An
electronic newsletter from your friends at NYFS
Preparing youth & families for healthy lives
Preparing youth & families for healthy lives
February 2007
An
electronic newsletter from your friends at NYFS Preparing youth & families for healthy lives |
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February 2007 |
IN THIS ISSUE: |
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| Suburban
Poverty in Ramsey County Synergy Benefits Penny Pinchers Service to Youth Awards Honors Six Outstanding Citizens Leadership Luncheon set for May 2 2006 Year End Service Report Contact Information |
If
you have any comments or suggestions for future publications, please contact Sandra Bahr sandra@nyfs.org. |
Consider this scenario: a working mom with two kids arrives at a food shelf. She is worn out and ashamed to ask for help but she doesn't make enough money to adequately feed her family and makes too much money to qualify for food stamps. She is just one crisis away from financial disaster.
Consider this too: the woman may be your neighbor.
According to the Brookings Institution, suburban poverty is on the rise. Accross the country, the number of suburban poor now outnumbers the number of inner-city poor by 1.2 million. Nationwide about 38 million Americans live below the poverty line-defined by the federal government at $20,000 or less a year for a family of four.
According to a recent Newsweek article on suburban poverty "Poor suburbanites often live in the same ZIP codes as their affluent neighbors, shop at the same stores and send their children to the same public school." On the surface, their lives may look like their neighbors, but underneath, a crisis is looming.
Food shelf usage by the working poor in suburban Ramsey County is rising. Forty percent of those seeking food assistance say they must choose between paying for utilities and paying for food. Thirty five percent had to choose between paying for housing and paying for food.
According to the Suburban Ramsey Family Collaborative, 2,160 children in suburban Ramsey County live without health insurance. The large majority of these children come from families where one or both parents are employed.
Children who grow up in poverty are at risk. According to the Children’s Defense Fund, children growing up in poverty are at increased risk for poor nutrition, substandard housing, trauma and abuse as well as behavioral and emotional problems.
What Can We Do?
Plenty. Since 1976 Northwest Youth & Family Services has strived to meet the needs of our low-income neighbors in crisis by offering low-cost and even free services to residents within our primary service area. We touch the lives of over 3,000 youth, families and adults every year by offering a wide range of services and programs. It is always our goal to offer the most cost-effective and comprehensive continuum of care available. We do this by combining the resources in our community through contracts for service with nine suburban cities and eight school districts, seeking grants, holding fundraising events, seeking support from business and civic organizations and through the support of individual donors. Collectively, we have done far more good than we ever could have done individually.
What Can You Do?
Remember that every person is valuable and that every person has something to contribute. You can:
Stay Informed - Just by receiving this newsletter, you know more about the plight of low-income families in the suburbs than many of your friends and neighbors.
Speak up - Explain what you know to legislators, co-workers and friends. The more people know about a problem, the more likely it is that action will be taken.
Donate your time - Volunteer in schools, food shelves, become a big brother/big sister.
Contribute financially to the causes you believe in - We hope that NYFS is one of them, but we also recognize that there are many well-run, worthy service organizations out there. Your support is crucial to our collective success.
Never think that your voice and your support can’t make a difference! - For over 30 years, NYFS has operated through the collective support of everyday people like you and we are making a difference in peoples lives every day.
We appreciate the impact your donations of time, talent and resources make on the residents of the northern suburbs. Together, we can tackle the issue of suburban poverty and help prepare youth and families for healthy lives. Thank you again for your support - keep up the good work!
NYFS’ Penny Pinchers Thrift Store recently received a donation of over 200 pounds of gently used clothing from the student-led volunteer group, Synergy.
Based out of Mounds View High School, the 15-member group's mission is "bettering our school and community by getting directly involved."
"Synergy is all about the idea of working together," says member Allison Hammerly. "Everybody can be part of the greater synergy that should be going on in the world."
The group formed in the 1980’s to work on recycling efforts but has
now broadened its scope to include
clothing drives, feeding the
homeless, book drives, and other events.
"Volunteering is important because we are all in this world together, so we need to help each other out," Hammerly says. "Working together is the only thing that can help improve the world." Tenth-grade student Jackie Jones adds that she has learned how "the power of a few" can have a large impact.
As a result of the Penny Pinchers clothing drive, many students at Mounds View High School learned about the mission of Northwest Youth & Family Services and Penny Pinchers as they donated their clothing.
If you would like more information about Penny Pinchers, or other
programs at NYFS, call 651-486-3808 or visit us on the web at www.nyfs.org.
NYFS was proud to celebrate and honor the winners of the Service to
Youth Awards at a special event held at the Guidant John Rose Oval in
Roseville. Individuals were chosen for their outstanding service to
youth in the northern suburban community. Winners are:
(From left to right)
Xcel Energy executive Cynthia L. Lesher, will be the keynote speaker at NYFS' fourth annual Leadership Luncheon. This year's theme is "If Not You, Then Who? Living a Life That Matters." The fundraiser will be held at Midland Hills Country Club.
In addition to her duties at Xcel Energy, Lesher serves on several boards including the American Red Cross of the Twin Cities Area, the Children's Cancer Research Fund and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. She is currently a loaned executive to the Republican National Convention, which will be held in the Twin Cities in 2008. Lesher has a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling and psychology.
This report covers youth, families and adults served in 2006. Parenting, educational groups and special initiatives are not included in this report.
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Main number: 651-486-3808
Fax: 651-486-3858
Penny Pinchers Thrift Store: 763-783-3626
Kay Andrews, Executive Director: 651-379-3401 kay@nyfs.org
Fran Smith, Business Manager: 651-379-3402 fran@nyfs.org
Rachel Cain, Mental Health Services Manager: 651-379-3403 rachel@nyfs.org
Jerry Hromatka, Development & Community Services
Manager:
Jill Buckingham, NETS Manager: 651-379-3405 jill@nyfs.org
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205 Shoreview, MN 55126
Tel: 651-486-3808 -
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