Nonprofit Organization
Beech Acres Receives Grant To Provide Critical Support For Families In Crisis
The Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee, has just awarded Beech Acres Parenting Center a $25,000 grant toward its newly created Family Emergency Support Fund. The Fund enables Beech Acres to offer urgent financial support for basic material needs and customized, mental and behavioral health services for vulnerable families who are in crisis due to economic hardships.
This grant comes at a critically important time for Greater Cincinnati families as the economy causes an increasing number of parents to be unemployed or underemployed add huge additional stress factors to families. Currently 75% of Beech Acres clients are seeking supportive services and do not have the means to pay even a nominal fee for assistance they desperately need. Over 20% have three or more children.
“We’re finding that families facing economic hardships find it hard to even seek out mental health or family support because they cannot meet even basic material needs,” said Dr. Patrick Nugent, Beech Acres Parenting Center vice president for development. “They cannot focus on improving their family functioning because they are about to be evicted, or heat or electricity have been turned off, or a newborn baby lacks a crib. They may not even be able to keep therapy appointments because they cannot afford a bus token. Public funding does not cover these costs, so our Family Emergency Support Fund vital to the well being of the family.”
Beech Acres Parenting Center supports parents and caregivers in the most challenging and important job of their lives: raising children today who are able to thrive tomorrow. With a mission of Strengthening Families for Children, Beech Acres provided over 17,000 services for children, parents and educators across greater Cincinnati last year in homes, schools and in the community to strengthen parenting and relationship capabilities. For more information, please visit www.beechacres.org.
Anchored by Beech Acres’ Parent Connections Department, Family Emergency Support Fund services will include:
- Basic Material Needs: Financial assistance with emergency needs: transportation, utilities, food, child safety equipment, diapers, and other needs that prevent a family from working on social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.
- Parent Connections: A Beech Acres Parent Liaison will conduct an initial assessment, consult with parents and determine which services best address their needs. Based on their findings, they will be enrolled in one or more of the services listed below. If necessary, families will also be referred to other organizations or services providers to meet their needs i.e. the Freestore Foodbank for food.
- Consultation and Coaching: Parents, and sometimes the entire family, will participate in face-to-face meetings with a trained consultant or coach as a more focused and affordable alternative to family therapy. The sessions are customized to the needs of each family and address the specific challenges the parents, couples and/or children are facing. Together, they examine barriers and explore practical solutions. On average, consultation services are offered for 2-3 sessions for a total of approximately 2-4 hours.
- Mediation Services: Divorcing couples, married couples under stress, or families will be brought together with a mediator to improve communication and resolve conflicts. On average, mediation services are offered for 2-3 sessions for a total of approximately 2-4 hours.
- Individual Crisis Intervention Services: This service is a solution-focused means to help children and parents resolve a particular crisis. On average, crisis intervention services are provided through 1-2 sessions for approximately 2-3 hours.
- Parent Peer Support: Beech Acres pairs parents and families with trained parent peer coaches who have successfully overcome similar challenges in their own lives. Peer coaches will assist them in responding to their specific needs. Hours of support vary based on the needs of the family.
People Working Cooperatively Helping People With Disabilities
Each year through People Working Cooperatively, thousands of volunteers working in tandem with professionally trained staff reach out to homeowners without the financial means to maintain their home, and thus, maintain their independence. The organization strengthens communities by providing professional, critical home repairs, weatherization, modification and other repair services that residents would not be able to afford on their own. PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program specifically offers costly accessibility adaptations to homes for people with disabilities.
Two friends, A Common Bond
PWC volunteer Steve Crow’s battle with cancer resulted in a prosthetic leg and a calling to help his fellow neighbors. That calling was put into action when Steve met a man with whom he shared a common bond. David lost his leg to diabetes two years ago. Using a wheelchair in a house that wasn’t built for someone with a mobility disability prohibited David from being able to come and go easily.
Steve volunteered with the Kentucky United Methodist Church to build a ramp for David.
“I was so depressed, just so upset. I couldn’t go anywhere,” David told PWC. “It has literally been two years since I went outside the house. You can’t imagine what it is like.”
The ramp gave David a new lease on life. “Just to go outside again and smell the fresh air and hear the birds. It’s indescribable,” he said.
But the ramp was not David’s only gift. The other gift was a new found friendship with someone who understands that life can change in a moment’s notice.
You Can Help
When I worked with the Inclusion Network, we used to say…”Disability is the one minority population that any of us can find ourselves in, without any notice.” Accessibility modifications, while a necessity for someone with a disability to maintain his/her independence and quality of life, are very expensive. This makes it difficult for PWC to help everyone who needs and can benefit from the service. PWC currently has 125 people on a waiting list.
Proceeds from its upcoming Oscar Night® America Party will benefit PWC’s Modifications for Mobility Program. It will be Sunday, February 26 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland. Cost is $150 per person. If you can’t attend, you can still bid in their online auction at www.biddingforgood.com/PWCoscars. For more, please visit their website or call Chris Owens, 513-351-7921.
Cincinnati Earth Day Awards Seeking Nominations
What do Megan Guldner, Rhiannan Hoeweler and Alan Hagerty all have in common? They are all 2011 recipients of the Cincinnati Earth Day Celebration Environmental Awards.
Megan, a science teacher and ecology club moderator at Roger Bacon High School, strives to always make students aware of issues relating to the environment.
In 2010 Rhiannon formulated a personal goal of making the Cincinnati Zoo the number one zoo in the country for recycling cell phones. By the end of the year she gathered over 10,000 phones.
Alan jump started the University of Cincinnati sustainability program where he serves as student director. He brought recycling to the entire university and started the Bike Share program where students rent bikes to ride anywhere in the city to conserve gas.
2012 Nominations Being Accepted
Do you know an organization or an individual who is working to make the Greater Cincinnati more environment friendly? Submissions for the award are due by March 16 at this link. All Awards will be presented during Cincinnati’s Earth Day celebration, April 21.
2011 Honorees: Teacher – Megan Guldne; Student – Alan Hagerty; Citizen – Rhiannon Hoeweler; Business – Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden; and Government – Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District
(with Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune and Cincinnati City Mayor Mark Mallory)
Loveland Twins Collecting Books For Charity
It’s no wonder Loveland Elementary School 3rd graders Alex and Hannah Laman love to read…and want others to experience that same joy. Brent and Angela Laman have always read to their children, in fact, ever since Alex and Hannah were babies.
So, when news came out that a lack of funding was going to cause some local school kids to not have access to books, the twins 
wanted to do something. With support from their parents, they had a nonprofit called ‘Adopt a Book’ up and running in no time.
What a great way to instill a love for giving…by encouraging children to find a way of passing along to others something that gives them so much joy.
Alex and Hannah (and Brent and Angela) have been busy reaching out to their classmates and other community groups. Their house has become a warehouse of sorts with stacks of stories – from Harry Potter to Dr. Seuss. Over 2,800 books have been donated to Adopt a Book so far; and Adopt a Book has in turn distributed 1,300 books to children through area organizations.
If you have children’s books that you would like to donate, please contact them at: adoptabook@fuse.net. You can also drop books off at Beech Acres Parenting Center in Anderson (where Brent facilitates some groups) – 6881 Beechmont Ave; 45230.
Cincinnati Recognized For Helping Teens Succeed
For the second year in a row, Cincinnati has achieved national recognition as one of America’s Promise Alliance’s 100 Best Communities for Young People presented by ING for its initiatives to help young people. The competition recognizes communities across the country that focus on reducing high school dropout rates and providing service and support to their youth.
An awards ceremony this week will kick off a series of community engagement events designed to create and sustain a community-wide dialogue and movement that is all about providing young people the educational and personal development options that will help them to be successful in their adult lives.
Community partners include: ArtsWave, ArtWorks, Bridges for a Just Community, The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, CET Connect, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates, The Strive Partnership, The United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Schools and many more.
