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HDC
CHANGES lives
Comments made by
our staff, partners and clients:
Community Action Voice Mail
CAVM FY
2009 Community Report
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Housing
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Family
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“…One of the requirements of
gaining custody of my children is that I must be able to be
contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by their case worker.
Voice mail made that possible.”
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General
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“...able to reach client that used
to be unreachable”, “....able to communicate with case worker”
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“I really needed that voice mail
box and I will tell anyone who asks me that this program works and
it’s very important to have it.”
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“I had a cell phone, but it would
be disconnected at different times because I didn’t have the money
to pay the bill.” – St. Louis CAVM is free.
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Abuse
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“She used that number to keep in
touch with me and some of her close friends with out her abuser
being able to find her based on the phone number. He can’t
call information (411) to find her number or trace it back to a
building or house.”
Immigrant Support through
Partnership
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At
the time xxxx came to HDC, she was leaving in a shelter with her two
children. She was in need of a job and counseling. We referred her to
counseling and provided her with job referrals. Therefore, she has found
herself a job and she is back with her family. Her two children are very
happy.
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The xxxx
family has two boys and one girl. The girl has cerebral palsy. She has
been a client with HDC for a long time. The family has received many
services from HDC such as help with taxes, W-7, translation of
letters, the boys have participated in Springboard and she also has
taken ESL classes. Consequently, she has obtained an increase in
salary and has been promoted.
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The xxxx
family has three children. They are refugee from Colombia. They came
to HDC to receive many services such as energy assistance, ESL
classes, Christmas stories, translations, assistance to obtain
unemployment; they were able to find jobs through our referrals. Mrs.
xxxx and son work at xxxx Manufacturing and Mr. xxxx with a Cleaning
Company. They also received a refrigerator donated through St. Vincent
de Paul.
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The xxxx
family is refugee from Africa. xxxx and his wife have seven children.
They came to HDC to obtain energy assistance. At the time, their gas
bill was in disconnection notice. We provided them with energy
assistance during the winter/spring months. One of there children also
participated in the Springboard Program, and now he is back at school.
Xxxx is back to work as a taxi driver
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A family
from Mexican origin came to HDC to get help to process their W-7 (ITIN).
They also needed help in correcting the names on their child birth
certificate, the wife’s last name was spelt wrongly at the hospital
and as a result the child’s birth certificate also. The language
barrier, not knowing the U.S. system and how it works, they needed
help.
We
provided the necessary advice to get a court order to correct the
name, later we processed the necessary paper work with Vital Records.
Later, they also decided to get married; we helped them to get a
marriage license at the City Hall. The sent us a picture with the
marriage certificate and a thank you note, and now they work at a
restaurant, their daughter goes to school, and they are taking ESL
classes.
Judge Theodore McMillian Family Technology Training
Center
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A woman and her daughter came to learn
computer basics. The mother returned to learn more. She bought a
digital camera and brought it in, sill in the box and asked to be
taught how to use it. Later she explained that she had a business
arranging flowers and wanted to know how to create brochures and
fliers with the pictures she had been taking. We showed her how to use
publisher and she worked on her project steadily for weeks. Later she
wanted to learn about web site creation so that she could display her
pictures on the Internet and grow her business so we taught her how
and she did it.
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One parent of a 14yr old that had just
completed our Springboard 80hr computer summer camp. She told me about
her son’s learning disability and how up until our computer classes,
he had never before come home so full of enthusiasm. He had to tell
everything they did that day and every day. He would study by choice
for a change. She wanted to know what other continuing computer
education we had planned. She wanted her son to ride the wave.
Family Support
Program
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"One woman had 4 children she was trying to
support. Due to the untimely death of her boyfriend, who provided
financial support, she was forced to apply for TANF. Also at that
time, she had learned of the death of 3 other close friends/family
members and this contributed to a lot of stress. She says that because
of the help she received in the Family Support Program, she was able
to sort things out. She has found housing as a part of the Stable
Homes for Academic Achievement Program. She studied and received her
GED and she plans to apply for Nursing School after the birth of her
baby. She called me and said, “Guess what? I got my GED. You’re the
second person I called!”
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Ms. xxxx is a proud grandmother of 7
grandchildren that are in her custody. When she came to HDC, she
needed lots of help with sorting things out. She was new at the
“custodial grandparent role” and was looking for support. She
immediately joined the Grandparents Support Group and in doing so, she
learned about Family Support, the Transportation Program, Stable Homes
for Academic Achievement, and the GED program. “Five years ago, I
wouldn’t have imagined that this would be the path that I would have
to take. Now, I am doing so much better because of the support HDC
has given me in so, so many ways.” She has received a vehicle
from the Transportation Program. She gets rental assistance from the
Stable Homes for Academic Achievement Program. She participated in
the 100 Neediest Cases Christmas Program and she is diligently
attending GED classes.
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