As long as I can remember, volunteering has been a part of my life. I recall traveling around my rural community in eastern North Carolina with my grandmother visiting the sick, taking neighbors produce from our family farm and taking others to the store that did not have transportation. As I grew and went off to college I found myself volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in Greensboro, NC. This profound experience assisted in shaping my life and helped to place me on the path of becoming a human services professional. Because of these experiences of helping my community it is something I have found myself enjoying with my own family as we relish the opportunity to volunteer in our community. Specifically, my family and I have enjoyed volunteering with the Chesterfield Foodbank and the Meals on Wheels program.
April is National Volunteer Month with April 17th-23rd being Volunteer Week. This year’s National Volunteer Week theme is “Shining a Light on the People and Causes that Inspire Us to Serve.” While I volunteer to give back to my community, the stories and people that I have met along the way have made a lasting impact on me. I encourage everyone to identify a passion and a way to pair that passion with volunteering.
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For more than 15 years Samantha Furnish, executive assistant III, has been a pillar in the human service division. Sam is moving to a new position as the office coordinator/administrator analyst with the Economic Development Department. Please join me in congratulating Sam on her new position and wishing her the best of luck! |
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Citizen Information and Resources |
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The CIR Staff Continues to Grow |
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Tracey Clock, Manager of Mobility Services |
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Tracey Clock is the new Manager of Mobility Services within Citizens Information and Resources. Tracey has been with Chesterfield County for 20 years holding various roles. Tracey is enjoying the new adventure of educating those that are not aware of Access Chesterfield and Access on Demand. The Mobility Services team includes Mobility Program Coordinators Frank Vance and Billie Darlington. We are dedicated to serving everyone in Chesterfield County eligible for our transportation services. Tracey can be reached via email or 804-751-4960.
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Vestine Patrick, Administrative Assistant |
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Vestine Patrick is the lead Administrative Assistant for Citizen Information and Resources. Vestine is not new to CIR as she has provided administrative support to the CIR staff over the last 4 years. She brings well over 30 years of professional administrative experience to the position. Highly motivated, dedicated to the success of the team and customer service driven, Vestine is extremely excited and thankful for the opportunity to service team CIR and Chesterfield County. Vestine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services Management from Mercy College and an Associate’s degree in Business Administration from Berkeley College, both in New York. |
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If you are interested in joining the Citizen Information and Resources team then you're in luck! CIR is accepting applications for a part-time administrative assistant until April 17. If you or someone you know is interested you can find more information and apply on Chesterfield County's website.
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Chesterfield County’s Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion - Multi-Cultural Services provides access to resources, key information and a variety of engagement opportunities to the diverse population of multicultural, immigrant, and refugee residents who call Chesterfield County home.
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Mental Health Support Services |
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Permanent Supportive Housing Funding |
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Chesterfield Community Services Board (CSB) is pleased to announce the receipt of funding from Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to establish a Permanent Supportive Housing program serving individuals in our community. Permanent Supportive Housing is an evidenced-based intervention that combines affordable housing assistance with voluntary support services to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. The services are designed to build independent living and tenancy skills and connect people with community-based health care, treatment, and employment services.
Over the upcoming months, Chesterfield CSB will begin to institute and staff the PSH program which will bring 5 new positions and over $625,000 in funding to CSB services. The PSH program is rooted firmly in the important principles of the Housing First model that include immediate access to housing, individual choice and self-determination, and community integration. The new Chesterfield CSB PSH program will administer a total of 30 PSH slots in Chesterfield County. After an initial program development and hiring phase, we hope to begin administering the first of our slots this Spring.
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month |
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Click the image above to learn how you can help prevent child abuse. |
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Social Services Honors Staff for Administrative Professionals/Office Support Services Recognition month |
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We, at Chesterfield-Colonial Height Department of Social Services, love to celebrate each other. March was Social Work and Family Services Month, celebrating the hard and emotional work of our direct support staff in Family Services. In the month of April, we highlight and celebrate the essential work of the Department’s administrative support teams. These teams include Children’s Services, Customer Relations, Document Management, Operations/Information Technology, Finance, and Quality Assurance. These dedicated teams focus on providing effective and innovative support for the department’s service delivery that range from providing access to necessary medical insurance, food and housing resources, and protection for our most vulnerable citizens.
Our administrative employees are passionate and dedicated. They provide the glue and foundation for day-to-day operations and support for ongoing quality improvement efforts. They are the kind and caring voices that answer the main phone lines. They are the smiling faces that greet building visitors. They are the many hands that process thousands of documents monthly to ensure services are delivered efficiently and uninterrupted. Our administrative team consists of experts in accounting, finance, customer service, team facilitation, education, information systems, data entry, data reporting, document and record management, program quality controls, organizational leadership, call center, reception support, and much, much more. This month we recognize this team of hard working and caring individuals that contribute whole-heartedly to the Department’s mission and positively impact the community.
If you need to submit documentation for Benefit Programs cases, you can email documents to DSSDOCS@Chesterfield.gov and our administrative support team will ensure the documents are scanned to your case. Be sure to put your case number in the reference section.
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Social Services Recognizes Child Abuse Prevention Month |
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Every year in April, a garden of blue pinwheels is planted in the roundabout on the county complex. When the wind blows they turn in tandem and it is an inspiring sight. Hundreds of pinwheels turning in the same direction at the same time is a reminder of how our community comes together to protect children and prevent child abuse. Working together with community partners is key to the success of children and families. As a department, our staff work each day to provide the best services to families. Our goal is to reduce the risk of harm to children and prevent further maltreatment. We achieve these goals through our relationships with other County departments and community agencies.
Our Protective Services Unit is made up of the Family Preservation, Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigations, and CPS Ongoing Teams. Family Preservation houses our CPS/Adult Protective Services intake, Foster Care Prevention, and CPS ongoing staff members. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, the intake team took 2,056 calls reporting concerns of child abuse and neglect. There were 70 new court-ordered foster care prevention cases opened. Our CPS investigations team is assigned cases with valid concerns of child abuse and/or neglect. In FY 2021, our agency had 520 family assessments and 175 investigations. When a case in investigations needs more support, it is transferred to our CPS ongoing team. In FY 2021, the CPS ongoing team worked with an average of 122 clients each month. Countless home visits, phone calls, safety plans and court hearings have been made to ensure the safety of the children in our community. Every position ranging from aides to program managers work together to ensure the safety of our community.
As the pinwheels turn, so does the unit. We have grown in these times of change and continue to embrace a growth mindset. Our staff has truly embraced the concept of completing the work of the agency, and not just the individual team. We thank our staff for all the hard work each day (and on-call night/weekend shifts) that is done to protect one of our most vulnerable populations--children. When you drive by those pinwheels, remember the children they represent, the staff here at DSS, and the community partners who all work together to form a village for our children.
If you have a concern that a child is being abused and or neglected, you can call the Department’s main phone number, (804) 748-1100 – option #4. One of our wonderful intake workers will guide you through the process. If you have concerns and it is after business hours, contact the State Hotline at 1-800-552-7096.
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The YMCA of Greater Richmond aspires to fill resource gaps and foster community connections with the new welcome center at the Manchester Family YMCA. Learn more about this exciting community collaboration on our blog, Chesterfield on Point.
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Join Communities in Schools Chesterfield for a volunteer project during their 2022 annual All Site Volunteer Week from April 18th through April 23rd. There are projects going on across all ten schools, with both remote and in person opportunities for you to help make the schools shine and the students smile! Find an opportunity that fits your schedule at Hands On Greater Richmond.
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Board of Supervisor for the Bermuda District Jim Ingle, Dr. Worsley and his son, James, Jr., were invited by Feed More to participate in a special March for Meals celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program by delivering meals to clients in Chesterfield County. Throughout the Month of March, Feed More joined the national Meals on Wheels network to garner support and awareness for this crucial mission that provides millions of seniors across the country nutritious meals.
The trio was honored to help raise awareness for the older adults in our community facing hunger and isolation by participating in March for Meals.
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Elijah Lee, 14-year-old community activist, will be hosting the 1st Annual Child Abuse Awareness Event on April 16. This is an opportunity for our communities to rally together and protect our young people. For more information please reach out to Elijah.
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Click the image above for details on the Asian American Society of Central Virginia's Asian American Celebration. |
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Volunteering is the BEST medicine! |
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Now that you know the personal benefits of volunteering, are you ready to get started? Visit Hands On Greater Richmond to learn about upcoming opportunities.
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