January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month
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The case of Cyntoia Brown, a young woman who had been incarcerated for killing a man who had bought her for sex when she was just 16 years old, has pushed
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
into the spotlight. Her case came to national attention and highlighted the ways our systems fail trauma survivors and trafficking survivors, particularly those who are young women of color. On January 7, 2019, she was granted clemency, and she will be released from jail later this year. It is particularly poignant that this happened during HT Awareness Month. The hope of many is that her case will shed light on the work to be done as a society to ensure justice for survivors, and prevent the buying and selling of human beings from happening at all.
Nearly every community in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, has experienced a case of human trafficking in the form of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC).
Please Join FCR on
January 17th
in support of
The Plymouth County Children's Advocacy Center
Panel Discussion on
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, and Plymouth County's Response
Thursday, January 17, 2019
6:00 - 8:00 PM
New Hope Chapel
89 Court Street
Plymouth, MA
To Learn more and to Register to attend log on to
https://tinyurl.com/PlyCtyCSEC
or click the button below
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A Look Back at the End of the Year!
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As we get ready to dive into the new year, let's take a
look back at some of the exciting things that happened over the fall and into the holiday season!
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Celebrating the Holiday Season
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A joyful way to end the year!
In December, the staff at FCR held a tree decorating contest as part of our company year-end holiday party. The winning tree was designed by our Mental Health Program Staff. Nicole Modes, Clinician, said, "The theme of our tree is, 'Fostering Childhood Resiliency' because this is exactly what we do here at Family and Community Resources, Inc. All of these ornaments were handmade by children served in the Mental Health Program. With the support, validation and encouragement by caring adults, resiliency is possible for every child. These beautiful ornaments help remind us of this. We would like to thank all of the children who participated to make this tree shine bright like they do!"
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In Good Health
holds fundraiser for FCR!
Thank you to Allison Noble and everyone at In Good Health for their generous support!
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We cannot thank our amazing
Adopt A Family
donors enough!
This December 58 families and 12 additional children served by FCR were adopted by our generous donors who filled wish lists to help make the season bright for kids and their parents!
Just
how much does this mean
to the clients we serve? Read on to learn what one grateful client shared with her clinician the day she picked up gifts for her family,
" Someone went out of their way for my family to do this. They don't know me or have any connection to me and they were willing to do this for my family. We had nothing for Christmas and so it was really very difficult for me to get into the holiday spirit. The impact that this has had on my family was tremendous. With everything going on in the world today, it renewed my faith in humanity. I used this as a lesson for my children about how and why we give back in the ways that we can though our church and in other ways. I pray for the families who donated and though I cannot personally thank them, I wanted to let them know how much their generosity means to my family."
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November would not be complete without our
Thanksgiving Basket Drive
!
This year, through the generosity of FCR Board Members, FCR staff, family and, especially, friends, we were able to provide healthy Thanksgiving Day meals for 27 families.
" Thanks so much for the turkey dinner. Thank you to all! You put so much effort into organizing this meal. I can't thank all of you enough for everything you all do for all the families on Thanksgiving! My kids had a blast helping me season the turkey, peel the potatoes and of course eating the food after it was done! " FCR Client
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Calling All Artists!
Check out the creativity at
An Evening to Be Thankful & Grateful
Ceramic Paint Night
at ArtSmart Program in Walpole on November 2nd!!
A huge thank you to Donna Madoff and friends for putting this night together to benefit FCR!
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For
Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October
FCR staff and volunteers organized and participated in several thought provoking, awareness raising events throughout the month.
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On October 24th, FCR held an informative session on:
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COMES TO WORK?
A discussion on what Employers and Employees need to know.
Moderator Kim Carrigan, host of WRKO Radio's Morning Show led the discussion with panelists:
Jennifer Duke, Employment Law Specialist at Littler Mendelson, P.C.,
Kelly Dwyer, Executive Director of the Governor’s Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence,
Tim Kearney, VP Human Resources at Eastern Bank Group,
and
Lovern Gordon, Founder of LoveLifeNow Foundation
sharing their personal experience, insights and knowledge around dealing with and managing outcomes of domestic violence in the workplace.
The event was generously sponsored by The Holiday Inn Express-Brockton, National Grid, Signature Healthcare and Hawkeye Fence.
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For two weeks in October, Stonehill Senior, and FCR Volunteer, Lauren Wallace organized a toiletry drive for Janice's Closet!
The team put over 20 emergency kits together for victims of domestic violence with donations from fellows students.
Thanks to students Mei Rose Neal, Allison Roberts, Joseph O'Rourke, Devin Lilly, Madison Pimental, Carter Pearl, Devin Kindred & Sam Neil for coming out to support FCR!
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And thank you to Erica Stewart, Campus Minister for Community Service and Partnerships, for all of her support!
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"LOVE SHOULDN’T HURT - WHAT LOVE SHOULDN'T LOOK LIKE”
1st Annual Conference
at Stonehill College
Easton, MA.
Saturday, October 21, 2018
The inaugural
conference organized by Professor Shani Turner's Psychotherapy Practicum Class: Krista Fernandes '19, Jessica Infiorati '19, Jane Lima '19, Hannah Talbot '19, Shelby Waldron, and Lauren Wallace '19 (an FCR Volunteer), was attended by over 70 students.
The day consisted
of several informative breakout sessions covering a wide array of topics for students to participate in to learn more about domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA).
Keynote speaker, Ruth Zakarin, Director of Trauma Services at FCR, delivered thought provoking opening remarks on “Activism on College Campuses in the Age of #MeToo and Kavanaugh: What are we talking about, how should we talk about it and what should we do about it?” “It” being domestic violence and sexual assault.
In her remarks, Ms Zakarin asked,
“Why is this so important to talk about on college campuses?”
The answers are alarming:
- Women aged 18 – 24 have the highest rates of rape and assault
- Over 80% of victims know their perpetrator
- Over 80% of campus SA survivors never report the crime
Many survivors experience victimization early in life:
- 30% of female identified survivors experienced their first assault before the age of 18
- 28% of male identified survivors were sexually assaulted before the age of 10
Ms. Zakarin asked the students to think about if they had ever heard someone say or saw someone do something that could be defined as an incidence of DV or SA, and in that moment, did not know how to respond. She encouraged the participating students to educate themselves to understand the issues in order to find their own voice to support victims and survivors to feel safe and to help them engage in, what may be very difficult, conversations with peers, family and authorities on campus.
“If we don’t create a culture on college campuses that support survivors and hold offenders accountable, these statistics will not change.”
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Intimate Partner Abuse Education
Since 1993,
FCR
has been at the forefront of Intimate Partner Abuse Education (IPAEP)and Family Violence Offender Services Programs in the State of Massachusetts. Currently, FCR holds 15 Department of Public Health Certified group IPAEP sessions weekly across sites in Brockton, Hyannis and on The Cape Islands.
Participants in the program can be mandated by court to attend, referred by the Department of Children and Families or batterers who come to us on their own seeking to change their behavior. Groups average 10 members each with two of the groups being conducted in Spanish and Portuguese - Cape Verdean Creole.
The 40 week IPAEP was developed to hold individuals who use violence in their relationships accountable for their abusive actions towards an intimate partner and to help them understand and recognize violent and controlling behaviors. Participants learn the tools to take responsibility for their actions and learn non-violent ways to resolve conflicts with not only their intimate partners, but with anyone they interact with.
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Meet Clinician Elena Schwartz, MSW!
Elena joined FCR in September 2018.
"I feel so very lucky to have joined the FCR team this fall. I graduated from Smith College School for Social Work in August 2018. My previous clinical work has involved working with domestic violence survivors at a community based agency and doing play therapy at an elementary school. I was deeply moved by my experience working with domestic violence survivors and knew that moving forward I wanted to continue serving survivors of trauma. My role at FCR involves providing therapy to children and adults. I am particularly interested in narrative therapy, psychodynamic theory, and feminist psychological perspectives."
Elena recently passed her LCSW exam and says she cannot wait to keep learning! She hopes to become EMDR certified in the near future.
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There are many opportunities to support FCR!
Which one speaks to you?
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Support Children and Families Today!
Donate to our
Food Pantry
and
Janice's Closet
- We are always in need of non-perishable food and toiletry items to support our families in crisis.
Please call Linda Siegel-Croker at 508-583-6498 to schedule a pick up or set up a time to drop off your donations to our main office location at 18 Newton St. Brockton, MA!
Monetary donations to support our work are always welcomed. Click the button below to make a one time donation or to become part of our
Lifeline for Love
monthly giving program!
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Other Ways You Can Support FCR
Host a Fundraising event
- Hold a painting party or work with your favorite restaurant to donate a portion of a night's proceeds, and designate FCR as the beneficiary charity.
Reach out to your employer or foundation
- Ask if they would sponsor an FCR fundraising event or if they have a charity donation matching gift program?
Join our 2019 Event Planning Committee
- Assist with planning and coordinating annual fundraising events!
Become a Volunteer Childcare Assistant
- Provide child care while a parent/caregiver receives services at FCR.
Train to be a Volunteer Supervised Visitation Monitor
- Assist parents with their children to have safe and nurturing visits at our visitation centers.
Administrative Assistant Volunteer
- Assist the FCR team with various office projects.
Train to be a 24 -Hour Crisis Line Volunteer
- Answer domestic violence Crisis Line during 5:00PM to 8:30AM shift.
Visit our website for more details!
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We'd love you to join our team !
FCR is hiring:
- FFS License Eligible Clinician
Click
here
to read the full job descriptions.
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Board of Directors
David Madoff, Esq., Chair
Susan Kantor, Treasurer
Linda Kenney-Logan, Clerk
Shirley Asack-Younes
Shaynah Barnes
Cheryl Discoli
Stephen Donahue
Jennifer Goldblatt
Debra Prepas
Beth Scherer
Patricia Kelleher, President & CEO
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