et al)
Centered in Chicago, comprises coupon promotions, percentage of sales, and similar activities, that may extend beyond the event weekend
SO GET INVOLVED!!!
Host a party! Register your party.
Keep updated via our Facebook Group , Twitter , our Blog, or our actofgood.org page.
Can't host a party that weekend? No problem. Pick a weekend that works best for you, just make sure to register your party at housepartyweekend.org. Questions? Email Kirsten Runkle at krunkle@preventchildabuse.org.
To learn more about Prevent Child Abuse America please visit our website: http://www.preventchildabuse.org/
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Deaconess Children's Services is excited to continue to provide Project Safecare to our clients for 2nd year
Deaconess Children’s Services' IMPACT program is excited to continue to be providing Project Safecare to our clients for the second year. Project Safecare works with parents to educate them with modules in three areas: health care, parenting infants and children, and home safety. This is an in-home program where case managers work on the curriculum with parents and their children one on one.
According to research carried out over a two year follow up period and presented in the journal, Child Maltreatment, families previously referred for child abuse and/or neglect, who participated in the in-home intervention, Project Safecare, had significantly lower reports of child abuse and neglect than families who did not receive this intervention. Parents participating in Project Safecare receive training in three aspects of child care: treating illnesses and maximizing their health-care skills (health), positive and effective parent-child interaction skills (bonding), and maintaining hazard-free homes (safety) for their children.
We are currently serving clients referred by the state as well as partnering with other organizations including YWCA’s Pathways for Women program to offer services to their clients. The families that we have worked with under this program have improved their knowledge of safety, health, and especially parenting skills. The skills that our clients have learned in Project Safecare have helped them to parent more positively and set appropriate boundaries for their children. We also have been able to help parents to learn the appropriate time to seek emergency medical care for their children, and obtain basic home medical supplies through this program. Our clients have appreciated this help and have been very excited to learn how to better care for their children. We currently have one staff member trained in this evidence based intervention and are looking forward to having another case manager trained in November. Right now we have new clients starting this program, so we will keep you updated as the year progresses.
A Story of Success with Project Safecare:
Susan has two young children between the ages of 0-5. When she was first referred to Deaconess for case management services, she was having difficulties getting the children down for naps and being consistent with them. After completing an assessment of her family’s strengths and needs, we began working on Project Safecare. Susan progressed quickly through the health and home safety modules and was very committed to the program. The parenting component of the program initially posed some challenges for Susan; however, she stuck with it. She practiced the parenting skills that she was taught in the program and began to ignore her children’s minor outbursts and give them more positive attention. She also started to follow through more consistently with consequences when they misbehaved. She said she found it really helped when she was consistent and when she got to spend individual time with both of her children; she also reported that they really enjoyed it too. By the end of the parenting module she was able to successfully demonstrate mastery of Project Safecare’s parenting skills and reported that she was more confident in parenting her children.
According to research carried out over a two year follow up period and presented in the journal, Child Maltreatment, families previously referred for child abuse and/or neglect, who participated in the in-home intervention, Project Safecare, had significantly lower reports of child abuse and neglect than families who did not receive this intervention. Parents participating in Project Safecare receive training in three aspects of child care: treating illnesses and maximizing their health-care skills (health), positive and effective parent-child interaction skills (bonding), and maintaining hazard-free homes (safety) for their children.
We are currently serving clients referred by the state as well as partnering with other organizations including YWCA’s Pathways for Women program to offer services to their clients. The families that we have worked with under this program have improved their knowledge of safety, health, and especially parenting skills. The skills that our clients have learned in Project Safecare have helped them to parent more positively and set appropriate boundaries for their children. We also have been able to help parents to learn the appropriate time to seek emergency medical care for their children, and obtain basic home medical supplies through this program. Our clients have appreciated this help and have been very excited to learn how to better care for their children. We currently have one staff member trained in this evidence based intervention and are looking forward to having another case manager trained in November. Right now we have new clients starting this program, so we will keep you updated as the year progresses.
A Story of Success with Project Safecare:
Susan has two young children between the ages of 0-5. When she was first referred to Deaconess for case management services, she was having difficulties getting the children down for naps and being consistent with them. After completing an assessment of her family’s strengths and needs, we began working on Project Safecare. Susan progressed quickly through the health and home safety modules and was very committed to the program. The parenting component of the program initially posed some challenges for Susan; however, she stuck with it. She practiced the parenting skills that she was taught in the program and began to ignore her children’s minor outbursts and give them more positive attention. She also started to follow through more consistently with consequences when they misbehaved. She said she found it really helped when she was consistent and when she got to spend individual time with both of her children; she also reported that they really enjoyed it too. By the end of the parenting module she was able to successfully demonstrate mastery of Project Safecare’s parenting skills and reported that she was more confident in parenting her children.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Deaconess gives back to community and is on its way to raising $1000 for United Way
Deaconess kicked off its internal United Way campaign with a goal of 100% employee participation and to raise $1000 for United Way! Activities include playing BINGO and going on a Scavenger Hunt for prizes to learn more about United Way’s work in our community. As an agency which receives United Way grant money through the Kids Matter and Families Matter Vision Councils, Deaconess benefits from the generosity of United Way’s fabulous donors. Giving back to United Way is our way not only to say “Thank you,” but also to support other programs in Snohomish County that are relevant to our clients as well as others in need in our community.
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