Volunteers of America Honors Programs Dedicated to Improving Children’s Lives
Seventh-Annual Volunteers of America/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Awards Presented in Washington, DC
For Immediate Release:
June 8, 2008
Contact: David Burch
(703) 341-5054 or dburch@voa.org
Washington, DC – Volunteers of America, one of the nation’s oldest and largest human services organizations, presented its seventh-annual Volunteers of America/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Awards on June 8 to three programs dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing holistic services to families.
The awarded programs all work toward improving child well-being through strengthening the entire family. The physical, social, emotional, spiritual and financial needs of both parents and children are met through these exceptional programs. Each winner receives a $20,000 award.
This year’s Volunteers of America/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Award winners are:
• Volunteers of America Kentucky - Lexington Family Housing Program, Lexington, Ky.: Volunteers of America Kentucky’s Lexington Family Housing Program is a multi-site transitional housing program that works to strengthen homeless families by providing housing counseling to prevent homelessness, needs assessment, transitional housing, and home-based case management. Families make their own housing choices based on school districts, ties to relatives and friends, work places, church and access to transportation. By re-integrating the family back into the community, in a neighborhood they know, the children return to a familiar school and the family has access to supportive networks and can begin to re-build social capital.
• Volunteers of America Minnesota - Family Treatment Prison Visitation Program: Volunteers of America Minnesota’s Family Treatment Prison Visitation Program is the only program in Minnesota that provides children the opportunity to visit their federally incarcerated mothers. Minnesota has no federal women’s prison and women from the state are incarcerated in Illinois. The prison visitation program not only prepares children and caregivers for the stark realities of the prison environment, but also provides support groups for the children and caregivers before and after the trips. Professional staff accompanies the children and caregivers on the trips to provide emotional and psychological support. In between visits, staff coordinates correspondence between children and parents as well as connects caregivers to community supports.
• Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans - Mentoring Children of Prisoners, New Orleans, La.: Volunteers of America Greater New Orleans’ Mentoring Children of Prisoners program provides a holistic approach to mentoring that provides a secure mentoring relationship for the child, connection to the incarcerated parent when possible, and support for the caregiver. The trained mentors, who come from 10 local partner churches, have weekly contact with the child. As the mentor works with the child, staff works with the family to ensure that basic needs are met immediately. Longer-term needs are accessed through the Volunteers of America New Orleans Family Resource Center, mental health services, and/or referrals to community partners.
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About Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, faith-based organization dedicated to helping those in need rebuild their lives and reach their full potential. Through hundreds of human service programs, including housing and healthcare, Volunteers of America helps more than 2 million people in over 400 communities. Since 1896, our ministry of service has supported and empowered America's most vulnerable groups, including at-risk youth, the frail elderly, men and women returning from prison, homeless individuals and families, people with disabilities, and those recovering from addictions. Our work touches the mind, body, heart-and ultimately the spirit-of those we serve, integrating our deep compassion with highly effective programs and services.