Something Magical

The holidays at Hillsides prove that if you have courage and dare to ask for something, it just may happen. And indeed it did happen--our hope for a wonder-filled holiday for all we serve was satisfied. An empty auditorium, converted during this past month into “Santa’s Workshop,” was filled with gifts of all shapes and sizes. The task of handling the requests of not only our 66 residents, but the many children, youth and families served by our community-based programs was enormous, but without fail every one of them was satisfied. Extra effort needed to coordinate and make sure gifts were wrapped, bundled and delivered was made so that by Christmas day everything was in place for a memorable holiday. There is no way to describe this experience, but to say that it was magical.

Of course it was much more than magical, it was awe inspiring to see so many embrace the cause and, in spite of a poor economic environment, make the sacrifice to see the dreams of those we served fulfilled during this holiday season. Once again, the generous, selfless support of our donor community left us all grateful and edified. Please know that your efforts achieved your intended result of lifting the spirits of vulnerable children and their families precisely at a time when they needed it the most.

To our generous donors, great volunteers and selfless staff, thank you one and all for making this holiday season so special at Hillsides.

The truth is that this “magical” moment is representative of what we attempt to do every day in the many programs provided by Hillsides--restore hope and provide resources for all we serve to lead fuller lives.

On behalf of Hillsides Board of Directors, the beneficiaries of your kindness and staff, we say “Thank you.”

Happy New Year!

  

View a few photos of the "magic." 

Ho, Ho, Ho....

By the time you read this Santa will have already come to Hillsides, gifts will have been distributed, too much ginger bread consumed and a few too many Christmas carols sung, but most importantly, some wonderful memories will have been created. This is, of course, such a busy time of year and in the midst of all the activity, it is easy to overlook what this season is all about. But then you look into the face of a child surprised by getting exactly what had been requested of Santa and you are reminded what it is all about … making a difference in the lives of the children, youth and families we serve.

To all of you who are so dedicated to our mission and so generous with your time, talent and treasure…thank you.  Be sure that your efforts make dreams come true during this holiday season for all those we serve.

May you enjoy a Happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with good health and happiness.

From all of us at Hillsides………………Peace!

Roaming the Halls in Sacramento

From L to R: Sam Garrison, Joe Costa, Assemblymember Ricardo Lara, Marisol Barrios and Thomas Lee

Yesterday the Los Angeles Times had an article on the proposed budget cuts that Governor Brown will be addressing later this week. And so begins the annual ritual of adjusting the budget to reflect revenues. Given that these revenues do not match the budget’s projected revenue stream, we envision additional cuts to services. As always, this discussion will trigger an acrimonious round of proposals to determine which of the poor options we have will be selected.  Inevitably, these cuts will further erode the already fragile “safety net” that supports education and services to vulnerable children and families.

In an effort to play a role in the process, Sam Garrison, Hillsides board member and chair of our Government Affairs and Public Policy Committee, facilitated a round of conversations in Sacramento this past week with staff of our local elected officials. We introduced ourselves and hopefully established the kind of rapport with these policymakers that will keep them sensitive to the needs of all we serve. Besides Sam, Thomas Lee, director of Youth Moving On, and Marisol Barrios, director of communications and advocacy, joined me in these meetings. We met with staff from the offices of Gilbert Cedillo, Kevin de Leon, Ricardo Lara, Roger Hernandez, Carol Liu, and Felipe Fuentes.

There is no way to avoid some very significant cuts in this kind of constrained public funding environment. No elected official relishes making decisions that sacrifices needed services. Our visit last week was an opportunity for us to suggest to the legislators some criteria and priorities to consider in making these very difficult decisions. We can only hope that such advocacy will lead to decisions that support the delivery of care to the most vulnerable.

We advocated the importance of not being shortsighted in what funding reductions must be made--some level of support must be maintained in order to minimally sustain the needs of the most vulnerable. Cuts to avoid would include those that only exacerbate poor situations and eventually lead to more costly solutions, often placing the needy at a greater risk of harm. Certainly from our perspective it is very important to maintain the already significantly reduced funding for education. Fewer school days, more children in a classroom, and further elimination of ancillary and support services for school-aged children only threaten the integrity of the public education system and reduces it to not much more than custodial care.

In addition to advocatingfor support of education, in particular funding for special education, we also informed staff of the need for continued funding of mental health services to support children who have experienced abuse, neglect or violence.  Inadequately funding these kinds of services places these children and families at considerable risk of further harm. As resilient as children can be, they are especially vulnerable when needed services are sacrificed, threatening to weaken the gains that they may have made. Failure to effectively address the needs of these children and youth only opens the door to chronic behaviors and disorders that jeopardizes their long-term well-being and that of our society and community as a whole!

Challenging times require courageous and prudent actions. Legislators are typically receptive to the input of their constituents. As we begin the arduous exercise of balancing the State budget and making very difficult decisions, we ask you to join with us in any way you can to encourage our representatives to hear the voices of the vulnerable children, youth and families as they deliberate in January.

The Great Santa Ana Wind Storm of 2011

At one point during the Santa Ana wind storm, on the front lawn of the group home we maintain adjacent to the main campus, the towering tree came roaring down. Fortunately, the tree fell away from the structure, but never-the-less rekindled the trauma for one of our residents, who had survived the Joplin Missouri tornado earlier this year. He like many of the residents at Hillsides were frightened by the ferocious winds and awed by the display of force that brought three trees down,  buried three cars in debris and left the campus without power for nearly 24 hours.

As I walked the campus the day of the storm, I was impressed by the resourcefulness of our staff who adjusted their routines, stayed focused on the residents and pitched in to keep us all safe and operating well. In spite of the inconveniences, our residents were in good spirits, relieved that the storm was over and grateful for not attending school that day. But in subsequent days as things return to normal, an increasing number of residents have acted on their anxieties triggered by the trauma of living through such a powerful storm.

Last week’s storm confirmed for all of us how vulnerable we are in the face of the overwhelming forces of nature. For our residents already suffering form childhood traumas such an experience can be overwhelming. So, in addition to clearing debris and accommodating the inconveniences brought on by a power outage, the staff remained focused on reassuring our residents that they were safe and could count on us to help them deal with their fears and anxieties.

In a sense the storm was not only a test of our disaster plan, but more importantly, our resourcefulness to effectively address a very challenging situation while never losing sight of  the needs of the children we serve. To all the staff who braved the state of emergency to make their way to work, thank you. To the maintenance staff who marshaled the efforts to clear debris and restore power and good order, thank you. To the food service personnel who kept residents and staff alike fed in the midst of discomfort, thank you. To our community of supporters who have reached out to us in concern with offers of assistance, thank you. Together we got through the storm relatively unscathed and will recall to another generation how we survived the great Santa Ana wind storm of 2011.