3rd Annual Happy Hallo-Wine - Two Weeks Away!!

Posted by Home Start Development Coordinator, Nicole Graichen

Home Start is pleased to announce that plans are well underway for Home Start’s “3rd Annual Happy Hallo-Wine” Tuesday, October 12, 2010 (5:30pm – 8pm) at the Dana on Mission Bay.  This event is in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and will raise funds for Home Start’s programs which provide critical assistance to San Diego County’s most vulnerable children and families. 

Guests will enjoy gourmet hors d’oeuvres, fantastic boutique wines, and hand crafted beers from: Rock Canyon Vineyards, Barefoot Winery, Wiens Family Cellars, PRP International, Breakwater Brewery, Stone Brewing Co., Edible Arrangements, and Hans and Harry’s Bakery.

The Hallo-Wine event is presented by US Bank and the following sponsors: Union Bank, San Diego Union Tribune, and San Diego County Credit Union, John S. Baker and Associates.

Reservations are $50 before October 6, or $60 after. For information on being a vendor, sponsor or to join us, please contact Nicole Graichen at ngraichen@home-start.org or visit us online at www.home-start.org.

"I am motivated by the clients that we serve"

Posted by Laura Mustari (Home Start CEO)-Interview with Paul Davis (Home Start Board Member)

1. Paul, you remain a passionate and committed board member to Home Start…..what motivates you?

I am motivated by the clients that we serve- over 20,000 children and roughly 8,500 families. We as a full service child abuse prevention and health and human services agency- been here in San Diego for 38 years- are dedicated to the safety, protection, and nurturance of San Diego’s most needy, abused, neglected children. I am very passionate about our clients, Home Start staff and committed 15 board members!

2. If you could describe what Home Start provides to the community in one sentence, what would you say?

Home Start is a dynamic, living and thriving “Safety Net” that provides direct social services, including effective parenting, earned income tax credit, optimal health and mental health services, temporary food, shelter and housing to San Diego’s most needy.

3. What do you think would surprise San Diegans about child abuse prevention issues in San Diego?

Child abuse does not discriminate and spans socio-economical, political, gender, and ethnic strata. We have child abuse in the lovely enclaves of La Jolla, the foothills of Escondido, the bastion of El Cajon, and the flatlands of South County. Child abuse is evident in Caucasian, African American, Latino, as well other diverse ethnicities.

4. If a donor stepped up with $1million today, how do you think it could best be used to make a difference?

Gladly and graciously accept the 1-mllion dollar donation (this is not too far off) and apply it to the Maternity Shelter home- a safe haven for homeless pregnant and parenting young mothers (ages 18-24) who need direct services. This includes permanent housing, food, clothing and all the amenities to raise their young children in a safe, protected and secure environment. Other areas needing monetary and volunteer support include Home Start’s Parent Child Interactive therapy, Family Self Sufficiency in East County, and Central regions, Earned Income Tax Credit and Parenting education classes to name a few.

Intern Diaries-It’s Showtime

Posted by Home Start Intern-Jen

I’ve spent years studying, researching, and networking to forge a career in trauma psychology. All my classmates and professors know my preferred specialty and I frequently receive accolades touting my nobility, “I could never do what you do” and “It’s amazing you can listen to those stories every day.” But there is one catch – I’ve never seen a trauma case before.

Home Start is my first experience counseling trauma victims and as this year progresses I will find out if I am truly cut out for this line of work. Will I be able to handle it? Can I emotionally detach myself from the stories of molest and abuse coming from a 6 year old? Will the stories haunt me in my dreams?

My first referral came in last week. An adult survivor of long-term child abuse that was never recognized or treated. With my initial training complete, voicemails and schedules set, now it was show time. My feelings soon shifted from ambitious excitement to performance anxiety. Knowing how to diagnose and approach treatment in a theoretical way is one thing, but knowing what to say to a person in pain is another. Would I really be able to help this person? Would all my preparation be futile if I couldn’t facilitate her healing? Stay tuned . . .

Direct correlation between Poverty and Child Abuse

Posted by: Paul Davis, Member Services Director at Vistage International and Home Start board member since 1997

The U.S. poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent in 2009 from 13.2 percent the year before, bringing the percentage of the population living in poverty to the highest level since 1994.The Census Bureau said 43.6 million people, or one in seven Americans, lived in poverty last year, up from 39.8 million in 2008.

"The poverty threshold for a family of four in 2009 was $21,954, the report said. While  poverty levels rose, the number of people without health insurance jumped to 50.7 million in 2009 from 46.3 million a year earlier, leaving 16.7 percent of the population without health coverage, the Census Bureau said in its annual report on income, poverty and health coverage. These startling numbers indicate that poverty in the US is all time high- nearly 1 in four blacks and Hispanics is living at or below the poverty level.

Home Start, San Diego premiere child abuse prevention agency, is needed more than ever.

Data suggests that poverty, social, economic and environmental conditions affect the increased level of child abuse. In 2009, child abuse cases in San Diego rose  more than 20 percent. Home Start serves more than 15,000 child in need of critical human and health services.  There is direct correlation between poverty and child abuse. Now is the time to offer ones time, treasure or talents to end child abuse.

Visit www.home-start.org for more details to donate and/or volunteer.

US Bank Gives Home Start $10,000

By: Jennifer Personette

We are so excited about US Bank's generosity. The funding will go toward Home Start's "Maternity Shelter Program."

The Maternity Shelter Program prevents homelessness among under-served young women and their children by offering supervised housing in an urban region that suffers from an extreme lack of affordable housing for low-income renters. These young women and children, without Home Start’s support, are at increased risk of developing physical or emotional health and safety problems including those related to substance abuse, child maltreatment, domestic violence, and becoming chronically dependent on the social service system. Home Start’s educational programs help to give these young women the tools they need to rise above these risks.

For ways you can help contribute to Home Start: http://home-start.org/ways_to_give.html

Alicia's Journey to Success!

Post by Lisa DeMarco

Alicia is a single mother with two teenage daughters.  After 10 years of physical and financial abuse from her husband she found the courage to leave. She knew it would be difficult supporting herself and her two children on her own — but she had a stable job and the determination to make it work.  She could have never expected what happened next — after working at the same Retirement Home for 13 years, the company was sold and she was let go without warning. She was an exemplary employee and had even recently been named “Employee of the Year” — but it wasn’t enough.

Without a vehicle, Alicia walked several miles each day looking for work.  It seemed nearly impossible to find another job within walking distance of her apartment. Four days before she was to be evicted, she begged a man at a nearby hotel for a job doing laundry.

“After everything I have been through, the hardest day of my life was when I had to sit my two girls down and tell them we may need to move back to Mexico,” says Alicia. “Everything I do is for my girls, their education, their happiness — I was heartbroken.”

Alicia is a very proud person, she had never received any government assistance or food assistance and it was extremely hard for her to ask for help. But for the sake of her daughters, she knew she had no choice. She found a Home Start office just around the corner from her apartment, taking a deep breath she went in. And that is when she learned she wasn’t alone — there were people who cared and could help her family make a fresh start.  Since becoming a Home Start client she has received housing, food and transportation assistance to help her get back on her feet. Currently, Alicia has a new job, is caught up with rent, and her children are doing well in school.

Stopping the Cycle of Abuse: Welcome to the Home Start Blog

By: Jennifer Personette

There are many types of child abuse. And not all of them are violent.
Neglect, sexual, physical, psychological. 

There are many factors that can lead to abuse:

• Parents were abused as children
• Lack of parenting skills
• Stress: financial, relationship, work, child has difficult behavior
• Parent suffers from mental illness
• Parent to a child with a disability
• Abusive intimate partners

Home Start treats the entire family. Preventing the factors that lead to abuse through in-home care, teaching, and many other services.

Together, we will break the cycle of abuse. Keep in touch with us. Join our effort to make San Diego safe for children.