May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches is helping to break the cycle of family homelessness by eliminating barriers that often prevent clients with mental health challenges from getting the care they need to stabilize and thrive.

For 40 years, Adopt-A-Family has served the Palm Beach County community by providing housing-focused services to low-income families with minor children. While these households suffer disproportionately high rates of mental illness and usually have endured numerous traumas and stresses, they are also far less likely to seek mental health care. Counseling isn’t a priority when you don’t know where you will sleep.

To complicate things further, mental health care can be too expensive, and for families without reliable transportation, too far away. Often, appointments are only available during regular business hours, which can be a problem for low-wage earners who don’t get paid if they don’t work. On occasion, Adopt-A-Family clients simply aren’t aware of the many benefits that accompany therapeutic services nor just how much their mental health contributes to their ability to maintain a stable family home.

This is why Adopt-A-Family created an innovative, low-barrier model that embeds mental health therapy services into the agency’s housing-centric programming. AAF’s Mental Health Program offers free, convenient therapy at the agency’s three locations with Joan Kiefer (pictured above) and Registered Clinical Social Work Intern Irene Sobrino, who clients see as a neighbor, rather than an outsider, and who are trained to specialize in the circumstances of families who have lived with housing instability. This innovative model creates a well-utilized, community-wide system of mental health support for clients of all ages. Parents gain coping skills to heal from past traumas and create a more stable environment for their families, which includes making more grounded, clear-headed decisions that are more likely to result in their families remaining securely housed. Children and teens recover from the emotional and social setbacks that affect their education and their relationships with peers and adults to help break generational cycles.

And it is working.

Ninety-four percent of adult clients who have attended at least three therapy sessions have remained housed, and 90% of clients felt their mental health had improved. Children make great strides in improving their social-emotional skills.

Every year, Adopt-A-Family’s Mental Health Program serves dozens of new clients who have never had the opportunity to go to therapy. It is an effective, efficient way to reach disadvantaged families who would be unlikely to avail themselves of therapy anywhere else.

Although Mental Health Awareness month wraps up at the end of May, AAF is proud to offer these life changing services year round and to provide this support to our clients on the path to physical, mental, and emotional stability.

Project Grow’s Inaugural Graduation Celebration

 

A formal celebration of Project Grow’s graduates has been on Adopt-A-Family’s wish list for years, and on May 16, the agency hosted its inaugural Project Grow Graduation. The ceremony was designed to celebrate the achievements of the program’s fifth grade students as they transition out of the program, out of elementary school, and on to their next stage of development.

The event provided an opportunity for the 11 graduates and their families to reflect on their elementary school years at Project Grow. The students enjoyed dinner and cake and heard words of affirmation from their Project Grow teachers and AAF CEO Matt Constantine. Youth Success Coach Michelle Pinto encouraged them to stay connected with AAF in the future by participating in the Youth Success Program. After diplomas and gifts were distributed, the grads threw their caps in the air to celebrate this special rite of passage. 

Because Project Grow aims to instill a sense of stability in children who have faced the unpredictability of homelessness, it is important to take the time to mark these momentous transitions and reinforce a sense of continuity. We are proud to have begun the tradition of celebrating each graduation to help make that connection; the mission at AAF is a holistic one, providing resources, opportunities, and support for family members at every stage of life. While in Project Grow, students are provided with support to overcome academic, social, and emotional barriers so they are equipped to excel in and out of the classroom.

A special “thank you” goes out to the Project Grow Graduation Committee for spearheading this endeavor with dedication and care. We are grateful for the many donors who made the event possible. We’d also like to acknowledge the amazing team of teachers, advisors, therapists, tutors, volunteers, and donors who have supported these students throughout their time in Project Grow.

Congratulations to our graduates!  We look forward to cheering you on in middle school and beyond!

Click here to view the event photo album on Facebook

Gift Giving Event at the

Homeless Resource Center

 

For families experiencing an episode of homelessness, the holiday season can be especially difficult. Without a place to call home or resources to purchase gifts, parents feel a heavy burden, desperately wanting to provide their children with the joy of the holiday season.

Sensing this struggle among the clients served at the Homeless Resource Center, AAF’s Engagement Quality Assurance Tech, Lisa Raymond, organized a free holiday shop for parents in 2015. The Gift Giving Event is now an annual tradition and has grown significantly over the last eight years as our community continues to rally their support around families in need of holiday hope.

For three days every December, parents are invited to the Homeless Resource Center to select new gifts and stocking stuffers for their children from an elaborate display of toys. The gifts are then hand wrapped by volunteers and the staff of the Homeless Resource Center.

The 2023 Gift Giving Event received hundreds of toys donated by groups and businesses from all over Palm Beach County. The outpouring of support lifted a weight off the shoulders of the 75 parents who attended the event and experienced the joy of picking out new toys for their children. Over 200 kids in our community will have presents to open this holiday season thanks to your kindness.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to the following supporters for their generous support of the 2023 Gift Giving Event:

• Alton Town Center
• BAK School of the Arts
• The Benjamin School
• Carrier
• The City of Lake Worth Beach Human Resources Department
• Jet Aviation
• Denise Hand and Friends
• Lisa Kochersperger
• Palm Springs Police Department
• Parkline Palm Beaches
• Kristen Press
• Publix – 18^th District
• Royal Poinciana Chapel
• St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
• Shandralyn Smith
• SOMA
• TLJ Medical Society
• Tradewinds Middle School
• Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl – Organized by Kim Riccardo and Dana Prowell
• Zuhre’s World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adopt-A-Family Celebrates 40 Years

 

In 1983, three Palm Beach County women heard a radio story about a family of four who had become homeless after exhausting their savings on medical bills. Determined to help the family get back on their feet, the women recruited members of the community to “adopt” the family and support them until they regained stability.

In the forty years that have elapsed since that first family was served, Adopt-A-Family has had the honor of working with nearly 60,000 local families in need of a stable place to call home.

At Adopt-A-Family’s 2023 Annual Meeting in September, CEO Matt Constantine chronicled our four decades of operation by sharing the sharing a timeline of agency highlights and accomplishments in 5-year blocks.

 

1983:

• Lucy Runyon, Jayne Ellison, and Kay Mansolil heard about a family who became homeless and was forced to take shelter under the Royal Palm Bridge.
• The three women rallied the community to assist the family, finding them an affordable home, helping secure employment, and ultimately, helping them reclaim their dignity.
• With a desire to help more families facing similar challenges, Adopt-A-Family was born.

1983 – 1988

• Adopt-A-Family (AAF) incorporated as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity in 1984.
• The agency “adopted” families by matching donors with households in crisis.
• AAF’s first major fundraiser was held, our first annual Tree Lighting Celebration
• The agency moved into our first corporate office at A.G. Holley Hospital in Lantana.
• By the end of 1988, we had served 351 families.

 

1989 – 1994:

• The agency headquarters was moved to Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach.
• Project SAFE and Project Grow began.
• AAF hosted our first Santa Shoppe and golf tournament, traditions that continue to this day.
• The agency was featured on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, highlighting the story of a family who fell on hard times, and AAF was helping them get back on their feet.
• By the end of 1994, Adopt-A-Family had served 2,508 families.

 

1995 – 2000:

• Two apartment complexes in Lake Worth were acquired which increased the agency’s impact:
  • Lucerne Gardens Apartments, a 32-unit complex that is now known as Project SAFE.
  • A 24-unit complex that still operates today as Service Enriched Housing.
• Adopt-A-Family’s campus setting was born.
• By the end of 2000, Adopt-A-Family had served 10,090 families.

 

2001 – 2006:

• In 2003, the agency headquarters was built in Lake Worth, home to Project Grow and the agency’s case workers and administrative staff.
• A second office in Lake Park was the homebase of our homeless prevention program.
• After serving as Adopt-A-Family’s fearless and dedicated CEO for over two decades, Terry Bozarth retired, and Wendy Tippett was named the agency’s second CEO.
• By the end of 2006, Adopt-A-Family had served 21,996 families.

 

2007 – 2012:

• Adopt-A- Family was asked to serve as the lead family entity in the newly opened HRC.
• We completed construction on our 9-unit Wiley Reynolds Gardens Apartments, introducing three-bedroom units to AAF for the first time.
• As part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program consortium, the agency acquired 41 units of housing in Lake Worth, selling 17 and maintaining 24 for affordable rentals.
• By the end of 2012, Adopt-A-Family had served 39,296 families.

 

2013 – 2018:

• The Project Grow playground was reimagined with turf, a playground, and a basketball court.
• Property adjacent to our campus, the future site of Julian Place, was purchased.
• After over 20 years of service and visionary leadership, Wendy Tippett left the agency and went on to take a leadership role within Palm Beach County. Matt Constantine was named CEO.
• By the end of 2018, Adopt-A-Family had served 51,722 families.

 

2019 – Today:

• Julian Place townhomes received its certificate of occupancy and 14 families moved in.
• AAF received a $5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund, allowing us to find creative ways to serve more families experiencing homelessness.
• New positions were created to provide much needed support services to our families – our Job Coach, Youth Success Coach, and Volunteer and Community Impact Coordinator were hired.
• From 1983 to today, Adopt-A-Family has served 58,751 families.

 

Today, the agency serves over 1,200 families each year through a range of programs and services that include 112 units of housing, a 19-unit emergency shelter, dynamic afterschool programming for elementary school students and teenagers, and diversion and rapid re-housing interventions for families experiencing homelessness. Additionally, we offer a robust Homeless Prevention Program, a financial assistance program that carries on the model designed by our three founders.  All agency programs are accompanied by case management and access to support services which include mental health therapy, job coaching, and financial literacy training.

To mark the 40-year milestone at Adopt-A-Family, we hired Apex Productions to document the agency’s beginnings and growth, and to acknowledge the early pioneers who placed Adopt-A-Family on a path to impacting thousands of families throughout Palm Beach County.

The video features the agency’s three incredible Executive Directors, Terry Bozarth, Wendy Tippett, and Matt Constantine, each one leading the agency to new heights during their tenure. It also features two of the agency’s most dedicated volunteers and former board members, Chris Oberlink and Alice Tarone.

 

In this season of gratitude, we extend our sincere thanks to every member of our community of supporters who has walked beside us during the last forty years. We are immeasurably grateful for your dedication, trust, generosity, commitment, and community spirit. The agency’s growth and impact are only because of the incredible partners who believe in our mission.

To the families we serve, thank you. It has been an honor to be a part of your journey.

From the land to the sea, museums to theatres, waterparks to the classroom, Project Grow’s 2023 summer camp has been a blast. Here are some of our favorite moments so far:   

 

Children’s Production: The Lion King Jr. at Lake Worth Playhouse 

Each Project Grow class took their turn seeing Lake Worth Playhouse’s production of The Lion King Jr.  

 

 

Nexplore STEAM Activities 

The students practiced robo-coding and constructed their very own bubble blowers during enrichment activities led by Nexplore, a nationwide, STEAM-focused academic support organization.  

 

 

Pool Day at the Santaluces Aquatic Complex 

Project Grow beat the heat at the Santaluces Aquatic Complex! Students lathered on the sunscreen, strapped on their floaties, and dove in for a day of play in the expansive pool.  

 

 

 

Frost Science Museum 

Miami’s esteemed Frost Science Museum, Aquarium, and Planetarium was a playground of wonder for the kids. The students flocked to interactive exhibits, coming face-to-face with some of nature’s most extraordinary sights and creatures.  

 

P.E. X-Games

P.E. X-Games incorporates physical education with high-energy games to keep brains and bodies feeling sharp. Project Grow students have enjoyed active challenges together, like scooter-basketball and tug of war.

 

Fishing Boat with Florida Fishing Academy

The Florida Fishing Academy treated Project Grow’s 4th and 5th graders to a day of fishing! For some students, this was a first experience out on the water. Some kids were even lucky enough to reel in a fish! After fishing, the kids cooled off with some dock-side swimming.

 

A Day at the Norton Museum of Art

Provided by the Norton’s Community Access Program, Project Grow students enjoyed a tour of the museum, lunch, and even pottery-making, where each student shaped and painted their own small bowl.

 

We are so grateful to provide our students with these special opportunities! Each summer, our local community opens its arms to welcome Project Grow and help them build memories they will cherish for life. We thank each and every organization who has helped make this summer an awesome one!

Adopt-A-Family’s Youth Success Group participated in a 6-week “Youth Issues, Youth Voices” dialogue group led by Barbara Cheives of Converge & Associates. The sessions explored topics like racial and ethnic tension, violence in the community, healthy relationships, and substance abuse. Each gathering allowed students the space to openly share opinions and experiences, and brainstorm solutions to issues youth are facing today.

To conclude the 6-week course, several leaders in the local criminal justice system joined the Youth Success Group for an open conversation with the middle- and high- school students on May 11. Judge Bradley Harper, criminal prosecutor Cheo Reid, criminal defense lawyer Maegan Young, Deputy Morales, Agent Ramsey, and Palm Beach School District Police officers Morales and Nickelson shared advice, bringing valuable perspective from their years of responding to juvenile offenses.

“It’s hard to see what kids like you go through in the system all because of a stupid mistake, or because you never got the help or guidance you needed,” Prosecutor Reid shared with the kids.

As conversation flowed, covering hot topics like social media crimes and the rising popularity of vaping, each professional took the time to share heartfelt advice and personal anecdotes.

“You need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Judge Harper told the students. “Every guest in this room made decisions that made them uncomfortable at some point – either it had never been done in their family before, or it was a tough road. You have opportunities coming for you, but those doors won’t always be open. If you have an opportunity, take it, give it a try. When you feel buried, when you’re in a dark and uncomfortable place, that’s when you grow.”

We thank each guest for taking the time to have this special evening with the students of our Youth Success Group, and to Ms. Cheives for her continued work within the agency.

Project Grow’s Impact Highlighted in Recent Report

Project Grow is designed to provide academic, social, and emotional support to elementary school students who have experienced homelessness and housing instability. In 2022, we invested in an independent evaluation of the program to measure Project Grow’s effectiveness in meeting its goals.

The recently released Project Grow Student Progress Report published by Geo Education & Research (Geo) concluded that the program has a measurable positive impact on the test scores and grades of the elementary school students we serve. Project Grow students were compared to other students at their school with similar demographics and household income, and Geo found the following notable achievements:

• FAST (Florida Assessment of Student Thinking) Test: Project Grow students scored 18 percentage points higher in Math and 7 percentage points higher in English Language Arts.
• Palm Beach County i-Ready Diagnostic: Project Grow students scored 14 percentage points higher in Math and 7 percentage points higher in Reading.
• 2022 Report Card Grades: The percentage of Project Grow students earning “Proficient” or “Approaching Proficient” was 23 points higher in English Language Arts and 10 points higher in Math.

Geo also tracked high school graduation data for the students who participated in Project Grow during the 2007-08 school year and found that the Project Grow graduation rate was 4.4 percentage points higher than the district-wide average.

Not only does Project Grow provide a supportive, stable, and safe environment for students who have experienced homelessness, but its holistic curriculum and tutoring help students improve their educational performance and blaze a trail to high school graduation, which improves the long-term trajectory of their lives.

FULL REPORT:

ADOPT-A-FAMILY’S 5-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

Every five years, Adopt-A-Family’s Board of Directors and staff collaborate to create a strategic plan for the next five years of agency operations and impact in Palm Beach County. This plan responds to our county’s changing market and needs, identifies goals and opportunities for improvement and growth, and cements agency values as we create a roadmap for continuing to achieve our mission in the years ahead.

After a year of workshops and a full day retreat facilitated by Rita Barreto of Top Tier Leadership, Adopt-A-Family’s recently-completed strategic plan sets a vision for our next five years, spanning July 2022-2027, and focuses on maximizing Adopt-A-Family’s efforts in four key areas:

Program and Service Excellence: Building on current efforts, create and deliver programs that are executed with excellence and a strong attention to exceeding expectations.

Talent Management and Culture: Identify, attract, and retain a talented and diverse board and workforce while maintaining and enhancing the agency’s unique culture built on: respect, collaboration, inclusion, safety, and health.

Fiscal Strength: Ensure continued financial sustainability with a focus on diverse revenue streams.

Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness: Strengthen operations (money, information, systems, and physical assets) to ensure the efficient and effective management of resources and Board engagement.

Our past five years have been defined by several incredible milestones, including the opening of Julian Place and the Jayne and Tim Donahue Community Center, and receiving a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to launch and grow our services to families experiencing unsheltered homelessness. These victories provided timely opportunities for expansion for the agency, as the affordable housing crisis wrought havoc on the lives of families across Palm Beach County.

Over the next five years, Adopt-A-Family will continue to mobilize efficiently in response to our community’s needs, and strive for excellence in all that we do. As we expand our staff and reach, we build on the heart and longtime mission of Adopt-A-Family: to strengthen families with children in their efforts to achieve stability and self-sufficiency by providing access to all-encompassing services.

Read the Strategic Plan Summary here.

Don’t miss this opportunity for free professional tax filing through the Fifth Third Bank and United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)! 

Spanish: Haga clic aquí para esta información en español.

Creole: Klike la a pou enfòmasyon sa yo an kreyòl.

On February 6 and 7, Adopt-A-Family will host the eBus, where IRS-Certified volunteer preparers will be stationed to provide tax filing assistance. Households whose income was $70,000 or less in 2022 qualify for this assistance. 

This event is open to the public and will take place at Project SAFE (1736 Lake Worth Rd.) to ensure easy access by Adopt-A-Family residents.

WHAT TO BRING:

1. 2021 tax return
2. Social Security cards and correct birth dates for all family members
3. All W-2 wage and tax statements for 2022
4. Form 1098 – mortgage interest, property taxes
5. Form 1099 – DIV, G, INT, MISC, Q, R, RRB, SSA for 2022
6. A photo ID (for you and your spouse, if filing jointly)
7. Join returns require both filers to be present to sign the return
8. A voided check and/or savings account number for direct deposit

For Dependent Care Credit you need: 

• Name
• Address
• Tax ID or social security number of care provider

For Education Credit you need:

• 1098-T or 1098-E
• Amount paid for qualifying education expenses

For Premium Tax Credit you need:

• 1095-A

On December 10, 2022, our families celebrated the most wonderful time of the year with a beloved AAF tradition: Santa Shoppe! This year, the event made an exciting return to its long-time host venue First Christian Church.

Dozens of generous volunteers gathered the day prior to the event to transform the church into a winter wonderland, adorning the space with tinsel, string lights, and stockings.

The helpers busily wrapped gifts for AAF kids and decorated the Christmas tree, which was the central décor alongside a festive photo booth. The side rooms housed the “Shoppe” and gift-wrapping station, where hundreds of donated gifts awaited.

Santa Shoppe opened the following morning, welcoming a large crowd of AAF families for holiday festivities. Children shopped for gifts for their parents and siblings, then passed their selections to our team of volunteer elves who wrapped and bagged each present. Families enjoyed crafts and lunch, then posed for photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, where each child received a gift specially chosen from their wish list by one of our incredible donors.

Every donation, hand-picked gift, and hour of volunteered time, made a difference. Thanks to the incredible generosity of each of Santa Shoppe’s supporters, every family in attendance left with full arms and hearts.

In addition to the many incredible individuals who generously donated time, resources, and gifts, we would like to thank the following groups for their notable commitment to helping families in need through their support of Santa Shoppe:

• Adopt-A-Family’s Board of Directors
• AmeriCorps
• AMG
• Clipped Wings (United Airlines)
• First Christian Church West Palm Beach
• Lost Tree Chapel
• Old Marsh Group
• Palm Beach Rotary Club
• The Breakers Palm Beach
• Thrivent Action Team
• UBS

And as always, a very special thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus for making the trip!