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Where Are They Now? Chris Banks
Innovation Insights: Integrated Care
System of Care Supports Families in Crisis
Encouraging Others to Give Wisely Official Newsletter
Building BridgesOut of Poverty
OUR CHAMPION:
BRENDAMOSS
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“The tragedy of my son’s death, as painful as it was, gave me the courage to change the way I lived. It didn’t matter to me anymore what anyone else thought—I decided that life was worth living and that I wanted more for myself,” Brenda explains. Brenda was ready to make a change in her life, but unsure where to turn.
Then, last February, she came across a flyer that advertised UMFS’ Bridges Out of Poverty program. Getting Ahead, a 15-week-long class, engages people living in poverty and provides them with inspiration and tools for success. Brenda contacted Jamesia Harrison, UMFS’ community liaison and program facilitator, who helped her enroll in the course.
“From the moment I picked up that phone and called Jamesia, I got nothing but unconditional support,” Brenda says. “Jamesia’s goal was to give us another view of what our lives could be. She ingrained in us that ‘failure is not an option.’ ”
UMFS offers Bridges Out of Poverty in collaboration with the Park View Community Mission, an initiative that assists local families with food, health care, support groups and
other community resources. The mission is a ministry of the Lynchburg District of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Brenda was one of 14 students to participate in the initial Getting Ahead class. The group worked with Jamesia to investigate the impact pov-
erty has had on them and on their community. Participants have access to a mentor during the 15-week class who supports them as they work through the curriculum.
“This program is designed for indi-viduals who are ready to see change and ready to do the work,” explains Jamesia. “It’s not just come in and sit down, have someone teach you. They do the work, they investigate, they do the research.”
Jamesia assigned one exercise to Brenda and her classmates early on in the class that required them to
BRENDA MOSS WORKED ALL her life in Lynchburg, Virginia to support her three sons and one grandson. Over the years she worked as a nursing and medical assistant, a sales person for a large retailer, a factory worker and a line worker at a paper mill. She had always wanted to pursue a career path that gave her joy, but instead found herself focused on the daily demands of feeding her boys, paying the bills and keeping a roof over their heads. “For so long I had to put my dreams on the back burner to take care of life—it’s just the way it was,” Brenda says.
In August 2014, after she started a new job as a machine worker, Brenda began reading a book about the power of prayer. That’s when things started to come into focus for her. “I slowly began to realize that this was not the life I had envisioned for myself, Brenda explains. “Work-ing 12-hour shifts was not what I wanted to do anymore. Now that my children were grown, it was time to do something for me.”
Two weeks after she started her new job, tragedy struck. Her oldest son, Shawn, was shot and killed.
OUR CHAMPION: BRENDA MOSS
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use clippings from magazines and newspapers to help visualize what their lives would look like in the future. Brenda explains, “I remem-ber cutting out a nice chair, a chair that represented to me that I would be at rest when I finished the class.” For the first month of the program, Brenda was still working long shifts as a machine operator by day and attending class at night. Brenda de-cided that while others were seeking to change their lives by finding a job, the changes she wanted to make could only be realized if she quit hers. She did just that in March and began to focus full time on her new life.
“All of my life I’ve been a person of great creativity,” Brenda explains. “I’ve wanted to write books and express myself through different projects. Bridges provided the atmo-sphere for me to explore how I could turn my creativity and ideas into the life I wanted to lead.”
Since graduating from Getting Ahead last May, Brenda self- published two books and started a blog. She has pushed forward with entrepreneurship, starting Wear the Word T-shirts and The Lunch Run lunch and dinner service. She even developed her own class to teach
program participants how to shop smart using coupons. Brenda now returns to the program as a graduate to teach current participants her Clippers Couponing Class.
Brenda also founded Shawn Moss Wellness and Growth, or SWAG, in honor of her late son. The founda-tion helps cover bills and expenses in the wake of a loved one’s untimely death. The foundation also is working
to develop a fund to help send local students to science programs outside of Lynchburg so they can imagine what life looks like “on the other side,” as Brenda puts it. “We just want the kids to know that there’s a whole world out there for them and that anything is possible,” she explains.
Brenda continues to support the program as it grows, impacting more
OUR CHAMPION: BRENDA MOSS
Bridges Out of Poverty is designed for individuals that are ready to see change and ready to do the work.– Jamesia Harrison, UMFS community liaison
and more lives throughout Lynch-burg. She recently spoke on behalf of the program to the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce, saying, “I learned through Bridges Out of Poverty that before I could change my life, I had to change my thinking. My thinking changed when I said I no longer want to work just to sur-vive—I want to work to live.”
Isn’t that the American dream?
Brenda Moss (left) shares a lighter moment at a Bridges Out of Poverty meeting at the Park View Community Mission.
Jamesia Harrison (left) with Brenda Moss.
UMFS offers the Getting Ahead program three times a year. To see a video or learn how you can enroll in the program or sponsor a participant, visit www.umfs.org/gettingahead
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Former Foster Child Pays It Forward
CHRIS BANKS FIRST CAME TO UMFS in 2010 as a participant in Project
LIFE. He credits Project LIFE with teaching him how to advocate for
himself and for his peers, and how to cooperate with people with backgrounds far different from his own. “Project LIFE taught me how to speak my
mind and how to help others. It gave me a new outlook. It helped
me realize that my life, with all of its challenges, is not that bad and that
I have the power to control my future,” he says.
Chris returned to UMFS recently to talk to a group of boys at Charterhouse School. His purpose with the talk, as he describes it, was to share some realities with the boys. “These kids don’t have the chance that often to hear directly from people who
were in the same position they’re in now,” Chris explains. “They don’t get to see how they, too, can be successful and make a difference when they become adults.”
A Bright Future Ahead Chris is currently working two jobs to support himself. He’s a greeter and server at Mission Barbeque and a front desk assistant at Crunch Fitness. In his free time, Chris trains people at the gym and plans to become a certified personal trainer. If that’s not enough, Chris even has long-term plans to give back to the community. “When I was growing up in the system, we used the word “flex” to describe what someone did when they were about to get into some kind of fight,” Chris explains. “It’s my dream to turn that word on its head and start “UFlex Athletics,” an athletic pro-gram for at-risk youth to provide them a safe and constructive way to express themselves.”
High School Senior Helps Students Fight BullyingMAGGIE LAUGHLIN ISN’T A stranger to bullying. The 17-year-old senior at Central High School in Woodstock, VA has been the subject of rumors and bullying “to the point
where you have to understand that words do hurt and I was hurt a lot,” Maggie said. Rather than focusing on the negative, Maggie chose to ignore the gossip and turn her experiences
into something positive. She’s been stopping by Charterhouse School – Edinburg since September of last year to teach students in grades K-12 that bullying doesn’t have to be tolerated in schools. Her lessons help the students understand the different kinds of bullying, including physical, verbal and cyber bullying. “I think there is good in every single kid. All of them have a purpose. I want to help them find that purpose and help them realize that they are not alone and they all have a future,” Maggie said.
Maggie Laughlin and Charterhouse School student, Kagen Connor.
EDINBURG
PHOTO: Rich Cooley, The Northern Virginia Daily
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serves—the social impact.” She says these are things to look for when evaluating nonprofits for gifts.
In addition to challenging others to give to UMFS, Nancy also has some advice about donating. “When we give money, we have a responsibility to give it in a place where it can be used well. Do your due diligence around whether the gift can cause
new outcomes... a real return on your investment. Make sure it’s a place like UMFS with solid leader-ship, a great mission and a proven track record of getting things done.”
NANCY EBERHARDT HAS A 10-year connection with UMFS. She first came to us as a supplier of services, serving in a variety of roles and a variety of different strategic projects. Nancy recently made a stock gift to UMFS, with “the hope of inspiring others to give.”
Nancy explains about her connection to UMFS, “Along the way I was able to understand the kinds of activities UMFS engaged in, the level of sophistication of the leadership and the commitment to moving the needle in the communities UMFS
Encouraging Others to Give — Wisely DONOR TESTIMONIAL
Nancy Eberhardt encourages due diligence when donating.
coming to school hungry, especially on Mondays. Teacher Melissa Schick relentlessly pursued a solution. School staff, teachers and adminis-trators rallied. Now every weekend,
CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOL sent 30 students home in December with enough nonperishable food to last through 14 days of winter break. School staff pondered how they‘d re-fill the pantry before the kids started back in January.
A reporter heard about the school’s backpack program and ran a story about the need for donations. The community response was over-whelming. People showed up to our Richmond campus with bags and boxes of food — so many that we had a difficult time trying find space to store them. Cash donations to the program topped $13,000, which is enough to fund the program for an entire school year.
Charterhouse School provides lunch to students through the USDA’s national school lunch program, but teachers were noticing students
Generous Donors Fill School’s Pantry
We would like to thank the many unwavering champions who respond-ed to make sure our kids’ most basic human needs are met. – Wade Puryear, UMFS vice president of education, Char-terhouse Schools
kids take home bags with things like mac and cheese, soup, peanut butter and sometimes dessert.
“A lot of these kids come from impoverished backgrounds and
their families can’t afford day-to-day meals. If we meet their basic needs, kids are more successful in school,” Puryear said.
Thanks to the many unwavering champions who collected and dropped off food during the busy holiday season, and to those who donated cash gifts to keep our pantry full.
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OUR KIDS ARE NOW LEARNING SOCCER AND SPORTS- manship thanks to a new community partnership with the Rich-mond Strikers soccer club. Strikers staff host monthly soccer clinics at UMFS that give our Charterhouse School a chance to learn new skills, get exercise and have fun with each other outside of the
cottage or classroom. Strikers family and friends brought the holidays to campus, lighting all the trees along the Broad Street frontage.
As we move into 2016, we are excited about this community partnership that will include the monthly soccer clinics and a similar day of service before the holidays this year. We’ve even had Strikers families express an interest in foster parenting through UMFS.
Richmond Strikers Kick In AssistanceCOLLABORATION CORNER
referred her to an on-site therapist at Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital pediatric clinic to determine if there were underlying mental health concerns. After a series of thera-peutic sessions, UMFS Behavioral Health Clinician Kristi Martin determined that Charlotte kept visiting her pediatrician as a way of trying to cope with the fallout from her parents’ custody battle. Kristi learned that for Charlotte, express-ing her feelings behind closed doors made her feel safe. Charlotte is now seeing a therapist in her community who is helping her develop effective coping skills.
Charlotte’s story is an example of the impact that our integrated behavioral health partnership with Bon Secours is having on children and families in the Richmond area.
UMFS and Bon Secours Health System leadership designed the model to bridge the gap between children’s medical needs and their mental health needs. One year after the partnership began, UMFS clinicians and staff are currently col-laborating with Bon Secours practi-tioners in four different locations in Central Virginia including St. Mary’s Hospital Pediatric Specialty Clinics, Lee-Davis and Laburnum Medical Centers, and Cross Ridge Pediatrics and Internal Medicine.
Marcy Johnson, UMFS vice president of programs explains that by identifying early warning signs and partnering medical staff with clinicians together, the end result is better overall health and well-being for the children and families we serve.
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD CHARLOTTE was showing up repeatedly to her pediatrician without any signs or symptoms of illness. Her doctor
Integrated CareINNOVATION INSIGHTS
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Sarah found the support she needed through UMFS’ intensive care co-ordination. Rachelle Butler, project manager, said ICC provides formal and informal supports to families in the community.
Sarah worked with a coordinator and a parent support partner, Cristy Corbin. Informal supports might include the care and encouragement of a church, a civic group, United Way or FACES of Virginia Families, a foster care advocacy group. In addition to these supports, UMFS connects participating families with a parent support partner—workers who apply their experience navigat-ing the mental health system for their own children.
Cristy helped connect Sarah with the supports she needed to bring Laney home safely. “I felt empow-ered to make decisions for my family because Cristy was there to walk me through the services — services she knew because she had sought them out for her own child,” explains Sarah.
Sarah and Laney remain connected to the services that have helped them find stability and hope. “ I am proud to say that since 2014, Laney has not had one violent outburst,” Sarah explains. “For the first time in more than 10 years, I feel like there is hope. I feel like my daugh-ter has a future. We’re not in crisis anymore and we still have a ways to go, but without these programs and supports, we would not be where we are now.”
Through the systems of care grant, UMFS connects families and high-risk children with mental health ser-vices in Richmond, Colonial Heights and the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, and Henrico as well as other local partners.
Learn more on our website at www.umfs.org/icc
When she was just 10 years old, Laney tried to choke her mother to death. Her violent tantrums, which began when she was two, had reached critical mass. Her mom, Sarah, didn’t know where to turn. “We were begging agencies for answers and help... we just didn’t know where to turn.”
After the attack, Sarah placed Laney in a mental health facility. When it was time for Laney to be discharged, Sarah told the staff at the facility she wasn’t taking Laney home until she knew support services were in place. “I knew that I just couldn’t do it on my own,” Sarah explains.
INTENSIVE CARE COORDINATION Support for Families in Crisis
MissionUMFS is an unwavering champion for high-risk children and families, collaborating with communities to help them reach their full potential.
VisionCreating a world where caring, opportunity and generosity are passed on from generation to generation — empowering all children to contribute to society as engaged citizens.
www.umfs.org
RICHMOND CAMPUS CHILD & FAMILY HEALING CENTER 3900 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230 804.353.4461• [email protected]
FREDERICKSBURG REGIONAL CENTER 1320 Central Park Boulevard, Suite 310 Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.898.1773 • [email protected]
NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL CENTER 5400 Shawnee Road, Suite 101, Alexandria, VA 22312 703.941.9008 • [email protected]
TIDEWATER REGIONAL CENTER 5301 Robin Hood Road, Suite 122, Norfolk, VA 23513 757.490.9791 • [email protected]
SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CENTER 828 North Mecklenburg Avenue, Suite B South Hill, VA 23970 434.447.8630 • [email protected]
LYNCHBURG REGIONAL CENTER 2420 Memorial Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24501 434.846.2002 • [email protected]
FARMVILLE OFFICE 306 East Third Street, Suite B, Farmville, VA 23901 434.391.9076 • [email protected]
LELAND HOUSE 13525 Leland Road, Centreville, VA 20120 703.222.3558 • [email protected]
CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOL 3900 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230 804.239.1080 • [email protected]
CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOL, EDINBURG 508 Picadilly Street, Edinburg, VA 22824 540.984.6266 • [email protected]
For the first time in more than 10 years, I feel like there’s hope... I feel like my daughter has a future.– Laney’s mom
VISIT UMFS.ORG for up-to-date information on events or to give online. Find other updates about upcoming events and other news on social media:
twitter.com/umfs facebook.com/umfs.org
HAPPENINGS AT UMFS
to fight for you! I am going to fight so that you guys, and others like you, may continue to go to school and get a good education. And also so that you can keep on going to your own churches. I am going to fight so that you can spend every summer, every Christmas and all the other holidays with your friends and families. I am going to help keep the enemy away
The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Ray Coffelt. Ray grew up at The Methodist Children’s Home — now our Richmond campus. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.
August 11, 1951 Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California
I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU ALL in the best of shape. They are getting me set for the big thing. As for the training we’re getting, they don’t leave out a thing. And you can bet, when I leave here, that I’ll know what I’m doing, because the Marine Corps does a pretty thorough job of getting a man ready for combat.
Like thousands of other guys, I’m going to go and fight in this crazy war. Do any of you know just why I am going to fight? I am going over there
from our country so that you may keep having all of these privileges. You fellows have a good home out there and you are my family, I know because I am one of “the boys” too. I was given a chance there too. The home is a wonderful place. It has been my home ever since I was a kid and it still is. I love the place and you should too. If you do not realize it now, you will once you have left it. Right now the home is giving you a chance to make men out of your-selves and I am going to fight so you will have that chance.
Take care of yourselves and may God bless every one of you.
Ray returned to Virgina, married and had five daughters. He worked as a state trooper, private investigator and business owner. Ray died in 2000.
AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE DAY & COMMENCEMENTCharterhouse School and Child & Family Healing Center students celebrate African American history through poetry, song and dance at our annual luncheon and commencement.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 10, 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. WHERE: UMFS Dining Hall, 3900 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA CONTACT: Kathy Ware, [email protected]
FOSTER PARENT TRAINING SEMINARSUMFS offers monthly training for prospective foster and adoptive parents. Call the closest regional center or check our web calendar for specific dates in your area.
WHEN: Monthly WHERE: Regional Centers CONTACT: [email protected]
#BackInTheDay A Marine’s Letter Home
