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Welcome to Family Outreach of Amherst
Family Outreach of Amherst (FOA) was established in 1989 in response to the closing of an Amherst homeless shelter for women and children. Although the shelter staff found housing in Amherst for the six families who had been staying at the shelter, they were concerned that these families were not stable enough to sustain their housing. With funds from the town of Amherst and private donations, an outreach program was created to follow the families into the community to ensure that they would not become homeless again. FOA has gone from providing case management services of those original six families to serving over three hundred families a year through our Home Visiting Program, Advocacy, and Information and Referral services.
Being poor does not mean a family has more problems than a family with more material resources, many families with limited incomes live healthy, happy lives. However, if a family is suffering from domestic violence, substance abuse, past trauma histories, or mental and medical health issues and has very few resources or access to resources, those issues can become bigger and more difficult to address.
Access to outside intervention is needed. Fortunately in Amherst, Family Outreach of Amherst has been dedicated to offering that intervention.
The goal of Family Outreach of Amherst (FOA) is to support and assist the most vulnerable members of our community. Working with families who struggle with mental health, trauma, medical, substance abuse, and life skills issues, we believe that although our clients are seriously struggling with these issues, they are still experts in their own lives. By providing advocacy and case management support, FOA not only ensures that families receive services so that their basic needs such as housing, food, and heat are met; we also work to help the family identify ways to not simply exist, but to make their life better. Parenting support, job training, education and therapeutic interventions are some of the services we help families obtain and retain to work toward a healthier, happier life.
We work in partnership with our clients to model advocacy and life skills so that over time, a single mother who, for example, is having difficulty with her welfare worker can advocate for herself. Although we believe our services are necessary, we also believe a life will not be changed by our constant intervention, but by teaching someone to intervene in their own lives.
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How We Help
Family Outreach works to support and assist the most vulnerable members of our community. By providing advocacy and case management, FOA not only ensures that families receive services so that their basic needs such as housing, food and heat are met; we also work to help the family identify ways to envision a better future and to ultimately improve their lives.
Crisis Intervention: Family Outreach is often the first outside assistance contacted when a family faces a crisis and will ensure that the family gets the additional assistance required.
Case Management: FOA caseworkers provide ongoing weekly support to families struggling with isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse and domestic violence. Services include identifying, accessing and securing financial benefits, transportation to doctors' offices and other appointments, life skills counseling, housing advocacy, parenting support, and accessing proper health care. FOA works with local schools, police, area physicians and therapists, and other helping agencies to be sure that families receive the support they need.
Advocacy: FOA provides short term assistance on specific issues such as mediation with a landlord or a utility company, access to childcare and assistance with health emergencies.
Information and Referrals: FOA responds to calls from families seeking help from resources within our community. A caseworker assesses the caller's needs and then makes referrals to appropriate community agencies.
Home Visiting: Our home visiting program serves 30+ low-income Amherst families each year, providing advocacy, case management and crisis intervention. Home visiting also succeeds with the following services: stabilizing families in crisis; supporting families struggling with life skills; helping with issues surrounding parenting, budgeting and conflict resolution; and helping parents access services so that they may create healthier, happier lives for themselves and their children.
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Our Mission
Family Outreach of Amherst's mission is to actively support low-income families as they seek to gain access to resources, to build a greater sense of community, and to become agents of change in their lives.
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Guiding Principles
We believe that although our clients are confronting mental health, trauma, medical, substance abuse and life skills issues they are still experts in their own lives and should be active participants in their treatment. Engaging them in the process is the first step towards taking charge of their lives.
Family Outreach works to support and assist the most vulnerable members of our ommunity. By providing advocacy and case management, FOA not only ensures that families receive services so that their basic needs such as housing, food and heat are met; we also work to help the family identify ways to envision a better future and to ultimately improve their lives.
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Family Outreach Staff
Our Staff consists of three social workers working under the supervision of Director Laura Sandler Reichsman. FOA operates as a program of the Center for Human Development, an agency with nearly 50 programs in Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut. As a small program of a large agency, we share in the savings and benefits of sophisticated fiscal, personnel, technical and other support services, while maintaining the advantage of being a grassroots, community-based program.
Meet Our Staff
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Advisory Board
The FOA Advisory Board is made up of community members who want to make a difference.
Advisory Board
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Demographics/Who We Help
The people we help represent are a cross section of our diverse community. Amherst is by no means free of poverty. According to the Amherst Superintendent's office, 26% of elemantary school children are on the free or reduced lunch program, and approximately 16% are on IEPs (Individualized Education Plans). There is a tremendous amount of need in this community, families are in crisis everyday and we are here to help them to a safer, healthier, happier place.
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