Office: 760-843-0701
24/7 Hotline: 760-949-4357
June is Pride Month where we celebrate the LGBTQ community. Pride festivals are always a lot of fun. Last year, all of the events were either cancelled or went virtual. This year has been mostly more of the same. I am looking forward to the world opening up and being able to attend events again. I appreciate that we can have events where people can be themselves.
When I walk down the street with my wife, we always hold hands. We kiss goodbye without worrying about what people will say and will it become an issue. I hope someday, everyone will feel this way. It is sad to see the amount of discrimination going on across our nation and our world. Many people are not allowed to love who they love in open. People are discriminated against and persecuted for just being true to who they are.
Someday, we will get there. Until then, I will continue to wear rainbow pins and our programs will display rainbow flags. We need to do everything we can to make sure that at Family Assistance Program, love is love and we respect everyone’s right to love who they love.
The Community Center hosted a COVID-19 vaccine clinic event in partnerships with SAC Health System, IEHP, and the San Bernardino County Health Department on May 26th. We provided the COVID-19 vaccine to 20 individuals, and in conjunction with the Rescue Mission, we fed 150 people. A big thank you to all community members who helped this event be successful!
The Community Center finalized their first ever Spanish 40-hour domestic violence advocacy training and provided certificates of completion to 17 new advocates eager to support and walk alongside survivors of domestic violence. The next English 40-hour domestic violence advocacy training will take place in July. Our weekly walk-in STI clinic at the Community Center is held every Wednesday and available from 10am – 3pm.
The staff received feedback from a class participant who recently completed the parenting and anger management classes. Ms. Rodriguez said, “I would like to thank you for your parenting and anger management classes because I can say that your classes are a huge reason why I think I’m handling things as well as I have been recently.” We love to hear how the services that we offer are changing lives for the better.
Hope House is so grateful to Pat Spier and the AWHONN (Association of Women’s Health and Neonatal Health). Michele received a call a few months ago from Miss Pat she said the Association was looking to give to some Non-profits and there would be a lottery. Pat asked what are some of the things we could use at Hope House. Michele immediately sent over a list of the most needed items we always seem to need. Within a month boxes from Amazon were coming like nobody’s business! These wonderful people really stepped up for us. Hope House is so very honored by this beautiful, touching generosity and care.
Hope House is also very excited for one of our families! They moved into their own home last week! It was an amazing feeling to see their happy faces, smiles ear to ear. Hope House wishes all the best to them and their new journey!
We are so proud of the participants who finished Ending The Game (ETG) groups with us. ETG is a curriculum that reduces the feelings of attachment to traffickers and/or a life style, thereby breaking the bonds of coercion and trauma and reducing recidivism among trafficking survivors. This is one of the many groups, intervention and prevention that Open Door advocates facilitate with our youth and adults. For more information on the groups we provide contact dianne@familyassist.org
Open Door welcomes our new Community Engagement Coordinator, Candice Erskin. Candice comes from a social service background having worked at Option House as a Program Manager and facilitating their 40-hour domestic violence trainings. Candice will be our liaison in the community for meetings, events, information and the 40-hour HT trainings. Contact Candice at: candice@familyassist.org
We are happy to announce the opening of a second HT transitional home in June. This allows our participants to live up to 12 months rent free while they secure a job, reunify with their children and save money before they move on to the next stage of their freedom. For more information on our housing please contact: emily@familyassist.org
Are you looking to make a difference in the lives of trafficked youth and adults? Have you taken our 40-hour HT training? If so, Open Door is holding interviews for HT Advocates. Qualified candidates please send resumes to dianne@familyassist.org Survivors and lived experience experts are encouraged to apply.
With school getting out soon, the youth at My Place are wanting to do more outside activities. During one of our planning groups, the youth came up with an idea of taking cold waters and Otter Pops to the kids at the local skate park where they frequent. The staff is currently working on getting donations of water bottles and Otter Pops. If you would like to donate water bottles or Otter Pops, please email myplace@familyassist.org
We also want to give a huge shout out to one of our youth who graduated two months early and is now working on college applications. This is a huge success for youth.
This month at Next Step Morongo Basin we are very excited to share that we have two participants that have obtained part-time employment and one participant that purchased her very first vehicle and obtained auto insurance.
There has been a great food display of donations from our community partners of fresh fruit and vegetables, donations weekly to our program that our participants enjoy. We have been working on eating healthy quick meal prep, menu planning and daily cleaning tips.
We are also happy to share and welcome our new volunteer Noni!
Noni attended 40 hour our domestic violence training with Family Assistance Program last year and has been very eager to start volunteering with us for some time now.
Our first webinar explaining how to apply for Rent Relief for those who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and in need of rental and utility assistance was successful. Our next webinar will be held this Friday, June 11th. English will be at 1pm and Spanish at 2pm. Click here for the Zoom Link to join us:
Family Assistance Program envisions a community where each person has a loving, nurturing home life. We provide the tools necessary to create healthy interpersonal relationships, economic empowerment, and stable housing.
15075 7th Street, Victorville, CA 92395
Main Office: (760) 843-0701
Toll Free: (866) 770-7867
