Media Resources
For general information about NDI and for interviews, please call Janet Hamada, our Executive Director, at 541-308-2201.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Heidi Seymour, 541-490-8689
Janet Hamada, 541-308-2201
TIM SWEENEY RECEIVES KLAHRE AWARD
Local contractor makes a difference with a lifetime of service to youth
Friday, October 10, 2008:
Hood River, Oregon (October 10): Tim Sweeney, long-time resident of the Columbia Gorge and owner of Hood River Construction, has been chosen to be the recipient of the Klahre Award for Hood River County.
This award is given annually to one resident from each county of the Mid-Columbia for distinguished service to children and outstanding achievement on behalf of children.
Tim was surprised to hear he was being honored. “I like kids. I’ve always liked kids,” he stated. “I guess because they don’t judge me. They like me because I get right down on their level.”
“I got involved with kids and the Next Door because of Michael Mehling,” stated Sweeney. “He asked me to help out and I’ve been showing up ever since.” Mehling was the director of the Next Door, Inc. from 1987 to 1999.
Tim’s commitment to youth goes back to his own childhood.
“My mother, Stella, was in the Marines, and I got my values from her and my dad. With them there was a definite right and wrong, and we had consequences if we did something wrong.”
Once, Tim caught a 9-year-old boy stealing from his company. He went to the boy’s mother and said he wanted the boy to work for free for a week. Tim taught the boy a lot about values during that week together, and he ended up working for him for the entire summer.
One of Tim’s current workers is a graduate of the Next Door, Inc. (NDI) Klahre House program. When other employers were hesitant to hire him, Tim gave him a chance. He’s been working with Tim five years now.
Tim serves on NDI’s Board of Directors and Facilities Committee and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Advisory Board and Bowl for Kids’ Sake Committee. “For a man who hates meetings, he spends an awful lot of time in them,” stated NDI Executive Director Janet Hamada. “He does this because he knows that without governance, guidance and fundraising assistance, we couldn’t do what we do for all the families and children we reach every year.”
“There are not enough words available to thank Tim for everything he has done and continues to do for the Next Door,” said Hamada. “I am thrilled that he is being recognized by the larger community for all his contributions.”
Tim also helps out at NDI’s Klahre House Alternative Day Treatment School in whatever capacity he is needed. He has just completed remodeling The Dalles office of NDI. His remodeling skills have been a boon to more than just the Next Door. He also did an extensive remodel at the Young Women’s Center in Hood River, a transitional housing program for victims of crime who would otherwise be homeless.
Hamada will present the Klahre Award to Tim during the Mid-Columbia Symposium on Children, a forum for people in the Mid-Columbia area who share an interest in the welfare of children. The symposium will be held at the Discovery Center in The Dalles, Oregon, on Friday, October 17. Visitors are welcome to attend the ceremony from 11:30-12:00 pm.
The Klahre Award was established in 1987 in honor of Jim Klahre, a local businessman and volunteer who advocated for children and helped found the Next Door, Inc.
Past Hood River County winners are Manuel Gutierrez, Lennie Mueller, Rick Negas, Marin Tyler, Bea Scott, Mabel Lucas, Janice Merz, Maija Yasui, Carolyn Bondurant, Aileen Pobanz, Tom Schaefer, Jennie Copper, Dana Lance, Ron & Anita Phillips, Anne Holmstrom, Maria Ramirez, Martha Capovilla & Steve Fisk, Tobi Kuykendall, Chris Burzio & Janette Skarda.
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Photo by Ralph Kupersmith
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jane Palmer RN
PHONE: 509-403-1558
Date of release: July 14, 2008
Childhood Trauma, Help for the Helpers
Foster Parents & Libraries Receive 100 Books
Klickitat County foster parents and caregivers of children in out-of-home placements have a helpful resource thanks to the support of funds provided by Community Mobilization Against Substance Abuse/CMASA, The Drug Free Communities Mentoring Grant and Skamania Klickitat Community Network/SKCN.
One hundred copies of the book, “The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog” by Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz are now in the hands of local foster parents, out of home caregivers and at local public and school libraries. This book offers the reader insight into the effects of early severe neglect on brain development and child behavior. Foster parents are able to earn a continuing education certificate for reading the book and completing an evaluation. These parents are grateful to have this information and the support for the work they do.
Children who have been maltreated suffer from high rates of traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety, social problems, aggression, and hoplessness. Those caring adults who are charged with parenting these children are often at a loss of how to address and support the effects of maltreatment.
Bruce Perry is a child psychiatrist who runs a child trauma center in Texas and has served as a consultant on many high profile child welfare cases, including the children rescued from the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. He tells about severely neglected children and of their delayed, impaired and bizarre development. Reading this book is an “easy read” and of value for those working in child welfare, foster parents, therapists or anyone with an interest in the welfare of vulnerable children.
The book was chosen and distributed by an ad hoc committee including Marta Daniels Placement Coordinator with the Department of Social and Health Services/Children’s Administration, Heidi Seymour, Coordinated Services Manager with the Next Door Inc. and Jane Palmer, Nursing and Community Programs Manager with the Klickitat County Health Department. The group is pleased at the welcome reception this valuable resource has received. The group attended the Washington State Children’s Administration’s Reasonable Efforts Symposium conducted late in 2007 in Goldendale, and chose this project as their “reasonable effort” to address child abuse and neglect.
The SKCN and CMASA groups meet regularly in Klicktat County and are open to interested and concerned citizens. For more information, contact Klickitat County Health Department at 509-493-1558.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Becci Crane
May 30, 2008
541-386-5520
The Next Door Honors Foster Parents
The Next Door, Inc. recently honored foster parents with gifts, fun, and loving words from their foster children. On Tuesday May 13, 2008 at The Dalles Civic Auditorium The Next Door Inc. held their annual Foster Parent Recognition Banquet. Seventy people attended including Foster Parents, Foster youth, and staff.
The theme of the party was “Hollywood” with an emphasis on our foster parents as the stars. “We truly appreciate the work that you do! You are amazing and we wouldn’t be able to do this with out you.” stated Becci Crane, Foster Parent Certifier.
Several youth presented awards to their foster parents. The presentations were very emotional ranging from funny to heartfelt.
“I make mistakes, it happens. But my foster parents still let me come back and live with them.” “No one else would take me!” “My foster parents have helped me stay in contact with my family and have taught me a lot. They have become more like parents to me than my real parents.” “My foster parents treat me like an equal. They encourage me and work hard to try and help me stay here.”
The Next Door Inc. foster parents provide homes for youth who are receiving treatment services. The average stay of the youth in the home is about 9 months to a year. Once the youth have completed their treatment program they are able to transition back to living in their home, with relative, or into an independent living program.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2008
Contact: David Spangler
Phone: (541) 386-5520 ext. 409
Klahre House School Participates in National Youth Service Day
On National Youth Service Day, Friday April 25 from 9 AM to 12 PM, students from the Klahre House began building three raised beds at the OSU Mid-Columbia Agricultural and Research Extension Center Learning Garden just south of Hood River. In addition, they started developing a vegetable garden at the Klahre House School. These gardens have become part of the curriculum at the Klahre House School. The raised beds at the Extension Center Learning Garden are made of three different materials to educate the Klahre House students and the community about raised bed vegetable gardening and the types of raised beds.
Youth Service America and the Department of Justice have awarded a $1,000 grant to the Klahre House School and Day Treatment program, which is a program of the Next Door Inc., and the Central Gorge Master Gardener Association. The grant will enable students at the school to begin a raised bed garden community service project.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Liz DiLauro
April 7, 2008
Phone: 202/638-1144
Jon Reeves of Salem and Karen Enns of Hood River Named Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders: Will Help To Improve Services for Babies, Toddlers and Families of Oregon
Washington, D.C. – Jon Reeves, Program Director of Child Care Information Service in the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and Karen Enns, Program Manager of New Parent Services and Families First at Next Door, Inc. in Hood River have been named among the first Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders by the national nonprofit organization ZERO TO THREE.
Reeves and Enns will work with state public and private partners to improve and coordinate programs and services for the 134,794 babies and toddlers of Oregon. Specifically, they will work with the Early Childhood Coordinating Council to develop priorities for infants and toddlers as part of their early childhood policy framework and educate legislators as to the connection between these priorities and Oregon’s school readiness agenda.
States across the country are working hard to strengthen and coordinate their early childhood policies and services,’ says Matthew E. Melmed, executive director of ZERO TO THREE. “Karen Enns, Jon Reeves and the other Birth to Three State Advocacy Leaders have the experience, passion and knowledge to help make this a reality for Oregon’s young children.”
Enns and Reeves are two of 12 infant-toddler professionals nationwide to be selected as a Birth to Three State Advocacy Leader in ZERO TO THREE’s new initiative Creating Connections for Babies.
The project involves six states that are committed to engaging new leaders of the infant-toddler professional field in establishing coordinated and comprehensive services for babies and toddlers: Kentucky, Oregon, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and Wyoming. The work is supported by the Buffett Early Childhood Fund.
Reeves and Enns were named State Advocacy Leaders after a competitive selection process where national and state panelists chose individuals based on their commitment to policy change and their experience and leadership in child development.
Enns has been working in the maternal and child health field for more than 20 years, focusing most recently on child abuse prevention and parent support for families in Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties.
Reeves has worked with children and families in Oregon for 13 years. In addition to his role as a child care resource and referral director, Reeves became one of the first recipients of the Portland State University Infant Toddler Mental Health Graduate Certificate.
ZERO TO THREE is a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports professionals, policymakers and parents in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. www.zerotothree.org
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3/24/08
2008 Bowl for Kids’ Sake BIG & Little Success!
The annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fund raiser for Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program surpassed their 2008 pledge goals for Hood River and The Dalles teams. More than $41,000 was raised Saturday, March 8, 2008 as Gorge teams bowled after collecting pledges to support the program.
Jenny Halsch, Program Manager for Big Brothers, Big Sisters stated, “It takes businesses, families, students and seniors to make this annual event successful. These funds will enable our program to continue matching positive mentors with kids in need in the gorge. That is pretty amazing!”
Top fundraisers for The Dalles included: Napa Auto Parts, Mid-Columbia Womens’ Clinic, and Wasco County Sherriff’s Office
For more information on the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program, contact Jennifer Halsch, Program Director @ 541-308-2231
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