Transitioning Times

Over the past three days, I've trained as a facilitator for The Strengthening Families Program for parents and youth between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.  PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) provides evidence-based programs for youths ages 10 to 14 and their families. Many school districts in Pennsylvania have PROSPER programs. As a matter of fact, for six years, 14 rural school districts in Pennsylvania and Iowa have used these programs to coordinate a community-wide effort to reduce alcohol, tobacco, and drug use among youth. I knew going into this training that these programs were somewhat relevant to our mission as a comprehensive crime victim center, but I wasn’t certain just how significant they would be until I completed the course.  For three days we concentrated on bringing families together through a series of sessions for a seven-week period.  These sessions are filled with problem-solving activities, ...

The best way to understand what Transitions does is to break down what we do in terms of Safety, Advocacy, and Education in Union, Snyder, and Northumberland Counties. Transitions has increased its efforts to improve safety for all of the victims in our counties, with a particular recent emphasis on Northumberland County.  We increased the numbers of staff members committed to direct services for victims in the county and in 2014, purchased and renovated a large house that serves as our Safe House in the eastern end of the County.  In 2016, we were able to dedicate a Legal Advocate specifically for Northumberland County, as well. In addition, we have improved Advocacy (Medical and Legal) in several ways.  While our Legal Advocates can support victims in the process of obtaining a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA) from the Courts, they are not attorneys and cannot provide legal advice.  Our Legal Advocates work within the legal system to ensure victims are able ...

If you want to learn about how people are making their homes and communities safer and better around the world, read A Path Appears , by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.   This book explores how agencies and individuals from all walks of life are using studies, outcome-based techniques, and creativity to stand for peace, love, kindness, and equality for all in the face of poverty, ignorance, and oppression.     Using stories about everyday people who are working hard just to make it through each day makes this book relatable to our work and to the lives of many of our clients.   We already know what a fright poverty can be and the havoc it wreaks upon lives across the lifespan.   A Path Appears gives us accounts of all that, and also provides clear and concise examples of individuals and agencies who brought about ongoing positive change.   This book is a best-seller, and that alone gives me hope.   Most other people in the world, I li...