Northwest Family Services is an award winning, leading provider of creative services that reduce

poverty. The MISSION supports child well-being and family stability programs and services.

6200 King Rd.

Portland, OR 97222

(503) 546-6377

www.nwfs.org

Join US NWFS hosts community-wide luncheons for anyone interested to learn more

about us.

Next Community Builder: May 13 Time: Noon—1pm 6200 SE King Rd. Portland OR 97222 *No Request Event

Contact us to RSVP: Jordan Turel at 503.546-5072 or jturel@nwfs.org

Live Grow Succeed

Northwest Family Services News presented for Spring 2014

Programs Youth Solutions

Health Navigation

Counseling

Jobs / Career Fit

Parenting Inside Out

SymptoPro

Lasting Relationships

Upcoming Events:

Community Builder

Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Free Luncheon, no request—

Join us and learn about

NWFS

Diversity

Workshop

June 11, 1pm-

3:30pm, @ NWFS

Register at nwfs.org

Community Issues

June 4, Noon-1pm; @

NWFS

Learn in-depth

details about some of

the NWFS Programs.

Greetings Everyone,

This year marks a key beginning

following our 30th anniversary last

year! Northwest Family Services is

making a strong difference and we

continue to build on our stability as a

driving force for the future. In an

effort to build greater sustainability,

Northwest Family Services is in the

process of drafting its new three-

year strategic plan with several key

directions. At our December 2013 all

staff-day, we started the next round

of strategic planning with a SWOT

analysis led by one of our board

members, Brant Hunsaker, Senior

Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank.

This will be followed up with more staff insights at our August 20th development

day.

Key elements of the new strategic plan focus on programs, internal development,

collaborations, stewardship, and marketing. Earlier this year, the US Office of

Family Assistance hand selected NWFS along with nine other non-profits from

around the country to participate in a sustainability summit. Thanks to that

conference and a continual move toward data driven results, a specific new thrust

of our engagement is now Program Return on Investment (PROI). In addition,

an Impact Report on PROI and a case for support of NWFS programs has now been

produced. The Impact Report for some NWFS programs can be found on the

website. This living document will help to drive future sustainability efforts.

Lastly, at our June 19 Capacity Building Training for all NWFS staff, we will host a

nationally known expert to provide added help with PROI.

Great work everyone!

Rose Fuller

Executive Director

NWFS Team enjoys dinner together at PROI Summit in D.C.

Development & Ops. Manager, Jordan Turel (left), Board President, Harold Burke-Sivers (center), and Lasting Relationships Manager, Charlie Goessler (right) . Winter 2014.

PROI Shows Value of NWFS Programs

NWFS Partners We Partner with over 300 organizations. Here are a few: (Alphabetically listed)

American Diabetes Association

Archdiocese of Portland

City of Portland

Clackamas County

Gladstone School District

Gresham-Barlow School District

Leupold & Stevens Foundation

Milwaukie Police Department

North Clackamas School District

Oregon City School District

Oregon Health Authority

Portland Public School District

Reynolds School District

Umpqua Bank

United Way

Univision Portland

Wells Fargo Bank

Helping people find jobs

Josh, a sixth grader at a Clackamas County elementary school,

was introduced to the NWFS One More Mentoring Program

(CIP Program) coordinator by his school counselor. She saw

Josh frequently due to his failing grades and frequent behavior

disruptions in class as well as on the playground. Now in the

care of his great aunt who was overwhelmed, Josh had

witnessed his father’s violent arrests which lead to

incarceration multiple times. Josh was angry at his father, the

system, and did not understand what had happened.

Josh was very withdrawn and cautious upon meeting the NWFS

CIP program coordinator. He responded positively to the idea

of being matched with a community mentor and having

opportunities to go on fun small group outings. He was soon

introduced to Adam, a truck-driver who was excited about the

possibility of positively impacting Joshua’s life. Today, Adam

and Josh have been “hanging out” since then and have

developed a friendship which has not only benefited Joshua, but also Adam who speaks openly about how

fulfilling their relationship has been for him. Josh very much looks forward to their times together. His

grades and behavior have reflected marked improvement as a result of one man’s realization of the

significance of his investment in the life of a boy who needed support.

In 2013, Northwest Family Services became an Alcohol and Drug

Treatment Center. This is exciting news and NWFS continues to

build on this work to now include alcohol and drug prevention

services for this program. This pilot expansion has begun at

Reynolds School District. This program reduces and prevents

the incidence of subsequent addiction and the negative personal

and social consequences. The A&D Program, entails a screening

and assessment process using the Global Appraisal of Individual

Needs Short Screener (GAIN-SS) system from staff. Students

indicating low level use participate in an evidence-based SBIRT

program entitled, Teen Intervene. Youth needing additional

treatment are referred to a full treatment center as needed. NWFS Board Certified Practitioner, Carlos

Romero, leads the drug and alcohol program

at Reynolds School District.

NWFS Case Coordinator (CIP Program), Marilyn

Grenfell, smiles as her and a mentee pose for

the camera.

Featured Story: Mentoring Impacts Josh

“Youth are five times more likely to graduate if they have a meaningful relationship with an adult.”

NWFS’ Counseling Department provides

professional counseling to individuals, couples, and

families in the areas of: Depression, Anxiety, Grief,

What We Do:

Counseling Department Manager, Ruth Hayes-

Barba, says,“ Almost everyone at some point in their

life needs a safe place to sort things out and make

sense of what they feel and what is going on in their

life. Counseling provides the environment where this

can happen.”

SymptoPro Fertility Education is dedicated to providing specialized,

ongoing support in helping couples understand their fertility and to

learn how to work with its natural design to achieve or avoid a

pregnancy. Currently, there are 55 active instructors who offer classes

in 20 states. This service is available online as well. NWFS locally

employs four instructors who offer personalized online classes serving

over 1,000 clients each year. NWFS also provides training and

certification for instructors. The materials are available in both English

and Spanish.

Learn more at www.symptopro.org.

Our counseling department is as busy as ever, serving

about 200 clients a year. We have a new intern named

Russ Brechbiel, who is in the M.A. Counseling program

at Western Seminary. Russ has an interest in marriage

and family counseling, particularly with families who

face adoption and attachment challenges. Welcome,

Russ!

Our Multnomah University interns, Jeffery Lopez and

Katrina Navarette, continue to work with counseling

clients, as well as taking on other responsibilities within

the agency. Katrina is filling in as an interim family

support navigator.

With current changes in the healthcare system, there is

a movement toward integrating physical and mental

health care practice. As we discern what role the NWFS

counseling department will play in this transformation,

we are participating in the Tri-County Behavioral Health

Providers Association. The monthly meetings help us to

stay informed about the most recent news, and to

collaborate with other local mental health providers.

Counseling News:

Mission: Educating to reduce underage drinking, marijuana and

prescription drug abuse amongst local youth.

Come check us out! FREE lunch included!

When: Every 4th Wednesday each month

Time: 12:30-1:45pm

Where: Northwest Family Services

6200 SE King Rd

Portland, OR 97222

Contact: Tracy Hoffman

thoffman@nwfs.org

503-546-6377 www.vibrantfuture.org

TOWN HALL MEETING—

MAY 28, 2014

Northwest Family Services is launching a new program this fall in the Centennial and Reynolds School

Districts. Signs of Suicide (SOS) is a school-based intervention that includes screening and education.

Staff will be present in the classroom teaching three to four day interactive sessions. The sessions give

young people a "depression check-up," as well as the knowledge to recognize depression and respond

effectively.

The program highlights the relationship between depression and suicide, a n d teaches that, most often,

suicide is a fatal response to a treatable disorder: depression.

Students are screened for depression and suicide risk and referred for professional help as indicated.

Students also participate in guided classroom discussions about suicide and depression. Students will

learn the action steps individuals should take if they experience the signs of depression or suicide

within themselves or encounter these signs in a friend. The goals of the program are to prevent suicide

attempts, increase knowledge about suicide and depression, and increase help-seeking behavior.

NWFS is pleased to announce that the SOS classes will be facilitated by Mr. Jeffery Lopez, who has been

with NWFS since May 2013, as a counseling intern. Lopez has a Master’s degree in Information/Project

Management from Grantham University, and is in process of completing his counseling degree from

Multnomah University in December 2014. Previously, he served 21 years in the Armed Forces as an

administrator for thousands of soldiers and as a Chaplain while on tour in Iraq. He retired this past

summer as a highly decorated Army Master Sergeant. Also, Lopez is only one of a handful of Master

Resiliency Trainers for the State of Oregon.

Your teeth DO NOT have to look like this! Let us Help!

Helping families stay together instead of children going into foster

care. Supporting families so children go back home to their parents.

“Janet” was a 35-year-old woman who had no job or home to call her own. She had fled with her two teenage

sons, after finding out that her husband had abused one of the sons. She was severely depressed and anx-

ious, and overwhelmed with trying to decide her next step. Janet felt paralyzed and hopeless about her fu-

ture. Due to the abuse, a child welfare case had been opened for Janet’s family. Through a program called

Strengthening, Preserving, and Reunifying Families (SPRF), with which NWFS partners with the Clackamas

County Department of Human Services, Janet’s caseworker had referred Janet to NWFS for support and help.

NWFS staff worked with Janet to give her support for her mental health needs, and to provide for some of her

immediate practical needs, such as transportation help, cell phone minutes, and getting re-connected with

self-sufficiency services. Staff were able to help her find the counseling and medical help she needed, and

worked closely with her to help her get accepted into a supportive housing program. There, she received

support and case management to help her work toward self-sufficiency. Today, Janet is excited and positive

about her future, and said, “I am so excited to be given this opportunity. And it’s all because of everyone

involved. Thank you!” Janet’s family, who had been trying to provide support as they could, was also

grateful for NWFS’ help. Janet’s mother said, “Words cannot convey my gratitude for all of the effort, caring,

and compassion that you extended to help my family find a path toward a new life. Thank you from the

bottom of my heart for all you did to make that miracle happen.”

If you need a teeth cleaning, or have urgent, unmet dental needs, you may qualify for

FREE dental services! Services are first come, first served. You will need to attend a

screening appointment first in order to see the dentist.

***We are currently accepting new patients.***

Eligibility Requirements

Adult that has urgent dental needs

Resident of Clackamas County

No dental insurance

Income less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level

Research is proving that when it comes to teaching your

children about making healthy choices and being responsible

it’s not so much about what is being taught—it’s about what is

being caught.

This Healthy Relationship and Parenting class is designed to

teach parents how to improve the quality of relationships

within the home using the proven parenting techniques of

Active Parenting Now. Active Parenting Now is an education program targeted to parents of 4-12 year olds. The

program teaches parents how to raise a child by using encouragement, building the child’s self-esteem, and

creating a relationship with the child based upon active listening, honest communication, and problem solving.

This class will equip parents with the tools of natural and logical consequences to reduce irresponsible and

unacceptable behaviors, and includes skills parents can use right away. Additional skills to improve the quality

of relationships and communication with other adults in the home, social and workplace environments are

included to support how we as parents model healthy relationships.

Session topics:

Motivating your child to be responsible

Gaining control through choices

Enjoying your role as a parent

Modeling good communication skills

Becoming and encouraging better listeners

What We Do:

All programs available in English & Spanish

Skill-based couples workshops

Money management

Parenting techniques

Conflict resolution

Communication skills

Relationship discernment

www.lastingrelationships.org

Serving adults within the child welfare and criminal

“I had no confidence in myself. In PIO I accomplished

something each week. Those little successes gave me the

confidence to keep going; I was willing to try something

bigger. Now I am part of my children’s lives. I am their

mom.”

Since January 2013, 150 parents have completed the

12-week parenting class series. These parents in turn

represent 232 children.

Featured Program: Parenting on Purpose

Partnering with 11 schools

Middle and High School

Afterschool programs and mentoring

Developing youth leaders

Summer Programs

School-wide assemblies

Case Coordination

Drug, Alcohol, Sex, Gang, and other risk prevention education

Serving 15,000+ students annually

What We Do:

Peer Court acts as a diversion program that is

designed to give youth ages 12-17 with first-

time, low-level law violations a chance to repair

harm and show accountability for their actions

without involvement in the juvenile justice sys-

tem.

Youth, under the direction of professional attor-

neys, work as defense attorney, prosecuting at-

torney, and jury. The jury decides what type of

accountability fits for the law violation.

Quick Fact: In 2013, Northwest Family Services (NWFS) graduated 90% of all students who worked with us

(graduating high school or advancing to the next grade level) while the entire State of Oregon only graduated

69% of all Oregon High School students.

This program saves Oregon Taxpayers $25,000 each year, per youth. This represents the cost of a person in an Oregon prison. Collectively from over 500 youth who have successfully gone through peer court as participants,

Peer Court has saved Oregon Taxpayers $12.5 million dollars!

Peer Court student attorneys, professional

lawyers, and NWFS staff took a quick picture after

a recent Peer Court prep. meeting, held in

Fairview, Oregon.

Featured Story: Earlier this year, a high school senior, Miguel, was referred to an NWFS Youth

Educator’s office because he was not attending 1/4 of his classes. Miguel was

not on schedule to graduate, and had no motivation to ever attend college or

begin working after high school.

Thanks to constant check-ins, positive affirmations and coaching from the

NWFS Youth Educator, Miguel is now attending all his classes. He is also

staying late after school to work with teachers, doing homework, and on track

to graduate in June! In addition, Miguel joined a couple extracurricular

activities that helped bolster confidence and motivation. Recently, he

received notice that his hard work paid off and was accepted at Oregon State

and Portland State Universities. Congrats Miguel!

The Oregon jobless problem remains a serious challenge for

Oregonians. In December 2013, the Oregon rate of

unemployment was 7.1%, according to the US Bureau of Labor

Statistics. Northwest Family Services is committed to reducing

the Oregon jobs problem and making big impact upon family

stability. Our Employment Assistance Department, Career Fit,

provides job seekers with readiness skills, one-on-one

coaching, and connections to employers. Also, this program

will not only help people become employed, it enables a family

the opportunity to secure employer paid health insurance.

This work is critical as Oregon cannot afford the cost of $1.67

Billion Dollars paid out in annual unemployment benefits.

The Northwest Family Services’ Jobs program yields massive gains and savings for Oregon— 2013 Impacts :

149 people secured a job thanks to NWFS, representing an approximate $5,766,914 in income per year.

72% of participants were placed in full time jobs and 28% in part time jobs.

Those 149 people who have secured jobs are now saving taxpayers approximately $2,145,600 in

unmade unemployment claims .

Northwest Family Services (NWFS) helps nearly 1,000 Oregonians

get health insurance through paper enrollment despite any

challenges of the online Cover Oregon marketplace portal.

Currently, NWFS has been successfully completing 30 paper

applications weekly, and then has been submitting those

applications for processing to Oregon State officials.

Cover Oregon is a new online marketplace where individuals,

families and small businesses can shop for private health

insurance plans and enroll in the Oregon Health Plan or Healthy Kids. NWFS began its outreach and

enrollment efforts October 1, 2013, as an Oregon Health Authority, on behalf of Cover Oregon, grantee in

helping Oregon individuals and families get health insurance. NWFS is among 30 community organizations

throughout the state that provides outreach and enrollment services to Oregon individuals and families.

NWFS provides opportunities for people to learn and enroll in Cover Oregon. NWFS will reach a variety of

Oregonians throughout urban and rural Clackamas and Marion Counties, including Spanish and Russian

speaking families. Let us help you get signed up today!

Rose Fuller, Executive Director of NWFS, says, “We are thrilled to assist people who might experience

barriers with the opportunity to receive affordable health insurance. As a non-profit organization that focuses

on family stability and child well-being, access to healthcare is a foundation piece that all parents require for

their families.”

NWFS Impacts Economy through Employment Assistance!