MACEDONIA FACE NEWSLETTER - DECEMBER 2021 EDITION

Macedonia FACE is a faith-based non-profit community outreach organization. We are committed to living out our mission by addressing disparities that impact the African American family within the community

Our Mission

To encourage the development of healthy families.

Our Vision

Is that everyone lives in a healthy and thriving community.

Protect Yourself and Your Community by Getting Vaccinated

Macedonia FACE is working with members of the African American Strategic Partnership (AASP) and other partners to protect our communities from COVID-19. We are thankful to the United Way of Southwestern PA for providing funding, which enables this work to move forward.

How can you get your questions answered about the vaccine?

https://vaxpgh.com/why-you-should-get-it/

Here you will find answers to 12 common questions about getting the vaccine.

How do I schedule an appointment for a vaccine?

Where’s My VAX, vaxpgh.com, helps you find locations that carry COVID-19 vaccines and their contact information. Because every location handles appointments differently, you will need to schedule your appointment directly with the location you choose.

Are COVID-19 Vaccines safe?

Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history. CDC recommends you get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to you.

Is my COVID-19 Vaccine free?

Yes, your vaccination is free. The federal government is providing the vaccine free of charge to all people living in the United States, regardless of their immigration or health insurance status.

Supporting Our Youth

The United States surgeon general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, recently warned that young people are facing “devastating” mental health effects because of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic. He noted that the pandemic intensified mental health issues that were already widespread by the spring of 2020.

He further indicated that there are significant increases in self-reports of depression, anxiety and emergency-room visits for mental health challenges. In the United States, emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 51 percent for adolescent girls in early 2021 as compared with the same period in 2019. The figure rose 4 percent for boys.

Macedonia FACE is currently facilitating workshops in two area schools to promote self-awareness, healthy relationships, and resilience. Our school partners are Pittsburgh Milliones University Preparatory School and Dickson Preparatory STEAM Academy.

Staff member, Warner Johnson, along with intern, Siji Opeaiye, are facilitating the boy’s groups and staff member, Taylor Stewart, along with intern, Morgan Benek are facilitating the girl’s groups.

The One Circle Foundation originated the nationally recognized evidence- based curriculums used to structure the conversations with youth. They also provided scholarships enabling our staff to receive training to facilitate the groups.

Family and Community Teaming

(FACT) Program

FACT is a 90-day service for families with children between the ages of birth to 18 who may be experiencing stress due to parent/child conflicts, a lack of adequate housing, a need for budgeting resources, a lack of family communication, or a need for other resources. Partnering with a family for 90 days, FACE helps families to create their own problem-solving plans, build strong relationships with extended family, and identify and link to resources in the community.

Rachel Webb, supervisor of the program, says Macedonia FACE is responding to requests to work with 25-30 families each month. She says that FACT really fits with Macedonia FACE’s philosophy of working with families – “We focus on the family’s strengths without the judgement they sometimes feel when they get involved with systems. It is so great to see them recognize the assets they have as a family and partner with us to come up with solutions to their current struggles. I really love the flexibility we have to creatively address whatever the family is going through and whatever barriers they are up against.”

Recently, FACE worked with a family that was experiencing divorce. The divorce resulted in a lot of changes that were not expected and FACE worked with each family member to help them plan for how to adjust to their new home, new school, a change in finances and a change in household responsibilities. FACE was able to make connections to resources for the family for transportation, getting needed documents for school enrollment while affirming their fears and feelings about the changes in their family.

Following a year of at-home learning, some families needed support to adjust their children’s return to school. The FACT team worked with a family where the parents were struggling to get their children to school after working late shifts, and the students were struggling to adjust to in school expectations (like not talking on the phone during class). Staff supported the family in identifying extended family support to help transport the children to school and helped the students to talk about and get excited about the return to school.

CEO, Dr. Trisha Gadson, speaks at World AIDS Day Event

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 was World AIDS Day, and this year we marked the 40th anniversary of the start of the AIDS epidemic. Allies for Health + Wellbeing hosted a collaborative outreach event with community partners: Allegheny County Health Department, Community Kitchen, Gateway Health, Giant Eagle, Macedonia FACE, Persad Center, SPIN, UPMC, and the Women's Center and Shelter.

We truly appreciate being a part of this event. Our CEO, Dr. Trisha Gadson was invited to speak at the event. Take a moment to watch her speech here.