All posts by Hearts & Homes for Youth

Good news Friday – A story to brighten your day!

Get to know our programs

FridayNatalie, a young woman at Helen Smith Group Home for Girls has a lot to be proud of! She is completing her first semester at Montgomery College! Staff at Helen Smith are helping her register for summer courses and encouraging her to seek out groups and activities offered by the college to continue to develop her social skills and sense of belonging in the community.

Natalie is excited about school and the possibility of moving into an independent living program. We are so proud of her progress since she first came into our home and glad she is proud of herself!

We hope you have a great weekend!

Celebrating our youth’s accomplishments!

Get to know our programs

We have some great news to share from John C. Tracey Group Home! One of the young residents has been working hard to complete a certificate program at Richard Montgomery High School. In addition to his studies, the young man is completing community service in order to obtain the required work site hours needed for graduation. We are excited to confirm that he will be graduating with his peers this June!

At Kemp Mill, David N. has improved with his grades in school and completed his 6-month Substance Abuse Class. Steven has improved his grades, which makes him eligible to be the starting Varsity QB for his high school! Justin has transitioned back into his school without any issues and actively participates in family counseling with his mother and brother. Trevor is maintaining good grades at his high school and is expected to be successfully discharged at the end of the school year. Joseph has improved his grades after falling behind. He is proud of his personal diet and weight loss and is expected to be successfully discharged mid-summer. Curt is new to the program and began school recently.

At Mary’s Mount Manor for Girls, five out of eight of the young residents have grade point averages above 3.0! One of the young residents will be discharged upon graduation with June. She has a 4.0 and a job at a local business.

“Growth  The act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.”

The Program Manager at Marys Mount says that “Paige represents the very definition of the word growth. I have watched her development over the last three and a half months, and could not be more proud of the young woman she is becoming. She has come a long way and has shown that her change is for the better. She will be missed, but her departure is necessary for her to continue to grow.”

We are proud of all of the youth in our care for all of their accomplishments!

Advice from youth on how to keep your cool

Family tips, Words from our youth

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Week, we asked our youth at Harriet Tubman Emergency Shelter to give us some ideas on how to keep your cool in frustrating and stressful situations. Check out their tips!

  1. Go for a walk, the fresh air will clear your mind
  2. Count to ten
  3. Take ten to twenty deep breaths
  4. Talk to a friend, your parents, or someone else close to you
  5. Take a nap
  6. Do something that you enjoy like listen to some music or play a video game
  7. Sort your thoughts out and get done what you need to do
  8. Sit down and focus on your breathing
  9. Isolate yourself for a little bit and return to the people or problem when you are calm and ready
  10. Don’t let things get to you, everything is a choice

We are proud of the great advice from our young men and hope one of tips works for you!

Mental Health Awareness Week – Mindfulness

Family tips

U3T4F3GBGUFor one week each May, the Mental Health Foundation campaigns around a specific theme for Mental Health Awareness Week. Click here to read more about the campaign on their website!

Mental Health Awareness Week is intended to help generate public debates around how anxiety, sleep deprivation, and exercise can impact our mental health. This year, the focus is mindfulness. Mindfulness is an exercise  that helps us change the way we think and feel about our experiences. Mindfulness is a useful tool for people with mental health issues, people dealing with stress, people coping with recurring depression, and anyone trying to improve their mental health and well-being.

Click here to read about mindfulness

Mindfulness includes techniques such as meditation, breathing and yoga, which help us become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and bodies. The practices can help us improve our relationships, attentiveness, concentration, and emotional insight. Mindfulness can be practiced by anyone – children, young people and adults – individually or with others, in any environment.

Next time you feel overwhelmed or under pressure, try closing your eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly counting down from ten, thinking about how you fell. Or, with the great weather we have, step outside for a brief walk!

Great news from JCT on #EduTues!

Get to know our programs

Washington DC MuseumToday on #EduTues we are excited to share some great academic accomplishments by our young men from the John C. Tracey Group Home!

Dee is on track to graduate on June 4th! He has applied and gotten into Montgomery College and he also applied at Ohio State University. He has a 3.1 GPA, is employed at Gordon Biersch, and he is being honored at his high school’s scholars dinner! Dee and another student at his school started a discussion group of about 30-40 students that meets every week for which he is the facilitator. 

Vid is making strides in attending classes without skipping. He has been more compliant with school/program rules and he brought his GPA up this quarter from a .57 to a 1.53 which is great and he is also working at Gordon Biersch.

Joe brought home a 4.0 GPA this quarter and overall has been doing very well in the program.

Jose brought in a 2.85 GPA and overall is doing well! His IEP states that he has a disability that effects him academically but his Middle School has been working very closely with him as opposed to sending him to an alternative school. The school is providing him with accommodations and modifications to allow him to participate in the general education curriculum, support his academic success, and keep him in the least restrictive learning environment. 

Mark is in a GED program and is prepared to take the test! He is currently working at Noodles & Company and has been recognized by his employer for his excellent work ethic. He is looking into being a plumber and has been offered a summer internship with a plumbing company. He’s dedicated to getting back on track! 

Each of the JCT residents will be recognized and rewarded for their accomplishments this Thursday at the Home’s Monthly Reward Ceremony.

Gifts from Nordstrom Cosmetic Department in Columbia!

Thank you to our supporters

IMG_1061Hearts & Homes is grateful to Candace Hill and Psaha Blair from the Nordstrom Cosmetic Department in Columbia for their donations to the goodie bags for the young mothers in our care! The young mothers will receive the goodie bags at a special Mother’s Day celebration we are putting on at our office in Baltimore! Thank you Candace and Psaha for your kindness and generosity!

Click here to see how you can get involved! 

We need your help this Mother’s Day!

Activities for the youth, Volunteering

Damamli MomWe need your support for a special Mother’s Day celebration we are putting on for the young mothers in our care at our office in Baltimore! Currently we have 20 young mothers in our semi-independent living program, transitional group home, and foster homes. We want to provide them with a nice dinner and some spa-themed goodie bags.

The young women in our care have faced many challenges in their lives and many of them grew up in foster care. They are learning how to parent their kids without repeating the trauma and abuse they suffered, to be better parents and create better tomorrows for their children.

We would be grateful for your support! We need your help filling swag bags for our young mothers with:

  • Lotion
  • Nail polish
  • Body wash
  • Hair/nail gift certificates to salons in the Baltimore-area
  • Other pampering items

Please contact Caitlin Buckley at cbuckley@heartsandhomes.org if you can contribute to the swag bags and support our young mothers on this special day. We greatly appreciate your help to make a brighter future for these young mothers and their babies!

Squisito Pizza & Pasta – great food and a great heart

Thank you to our supporters

IMG_0923A year before Hearts & Homes moved into our current headquarters at Burtonsville Crossing, a fast, casual, Italian Squisito Pizza & Pasta franchise opened in the shopping center across the street. The restaurant franchise is owned by Gennaro DiMeo and his wife Michele. Squisito’s menu consists of authentic Italian dishes and delicious New York-style pizzas made from family recipes that DiMeo brought from his hometown in Southern Italy. The franchise in Burtonsville is owned by John Minnick, a retiree from U.S. Homeland Security, and managed by Chris Rodney.

IMG_0920Staff at Hearts & Homes frequently grab a bite to eat at Squisito and enjoy the great food and friendly environment. Sometimes nothing hits the spot like one of their delicious pizzas, pastas, or salads.

Hearts & Homes is grateful to Squisito for more than their great food. For over a year, Chris Rodney and his team at Squisito have been dedicated to our organization and the youth in our care. Squisito has supported Hearts & Homes in a variety of ways.

IMG_0919In the past, Chris has taken some of our youth under his wing and taught them how to run a restaurant and how to provide the best customer service. The opportunity to work in such a friendly environment, under a manager who is so invested in the happiness and well-being of his staff, has had an immeasurable impact on the youth. It is a great opportunity for them to develop a sense of responsibility, a sense of worth, and a sense of community. We have seen youth transform before our eyes. We are grateful to everyone at Squisito for giving our youth this opportunity to have a job, earn money, and be part of a team.

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In addition to giving our youth work opportunities at the restaurant, Squisito has supported Hearts & Homes at our events and activities for staff and youth. For example, last spring Squisito treated the girls and young women in our care to a delicious dinner at the Princess Party, and in December, Squisito brought tasty dishes to our staff Holiday Party. Squisito’s also attended and supported Hearts & Homes at our Honors Gala last year.

We are grateful to Squisito for their delicious food and their continued support!

 

A young man finds his way

Words from our youth

Today we had the treat of running into a young man who was discharged from our Jumpstart Group Home earlier this year. At the time of his discharge, he had a job and was wrapping up his GED studies. We were happy that he was able to transition from Hearts & Homes into the community but we were still concerned about other challenges he had to tackle.

We were overjoyed today to see him with a huge smile on his face and a new  sense of calm and belonging. He was proud to tell us that he continues to enjoy his job, which he has had for a year now! He has secured a home for himself just down the street from his workplace. With a big smile he said, “life is boring, I just go from home to work, but it’s not a bad thing.”

We are so happy for this young man, for finding happiness, a safe home, and for all that he has and will accomplish!