Goodwill Peer Support

January 7, 2013 in Outreach, Volunteering with Comments Off

Goodwill Peer Support (GPS) is a mentoring program for parents of minor children who are transitioning from jail back to their families and communities. GPS works with individuals leaving from the Travis State Jail or Travis County Correctional Complex and connects them with a mentor with whom they can work with as they transition back into society.  While the mentees are still incarcerated, Goodwill provides pre-release case management services and drafts an individual service plan with them, so they have goals upon release from jail.

If the mentees meet the below criteria, they enroll in our program and become matched with a Case Manager while incarcerated.  The mentor relationship begins upon their release from jail. Mentors and mentees are expected to maintain the mentorship 4 hours per month.

Mentors are proven to help keep people from returning to jail.  GPS is looking for mentors who are:

·         21 years or older

·         Committed to helping change the life of another

·         Willing to work with a mentee 4 hours per month

·         Able to listen and eager to share positive life experiences

·         Willing to complete an application, interview, criminal background check, and reference check

(Criminal backgrounds do not exclude mentors.  GPS is also looking for peer mentors who have walked the walk!)

 

GPS is looking for mentees who are:

·         18 years or older

·         A parent of a minor child

·         Committed to changing their life and not returning to jail

·         Currently incarcerated at Travis County Correctional Complex or Travis State Jail

·         Returning to Travis, Hays, or Williamson County

·         Committed to 4 hours per month mentoring

·         Ready to strengthen their family by making positive life choices

 

For more information and to find out how you can become a mentor, please contact Jeremy Newberry at 512-480-0772 or jeremy.newberry@austingoodwill.org

Serving Our City This Christmas Season

December 10, 2012 in Outreach with Comments Off

As  Pastor Ross recently shared, Operation Blue Santa is in need of the community’s help this Christmas season to continue their work of blessing the less fortunate in our city.  Additional information on Operation Blue Santa is located on their website, www.bluesanta.org, or can be obtained by emailing bluesanta@austintexas.gov.

River City Hope Street (formerly Christian Women’s Job Corp), is also assisting by collecting donations and adopting families and communities.  Below is information on how you can assist through River City Hope Street.

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin recently contacted River City Hope Street to solicit help with providing Christmas presents and a Christmas meal for residents living in their communities who would have been served by the Christmas Bureau.

Some ways we can help:

1.  Adopt a Community - Currently there are 257 HACA residents that are not adopted.  150 of these are single person households – elderly/disabled residents

Two properties – Gaston Place (50 residents) and Lakeside (100 residents) – are where the majority of the people the Christmas Bureau would have served reside.

Hope Street has 50 presents for adults already collected and ready to distribute.  Volunteers could provide a meal and distribute these presents at Gaston Place. Or, provide a Christmas party for the residents of Lakeside on the day of your choosing.

This would be a great way for a youth group to practice the joy of giving this Christmas! . To adopt a community contact Chris Rowley at multihousingchampions@gmail.com or 512-909-9166.

2.  Donate Money - Money can also be donated directly to Blue Santa as they have picked up the families in need from the Christmas Bureau. http://www.bluesanta.org/donate.html

3.  Adopt-a-Family - We also have the option of adopting individual families using the following link. Churches and small groups may share this information however they need to in order to garner support for this effort.  Blue Santa leaders have set this process up specifically for River City Hope Street and it partners to use.

Instructions for adopting a family:
1.     Go to:  http://christmas.kconsulting.com
2.     Once on the site visitors should REGISTER by entering your email and creating a password.
3.     You will then receive a confirmation email with a link to complete the registration process.
4.     You will return to the http://christmas.kconsulting.com website to choose a family based on the number of household members and/or zip code.  Gaston Place residents will have a zip code of 78723 and North Loop residents will have a zip code of 78756. They will also be 1 or 2 person households.
5.     Each family has an application number in the left column of the website list.
6.     Once a family is chosen, email the application number to Yolanda.buchman@austintexas.gov  She will then give you an access number for the family you have chosen and email you instructions for contacting the families and guidelines for gift giving.

7.     You will then go back to the website and view your family’s information (address, names, etc.)
8.     Once you have the phone number, contact them to find out their Christmas wishes…and follow the guidelines given on the information page provided by Yolanda of Blue Santa.

RCHS is also partnering with local congregations to provide Christmas Stores at Northgate Community (Saturday, December 8), Booker T. Washington Terraces (Saturday, December 15) and Georgian Manor (Saturday, December 15).  If you would like to volunteer or donate new or gently used toys please contact Chris at (512) 909-9166.

Thank you so much for making Christmas wishes come true for needy families in our community.  “Let your Light so shine before men….”  Jesus is the Reason for the Season!”

For more information contact Chris Rowley, Director of River City Hope Street at multihousingchampions@gmail.com or 512-909-9166.

Great ADRN Training in March

March 3, 2012 in General Info, Volunteering with Comments Off

ADRN Orientation & Preparedness Class (March 4th or 6th or 29th): (Course Time: 3 hours) Every new volunteer that wants to join the ADRN network is required to take this 3hr class to give you an introduction to ADRN, information about ADRN training, a training roadmap for volunteers, badging/credentials, how emergency response works in Greater Austin and CERT individual/family preparedness training.  Every volunteer that completes this course will receive a ADRN badge and become a certified ADRN volunteer.  Training costs is FREE. Training will be held at The Church of Canyon Creek on March 4th, Southwest Hills Community Church on March 6th and True Life Fellowship on March 29th.  To register, click here.

 

ADRN’s #1 Training is Back! Cricital Incident Stress Management Training (CISM):

Critical Incident Stress Management Training (CISM – March 23rd (6PM-10PM & March 24th (9AM-5PM): ADRN highly recommends this internationally recognized training for volunteers who are called to help people in times of crisis and/or called to the mission field. This training will equip participants to deal with the mental, emotional and spiritual issues most people encounter in times of disaster, including trauma, learning debriefing techniques and much more. The training will be presented by Melissa Slagle, a consultant and International Trainer, who has been called out to help disaster victims world-wide in almost every major disaster since Mount St. Helen.  Melissa is a Certified Traumatic-Stress Specialist (CTS), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT). All participants will receive an internationally recognized certificate of completion in Disaster Psychological 1st Aid and CISM/CISD (Critical Incident Stress Management/Critical Incident Stress Debriefing). This training is also recommended for teens 16 years of age and above and for the elderly. Training location will be RiverbendChurch @4214 North Capital of Texas Highway, Austin, TX 78746-1418. Training costs is $95.  To register, click here.

 

ADRN’s #1 Volunteer Need is the Disaster Relief Shepherd position:

Disaster Relief Shepherd (DRS) Training (March 22nd): The DRS is one of ADRN’s most important leadership roles a volunteer can play within their church in times of disaster. The DRS’s job is to be willing to walk along side a family that has potentially lost everything and needs a ‘Good Samaritan’ to be there for them through the process of recovery until their feet are back on the ground. This training will equip you with the skills, knowledge and plan to take care and provide extended assistance that cannot be given by governments or International relief agencies. Training location will be GraceCovenantChurch @9508 Jollyville Road, Ste. 201, Austin, Tx (Grace360 bldg). Training costs is FREE.  To register, click here.

 

ADRN is introducing Psalm 91:1, the Protection of the Lord as our latest new Spiritual Training on March 20th.  ADRN’s favorite Spiritual Training class, Biblical Readiness is coming March 27th!  Click here to register.

 

Bastrop Relief Efforts Continue

January 6, 2012 in Fire Relief, Volunteering with Comments Off

Officials are projecting that Bastrop Relief efforts will most likely take 3-4 years to rebuild every home.  In Spicewood, most likely over 1 year.  Unfortunately, 790 families did not have insurance and FEMA only provided a maximum of $30,400 (minus any other relief expenses already given to a family).  This leaves the church, ministries, and local community to come up with the remaining dollars to rebuild every family’s home (an additional $40k in materials per home) and volunteer labor force to keep costs down. In order to accomplish this God-sized task (all things are possible with God!), ADRN is asking every ADRN volunteer to commit to the Lord in this new year, minimally one day over the next two months to the following clean-up efforts (love in action!):

 

1. Debris & Ash Clean-up: We will be cleaning up approx. 2-3 homes per weekend until the end of January. Please click here to sign up for one or more Saturdays in January, to help us clean up debris and ash from a home in Bastrop.

 

2. Chainsaw Clean-up: ADRN is establishing a team to do tree cutting and general brush removal tasks, starting sometime in mid-late January. We will need volunteers that can operate chainsaws as well as general laborers who can assist the chainsaw operators in removing and transporting small trees and limbs. To volunteer, please email ADRN Bastrop/Spicewood Project Coordinator, John Banks at banksjg01@yahoo.com.

 

3. Home Construction: If you have some building skills or are interested in learning construction skills, you are perfect for this task!  ADRN is joining with the Bastrop/Spicewood Long-Term Commities tasks force of professional builders who are commited to help supervise/teach basic construction skills so general volunteers will have an opportunity to serve Christ in Bastrop and learn valuable new skills. Every home will be built from the ground up so so every phase of construction is needed (and can be taught). Help us build a resource base by contacting ADRN soon to inventory what skills we have to offer those in need. Most likely, home construction will begin sometime in February.  To volunteer, please email ADRN Bastrop/Spicewood Project Coordinator, John Banks at banksjg01@yahoo.com.

 

ADRN will need an army of support to meet the severe needs of those affected by the Spicewood/Bastrop fires.  Together we can accomplish much!  May God, who loves the impossible, meet every single need of those who lost their home through His people!

Church Outreach Updates

November 10, 2011 in General Info, Volunteering with Comments Off

ADRN Warehouse Update: All three ADRN warehouses in Austin have ceased being available for picking up goods and they are directing those goods and the people receiving them to a NEW, non-ADRN warehouse in Bastrop. Fire victims MUST bring proof of affected address (driver’s license, utility record & photo ID, etc). Please get the word out to your “adopted” family.

  • New Location: 201 Childers Dr. – Bastrop, TX 78602
  • Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; Sat 8am-12pm; Sun Closed

New Site Cleanup Opportunities (next two Saturdays): We have been informed there are more sites to clean up in Bastrop (and Spicewood too).  Links to sign up sheets below.

Upcoming ADRN Volunteer Trainings: Would you like to volunteer through Austin Disaster Relief Network to help the Central Texas fire victims? Below you will find information about the next training available. Please note – the Orientation & Preparedness Class is mandatory for all ADRN volunteers.

  • November 14th-16th (6PM-10PM) Critical Incident Stress Management Training (CISM) – ADRN highly recommends this internationally recognized training for volunteers who are called to help people in times of crisis and/or called to the mission field. This training will equip participants to deal with the mental, emotional and spiritual issues most people encounter in times of disaster, including trauma, learning debriefing techniques and much more. The training will be presented by Melissa Slagle, a consultant and International Trainer, who has been called out to help disaster victims world-wide in almost every major disaster since Mount St. Helen.  For more info, click here.
  • November 15th (6:30PM-9:30PM): ADRN Orientation & Preparedness Class - Every new volunteer that wants to join the ADRN network is required to take this 3hr class to give you an introduction to ADRN, information about ADRN training. For more info, click here.

Churchwide Call for Help

October 26, 2011 in General Info, Volunteering with Comments Off

Hey Everyone,

The ADRN warehouses have been exceptionally low on volunteers in their two south locations lately.  Now, they are needing to close them and move the goods to another location, and they need our help to obtain volunteers.  Do you know of anyone you could call on that might be willing to serve in this way?

The Oak Meadow warehouse must be closed by the end of Thursday THIS week.
Please sign up to help this week (Tues & Thur) at www.mysignup.com/oakmeadow4adrn

The 360 warehouse must be closed by the end of Thursday NEXT week.
Please sign up to help next week (Tues & Thur) at www.mysignup.com/donations4adrncentexrelief

Thanks so much!  I appreciate every one of you: the sacrifices you have made and your heart of service to those who have lost it all. Be strengthened by His joy!

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