News

Bester Community of Hope releases “Just Call”, an important video to educate the general public to see the signs of child abuse & neglect, and a call to action for families to get the supportive services they need to prevent child abuse. Originally intended to premiere at the now postponed April 9th event “Breaking the Cycle” due to COVID-19, the short film and supplemental video is now available on the Bester Community of Hope website www.besterhope.org and their corresponding YouTube channel. Developed with HighRock and Authentic Community Theatre, as well as other important stakeholders and funders, is released during the month of April in concert with Child Abuse Prevention Month. Learn more about this effort and our work at www.besterhope.org.

WDVM news story by Kelsey Jones available here: Lowes store extends a helping hand to a foster home

Lowe’s store extends a helping hand to a foster home

Full article from Mike Lewis of Herald Mail Media available here: South Side Community Block Party, Fall Fest fill City Park

Block Party, Fall Fest fill Hagerstown City Park Saturday

Near one end of Hagerstown’s City Park on Saturday, people took in a bit of history at the Jonathan Hager House, which dates to about 1740.

Meanwhile, near the other end of the park, others used high-tech toys to play laser tag.

In the middle was a little bit of everything, from arts and crafts to paddle boat rides, from health information to games, and from country tunes to R&B/soul music.

The park hosted the annual City Park Fall Fest from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and the fourth annual South Side Block Party, organized by Bester Community of Hope, from noon until 3 p.m.

“This is the first year we’ve partnered with the city and did (the party) at the same time as Fall Fest and Porchfest,” said Jen Younker, director of Bester Community of Hope.

Bester Community of Hope is an initiative of San Mar, which focuses on positive outcomes for children and families in the Bester Elementary School neighborhood.

Younker said the idea behind the block party is to provide family-oriented fun as well as access to information and resources people might need. The party is a way to build relationships not just among neighborhood residents, she said, but also between residents and those resources.

About three dozen booths were set up by a range of organizations and services, from the Washington County Health Department to the Washington County Free Library.

At the band shell, two musical groups performed.

Kerry Fair, neighborhood partnership coordinator for Bester Community of Hope, said she met people from New York and Ohio during the event.

“They’ve come from far and wide to see The Swon Brothers,” she said.

A country music act from Oklahoma, The Swon Brothers are known from the TV show “The Voice.”

The opening act, the Washington, D.C.-based R&B/soul group The Chuck Brown Band, also attracted a crowd.

Judy Harris of Washington, D.C., said she came to hear the group. And Audrey Gaines-Terrell of Hagerstown was at the park with her husband, Tony Terrell, and 4-year-old Amaya Terrell. Audrey said her husband is from D.C. and is “a longtime fan.”

Ayesha King of Hagerstown stopped by a booth set up by Family Healthcare of Hagerstown near one of the park’s playgrounds. She said she came to the park with her children, Ayma-jee Calhoun, 9, and Ayziah Wells, 5.

“I brought the kids,” she said. “They’re going to play and enjoy themselves.”

Ten-year-old Nathan Wayner enjoyed a game of laser tag. His team won its contest.

His mother, Jennifer Webber, said the family lives in Chambersburg, Pa., but makes the trip to Hagerstown often.

“We come to City Park usually every other weekend,” she said.

The annual City Park Fall Fest traditionally offers a fusion of arts, entertainment and history.

To that end, various family-friendly activities took place at the Jonathan Hager House, the City Park Train Hub, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and the Mansion House Art Museum.

At the museum of fine arts, 8-year-old Shaelynn Farrow of St. Thomas, Pa., tried her hand at spinning wool.

“She loves art,” said her mother, Shonda Farrow.

In addition to the City Park Fall Fest and the South Side Block Party, Saturday’s events included the annual Porchfest in the 100 block of South Prospect Street. For part of Saturday afternoon, a shuttle was available to take people from one event to another.

Porchfest was scheduled for 2-6 p.m. It featured a variety of musicians playing on porches of historic homes, as well as food trucks and a kids’ porch.

Full story from Herald Mail Media available here: Great Bicycle Tour Raises 86k for San Mar

Full Herald Mail story by Julie Greene available here: Villa Maria Mental Health Team Joins San Mar

San Mar brings some of Villa Maria’s Therapists under it’s umbrella

San Mar Family & Community Services hired four therapists from the recently closed Villa Maria of Washington County facility, helping to narrow the gap in mental-health services left with Villa Maria’s closing.

The therapists started with San Mar on Aug. 1, a day after Villa Maria closed, San Mar officials said. San Mar also hired a longtime administrative assistant from Villa Maria.

Since then, San Mar’s Jack E. Barr Center for Well-Being has already experienced substantial growth in the number of clients it’s serving, said Jerica Washington, the well-being center’s director.

The therapists’ clients had the option of continuing with their therapist at San Mar, Washington said.

The well-being center was averaging 80 to 100 clients before taking on the former Villa Maria therapists, Washington said. Since then, San Mar is averaging 150 active clients and that could expand to 200 or 250, she said.

Catholic Charities of Baltimore closed Villa Maria of Washington County, its local outpatient mental-health center at the end of July. The office off East Antietam Street was closed primarily for financial reasons, according to Kevin Keegan, director for the Family Services Division of Catholic Charities of Baltimore.

Villa Maria’s local office served between 100 and 200 clients at any given time, Keegan said.

“We are struggling financially in a very significant way in Hagerstown and just can’t sustain (it),” Keegan said in June.

San Mar CEO Keith Fanjoy said Melissa Phillips, Villa Maria’s local program director, contacted San Mar to see if the nonprofit was interested in taking over part of the Villa Maria team.

“Many people need mental-health services,” Fanjoy said.

San Mar’s Center for Well-Being, an outpatient mental-health clinic, provides individual and family therapy, Washington said. The center opened on San Mar’s 8504 Mapleville Road grounds, north of Boonsboro, in October 2016.

The expectation is the new therapists joining San Mar are serving a reasonable amount of families, which will help San Mar offset the additional staff costs, Fanjoy said.

Many of the clinicians affected by Villa Maria’s closing have found other employment opportunities, Fanjoy said.

In taking on the former Villa Maria workers, Fanjoy said, San Mar officials talked with the nonprofit’s local team and identified San Mar’s own needs. San Mar did not take over all of Villa Maria’s staff and services.

Casey Family Programs recognized the work of the Bester Community of Hope, a San Mar Initiative, with a video highlighting our comprehensive efforts, as well as a story in it’s signature annual report, as a part of our 2019 Jim Casey national award. Read more of that report here: https://www.casey.org/hope

Watch the 10 minute documentary film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWITkQkKIv8

From WDVM Hagerstown: https://www.localdvm.com/news/maryland/new-hampshire-man-shares-experience-of-substance-use-disorder

New Hampshire man shares experience of substance use disorder

After suffering from a 40ft. fall off a ladder, a New Hampshire man uses his story of addiction to help others wanting to guide victims of substance abuse.

Darryl Lennon has substance use disorder after he says he was over-prescribed drugs. In 2009, Lennon fell 40 feet from a house which resulted in him using drugs to suppress the pain.

“From there I was over-prescribed pain meds which ended up becoming addiction in my life, which ended up (making) me become homeless and losing everything,” Lennon said.

Fast forward 10 years later, him along with his wife teach are certified recovery support workers that teach Recovery Coach Academy.

“Recovery Coach Academy is training for people who are either allies to recovery like myself or people that are in recovery themselves who really want to reach back for the next person but seek education to do that,” Michelle said.

About 40 people attended the 5-day training which was sponsored by Bester Community of Hope, Washington County Department of Human Services and Casey Family Programs.

A Bester Community of Hope representative believes that a brighter path is in store for the Hagerstown community.

“Hope is alive, recovery is possible,” Jen Younker said

San Mar Family & Community Services CEO Keith Fanjoy announced two significant grant awards to expand existing efforts at Bester Elementary School and provide future programming at E. Russell Hicks Middle School. Bester Community of Hope (BCOH), a San Mar Initiative supported by the Washington County Department of Social Services, Fletcher Foundation and Casey Family Programs, focuses on addressing the comprehensive needs of children and families in the south side of the City of Hagerstown. While the broader BCOH efforts have an emphasis on child welfare outcomes, these new grants will focus more specifically on components related to health, education and afterschool resources.  Fanjoy explained, “Over the past several years, San Mar Family & Community Services has worked tirelessly in the south side of Hagerstown to improve the lives and outcomes of children and families. Our notification of these grants is validation to all of our staff members and partners who dedicate their lives to humbly serving others. It’s also an early measure of success on the long-term journey we’ve committed to through the Bester Community of Hope initiative.”

Access to quality educational opportunities

In late 2018, the Maryland State Department of Education sent notification to San Mar that the Bester Community of Hope Initiative’s grant application for “South End 21^st Century Community Learning Centers” won a significant annual award of $400,000.These funds are designated to support expansion of free afterschool programming and school based supports at Bester Elementary School and catalyze the creation of new afterschool opportunities at E. Russell Hicks Middle School in 2019. The grant process, which was led by Kerry Fair of San Mar includes the hiring of eleven employees, including a Director of 21^st Century Community Learning Centers, a site coordinator at Bester Elementary and Hicks Middle, and eight part-time afterschool support staff members. San Mar has begun recruitment for key positions with targeted hire dates in the next month. “We are very thankful for our partnership with Bester Community of Hope,” says Dr. Kristen English, Principal at Bester Elementary School. “Our students are having enriching and productive afterschool experiences, which contribute to academic successes and positive social interactions.” Dr. Jana Palmer, Executive Director of Elementary Instruction added, “The 21^st Century grant has the potential to provide a safe place for our students to go after school with a focus on extending learning opportunities.”

Bester Community of Hope began demonstrating the work by providing various free afterschool clubs at Bester Elementary starting in the Fall of 2016 and prior to this award was averaging over 100 students in Fall and Spring seasons to participate in varied academic and enrichment offerings under the title of BOOST, or Bester Out of School Time.

Improving Health Outcomes for South Side children

In 2018, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) also notified San Mar of a grant award, totaling $250,000 over five years, to expand and sustain existing efforts to provide free acute health care services to families with the students attending Bester Elementary and to create a new school based health center at E. Russell Hicks in the Fall of 2019. As a part of the process, key partners including Meritus Health, The Community Free Clinic of Washington County and Washington County Public Schools, worked with San Mar to increase standards to become a certified school based health center under the Maryland State Department of Education umbrella. The updated Memorandum of Understanding was finalized in January of 2019, and free acute health services will begin once again at Bester Elementary in the coming weeks. The grant represents a multi-year effort, written and led by Jerica Washington LCSW-C of San Mar, to sustain and expand the ongoing health needs in south side neighborhoods.  Washington stated, “We are excited to continue promoting child health in this innovative program that helps with early intervention. Our aim is that children are in school ready to learn and their wellbeing is supported by the community.”

The Bester Health Center was created in the Fall of 2016, and initially was an unfunded commitment from the Community Free Clinic in collaboration with Bester Community of Hope to provide free acute health care services to any child attending Bester Elementary when a parent completed a basic consent form for treatment, no insurance required. Over the past two years as the program developed, over 50% of school students were registered, and a variety of acute health services were offered including but not limited to writing prescriptions for illnesses and providing concrete resources such as lice shampoo, over the counter medications and nebulizer treatments. The intent is to improve access and convenience for families, ultimately reducing stress for families juggling many responsibilities and targeting attendance as a key outcome by expediting treatment. In addition to direct clinic services, Bester Community of Hope uses the grant to promote and create activities and resources that increase opportunities around health education. Nicole Houser, Executive Director of the Community Free Clinic shared, “The Community Free Clinic is happy to be part of this collaboration. As the healthcare provider at Bester Elementary we can quickly meet the students’ needs and help in reducing absenteeism. We look forward to creating the same partnership with E. Russell Hicks students and their families.”