We were excited to honor our young mothers from our Damamli Program at a special Mother’s Day Dinner held on May 11, 2015! At the event, each mother was recognized for the amazing parent that she is to her child, enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner catered by Squisito restaurant, received a special gift from the program, and received artwork created by their child.

Being in foster care is a challenge on it’s own, but being in foster care while charged with the important responsibility of raising a child is a task that can sometimes be overwhelming and often seem impossible, but our clients face this challenge every day and work hard to ensure that they are creating bright futures for their children, and for that we are so proud of them!

We have some great news to share about the residents and staff at Avis Birely Group Home for Boys! We all know how important recreational activity is for the mind and body and in April, the young men at Avis Birely began a new activity that will continue through summer! The residents are participating in boxing lessons at a nearby Boxing Gym. The youth are being trained by the owner who is also providing lessons of discipline and self-control. In addition to getting a hard core workout, the young men are learning how to take out their stresses in a safe, controlled environment. They are also improving coordination, body awareness, confidence, and self-esteem!

We are proud to report that Avis Birely has a new Acting Senior Counselor, Mr. Ronald Lilley who has been promoted from counselor at Avis Birely, where he has worked since his date of hire. Mr. Ronald is reliable, dependable and well-respected by the residents and his colleagues. He regularly displays outstanding leadership qualities. In his new role Mr. Ronald will continue to be one of the many faces of the program representing Avis Birely and Hearts & Homes in the community, and provide support and guidance to both the staff and our youth. 

Individually, the youth at Avis Birely have a lot to be proud of. For example, Jesse entered Avis Birely with a history of truancy. He currently is in 10th grade and has zero unexcused absences. Jesse attends school each day and is well liked by his teachers. He currently has a chronic health disorder that he is receiving treatment for. Jesse is expected to be successfully discharged from the program at the end of the school year in June. To assist with a seamless transition home, staff at Avis Birely have put together a comprehensive health plan that includes physicians and specialists in his area who will be able to follow up with his treatment when he returns home to Baltimore.

Wally is from Montgomery County, he has been attending a local school, playing recreational basketball, and conditioning for the upcoming football recreation summer league as quarterback. Wally earned a 3.4 GPA this past quarter. Wally is making great progress in the program and is expected to return home this upcoming summer.

Justin entered Avis Birely with family issues. Through family therapy facilitated by Avis Birely’s Social Worker, Justin has been working on improving his relations with family members. He has been going home on the weekends over the past two months and each visit has been successful. Justin’s mother has also learned how to provide some support to Justin, to assist him with de-escalation. Justin is making great progress in our program. 

Chris has a history of being bullied and as a result, he has been taking out his frustrations and anger on other people at school. Chris has been receiving encouragement and support from a residential peer regarding self-esteem and as a result, his behaviors are improving. He and some of his peers were recently recognized by their school for their behavior improvements and were taken on a REWARDS trip to Sugar Loaf Mountain.

James, a newer resident, has begun school in May. He was initially resistant but after attending his first day, he had a change of heart. He currently is working on his anger management with the clinical team at Avis Birely.

Natalie, a young woman at Helen Smith Group Home for Girls has a lot to be proud of! She is completing her first semester at Montgomery College! Staff at Helen Smith are helping her register for summer courses and encouraging her to seek out groups and activities offered by the college to continue to develop her social skills and sense of belonging in the community.

Natalie is excited about school and the possibility of moving into an independent living program. We are so proud of her progress since she first came into our home and glad she is proud of herself!

We hope you have a great weekend!

We have some great news to share from John C. Tracey Group Home! One of the young residents has been working hard to complete a certificate program at Richard Montgomery High School. In addition to his studies, the young man is completing community service in order to obtain the required work site hours needed for graduation. We are excited to confirm that he will be graduating with his peers this June!

At Kemp Mill, David N. has improved with his grades in school and completed his 6-month Substance Abuse Class. Steven has improved his grades, which makes him eligible to be the starting Varsity QB for his high school! Justin has transitioned back into his school without any issues and actively participates in family counseling with his mother and brother. Trevor is maintaining good grades at his high school and is expected to be successfully discharged at the end of the school year. Joseph has improved his grades after falling behind. He is proud of his personal diet and weight loss and is expected to be successfully discharged mid-summer. Curt is new to the program and began school recently.

At Mary’s Mount Manor for Girls, five out of eight of the young residents have grade point averages above 3.0! One of the young residents will be discharged upon graduation with June. She has a 4.0 and a job at a local business.

“Growth  The act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.”

The Program Manager at Marys Mount says that “Paige represents the very definition of the word growth. I have watched her development over the last three and a half months, and could not be more proud of the young woman she is becoming. She has come a long way and has shown that her change is for the better. She will be missed, but her departure is necessary for her to continue to grow.”

We are proud of all of the youth in our care for all of their accomplishments!

Today on #EduTues we are excited to share some great academic accomplishments by our young men from the John C. Tracey Group Home!

Dee is on track to graduate on June 4th! He has applied and gotten into Montgomery College and he also applied at Ohio State University. He has a 3.1 GPA, is employed at Gordon Biersch, and he is being honored at his high school’s scholars dinner! Dee and another student at his school started a discussion group of about 30-40 students that meets every week for which he is the facilitator. 

Vid is making strides in attending classes without skipping. He has been more compliant with school/program rules and he brought his GPA up this quarter from a .57 to a 1.53 which is great and he is also working at Gordon Biersch.

Joe brought home a 4.0 GPA this quarter and overall has been doing very well in the program.

Jose brought in a 2.85 GPA and overall is doing well! His IEP states that he has a disability that effects him academically but his Middle School has been working very closely with him as opposed to sending him to an alternative school. The school is providing him with accommodations and modifications to allow him to participate in the general education curriculum, support his academic success, and keep him in the least restrictive learning environment. 

Mark is in a GED program and is prepared to take the test! He is currently working at Noodles & Company and has been recognized by his employer for his excellent work ethic. He is looking into being a plumber and has been offered a summer internship with a plumbing company. He’s dedicated to getting back on track! 

Each of the JCT residents will be recognized and rewarded for their accomplishments this Thursday at the Home’s Monthly Reward Ceremony.

March is Social Work Month and this March we had a great time celebrating the social workers at Hearts & Homes who make a difference every day for the youth in our care! The theme this year, “Social Work Paves the Way for Change” spoke directly to our social workers’ mission. Hearts & Homes for Youth’s social workers are part of the change process that each youth experiences when they join the Heats and Homes family.

Our social workers effect change through empowerment: empowering each youth to see the good in themselves and to act on the belief that they can reach their goals.  They effect change through dedication: sticking with even the most difficult youth and showing them something different than what they are accustomed to.  They effect change through education: utilizing all of their training to provide services that reflect best practices for great outcomes. Change may be a youth smiling or laughing more, finally feeling at home and comfortable to be themselves or a youth graduating high school who was previously failing classes and on the verge of dropping out.  Our social workers are tirelessly dedicated to helping our youth identify and develop the academic, vocational, behavioral, and other tools to become independent and productive young adults.

Our social workers work in our group homes, with foster parents, and with our parenting teens in Damamli Independent Living Program providing therapy, psycho-education, training, case management, and ensuring that each youth feels like a part of our family.

As a way to say thank you to our social workers, Hearts & Homes hosted a luncheon at Seasons 52 in Columbia. Each social worker received a card and personal token of appreciation.

Our appreciation goes beyond the month of March;, we appreciate our social workers each and every day for the contribution that they make to each youth and to Hearts & Homes as a whole.