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The
images of the September 11th terrorist attacks invaded our
homes, our hearts and our psyches. The nightly news is filled
with stories about the anthrax virus and its latest victims.
We see night-sight visions of soldiers in ghostly green fatigues
that fade to a frame filled with explosions in yellow and
orange as bombs hit targets in Afghanistan. Our world no longer
feels safe and our children sense our distress.
What can we do?
Limit the repetition of images your children see on TV.
Even very young children can be affected by repeated scenes
of violence, constant commentaries and endless speculation
as to what will be next.
Do your best to control your response. That doesn't mean
shutting off your own feelings, but when adults express rage,
great fear or helplessness, children are deeply affected.
It's okay to share some of your feelings. Sadness and tears
are natural reactions. It helps to explain that you feel sad
for the families affected and share your own tips for coping,
like: "I keep reminding myself that my family and friends
are safe and lots of people, the fireman, policeman and many
others are working to try to keep us safe."
Talk to other adults about your fears. This will make
everything else you do a little easier, if you have someone,
a friend, clergy or therapist to talk to.
Be there when kids need to talk. A child may not even
seem to notice what is happening around him, but in a quiet
moment, may sit very close beside you and ask the most profound
questions. If you are at work during the day, leave your number
and tell them to call if they are worried. Try to be aware
of changes in your children's demeanors and look for things
like thumbsucking, bedwetting or changes in sleep or eating
patterns. In older children, irritable or aggressive behavior
and poor concentration may be signs of delayed stress. Certainly,
it is natural for children to display behavioral changes as
they emotionally process their fear and anxiety. But just
as it is important for you to have someone to listen to your
fears and concerns, your children need you to listen to theirs.
If they want to talk, but are having difficulty shaping their
thoughts, think about the most common fears that children
and adults experience after tragedy or disaster - the event
will happen again - someone they care about will be injured
or killed - they will be left alone. If you are faced with
a question you can't answer reassure your child that you will
do everything to keep them and the rest of your family, including
yourself, safe.
Madeleine Marcus, our Families In Transition Clinical
Supervisor explains, "During these difficult times, children
need reassurance and physical comfort. Extra hugs, hand-holding
and smiles go a long way toward making a child feel loved
and safe."
Please call our 24x7 hotline with questions
1-800-829-3777 or 510-893-5444
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Become a PSS Volunteer
Volunteer Opportunities
Family Hotline Counselors 24-hrs
Foster PAL Hotline 3-11 pm
Learn intervention skills & provide support on our hotlines. Extensive
training provided.
Respite Care Recruitment Volunteers
Counseling Interns and Trainees
We provide clinical supervision. Work with families, parents & children,
individuals and groups.
Recruit Volunteers
Get to know your community better while helping us recruit volunteers.
Outreach Volunteers
After appropriate training, attend community health, safety, corporate
& neighborhood fairs to spread the word about PSS services. Time
commitment to suite your availability.
Volunteers to Assist in Planning our 30th Anniversary Celebration
Next year PSS will celebrate our 30th anniversary serving children
& families in Alameda County.
Board of Directors
Become a community leader, while providing governance.
If you are interest in volunteering please contact PSS at 510-893-9230
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Media Campaign to Promote
Kinship Childcare Respite Program
This summer, our Family Support Program worked closely with
the Lincoln Child Center Kinship Support Services Program
on a media campaign to promote a respite childcare program
for grandparents and other relatives who are raising their
children's children, or the children of close relatives. New
flyers, posters and a video to recruit child care providers
are now ready for distribution to community groups. A slide
will be shown at movie theaters.
The recent census confirms the extent to which grandparents
have become the primary caregivers for their own grandchildren.
These caregivers face special challenges and they need a break
once in a while, to take time for themselves.
You can help.
Our program needs childcare providers who can work on an
hourly basis to help us provide care during caregiver support
groups, training classes and recreational activities. Some
evening and weekend hours are needed. We also need people
who have room in their homes to care for children periodically
for several hours, overnight, or on a weekend.
We screen, train and certify all our childcare providers
and provider homes.
Please refer anyone who can help as a care provider or with
media outreach to Celina Ramirez, Respite Childcare Coordinator,
at 510-893-9230 ext. 278.
Thank You!
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Take My Hand
Is the Newsletter of
Parental Stress Service, Inc.
1727 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
Business # 510 893-9230
Hotline # 510 893-5444 & 800 829-3777
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Special Letter from the Executive
Director -
Lessons Learned
As
we struggle to live with and learn from the tragedy of the terrorist
attack and its traumatic aftermath to so many people, I am struck
by the knowledge that everyday to a child in our own community,
becoming the victim of abuse is a trauma of equal magnitude. If
you can imagine being a child and having the person you love the
most, the person in all the world who is meant to provide you love,
safety and shelter, instead causes you great physical, sexual or
emotional harm: ask yourself what that would be like. It would diminish
the very core of your existence, your sense of well being and worth,
your belief that the world is a nurturing and safe place. How would
you learn to operate in this world? How could you survive?
Would you feel free to make great strides in school or to risk
the unknown with confidence that you have a safe harbor and can
make mistakes along the way without huge consequence? Or would you
continuously look over your shoulder to await the next blow, in
effect shrinking into yourself? Or, would you learn to throw the
first stone, harden your heart, dissociate yourself from the fabric
of humanity, in order to insure your very survival? Or would you
limit your life to maintain as much control as possible, thereby
eliminating most chances for the new and more positive experiences
that lead to health.
While the recent horror has given us all the hardest lesson, that
there is much in the world beyond our control, perhaps it has also
reminded us of common values to be shared in our families, in our
community, and in the larger world. Taking care of and being responsible
for one another, playing a part in making the world a safer place,
loving instead of hating, and leading by example, are just some
of the values we can impart on our children as a way of not repeating
these terrible terrorist occurrences, and eliminating that terror
from within our families which we call child abuse.
Yours Toward a Child Safe World,
Karen Pico
Executive Director
The Grove Building
PSS has agreed to purchase the Grove Building
at 1727 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, in Oakland and has a
very limited amount of time to secure the necessary financing.
This beautifully restored building has been our northern
Alameda County headquarters for many years, and we are very
grateful that if the purchase is successful we will be able
to stabilize our infrastructure costs and plan for the expanded
services that are increasingly in demand.
We have applied for loans and grants from
Alameda County, the City of Oakland, private foundations,
and a bonding authority that issues tax-exempt bonds for
nonprofit agencies. If we are successful in this acquisition
project, we will quickly need to begin paying back some
rather large loans that will acts as a bridge until we can
successfully reach out to you and our friends in the broader
community for additional financial support.
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24-Hour Family Support Line
(800) 829-3777 or (510) 893-5444
Foster Parent Support Line (3-11pm)
(888) 580-FPAL (3725) or (510) 893-9266
Our 24-hour Family Support Line and our Foster
PAL are managed to provide crisis intervention, support,
counseling, and referral information to families, caregivers
and children. The hotlines are staffed by licensed clinicians
and trained volunteers, who last year responded to more
than 5,000 intervention calls.
Emergency Respite Childcare (up to 72-Hours)
We arrange respite childcare for at-risk parents, foster-parents
and caregivers and provide a safe environment when families
are in need. PSS provides support and referrals following
respite care.
Parent Education Classes
Positive parenting techniques, stress management, child
development, positive discipline, communication skills and
confidence building are all included in our Parent Education
curriculum.
Counseling
Our services are available to parents, children, individuals
or couples seeking support to reduce conflict, overcome
traumas and to build family strengths. We offer specialized
treatment for physical, emotional, sexual abuse and victims
of crime for children and for adults abused as children.
Probation Collaborative
Both our Parent Education and Counseling programs are
working with the Alameda County Juvenile Probation Department
to reach first time juvenile offenders and their families
with family focused services.
Families in Transition:
Home and Community Based Services
Practical and therapeutic support for children and young
adults who are at risk of being removed from their homes,
or are transitioning back into their communities.
CALWorks
For parents moving from welfare to work or about to lose
their eligibility status, we provide counseling, parenting/life-skills
classes, and connections to jobs, resources, and other individuals
experiencing similar issues.
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Keeping Kids Safe
Pnina M. Tobin, M.P.A., a valued member of our Parent Education
teaching staff, has authored a child sexual abuse prevention
manual with Susan Levinson Kessner, M.S. entitled Keeping
Kids Safe. The programs and curricula are based on a pioneering
child sexual abuse program. This manual is a prevention tool
designed for educators, parents, social workers, and others
working to prevent abuse.
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Pnina Tobin, Author & PSS Parent Education
Instructor
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THERE ARE MANY WAYS
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Help PSS Help Families In Need
Convenient & Easy Monthly Contribution Programs -
Automatic deduction program. Every month your back transfers
a monthly contribution to PSS. An easy way to help a child
in need.
Charity Phone Long Distance Service Gives Back to PSS
- When you sign up with Charity Phone to receive their
cost-saving long-distance service and you name PSS as the
charity of your choice, up to 12.5% of your monthly total
comes back to us as a donation. You save money with Charity
Phone's extremely attractive rates and support PSS at the
same time.
Donate Your Vehicle - Consider donating your used
car to PSS. Through Car Program LLC we receive 70% of the
proceeds and it's fast and easy for you.
Planned Giving - Are you revising your will or trust,
or making it for the first time? Consider a charitable gift
to PSS. PSS staff are available to help you leave a legacy
to strengthen families.
Payroll Deductions - Don't forget how painless payroll
deductions can be - PSS is a United Way Member #37658.
Please contact United Way or PSS to begin your payroll contributions
to PSS.
Call 510 893-9230 x242 about any of our
donor options.
MONTHLY DONATIONS
SUPPORT EVERYDAY SERVICES
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PSS Board of Directors
Leslie R. Fisher, President
Lauren Jensen, Vice President
Maia Alpern, Secretary
Ann Opara, CPA, Treasurer
Rodney Gillead
Paul Buddenhagen
Katherine L. Harvey
Karen Pico, Executive Director
Management Team
Janet Beaty, South County Administrative
Program Supervisor
Shay Black, North County Administrative Program Supervisor
Elizabeth Bremer, Family Support Program Supervisor
Carol Burns, CalWORKs Program Supervisor
Kate Fitzsimmons, Development & Marketing Director
Lois Gray, FIT South County Program Supervisor
Tara Henry, MIS Director
Joyce LaMar, Parent Education Program Supervisor
Mary Owen, Clinical Director
Marcella Reeves, Program & Operations Director
Barbara Silver, FIT North County Program Supervisor
Lesley Sternin, Clinical Program Supervisor
Dekri Vonan, Accounting Program Supervisor
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