community Service means Business!

13 August 2007

from the desk of Natalie Green

CONTACT Pittsburgh Volunteers Needed!

CONTACT Pittsburgh, a crisis and suicide hotline, is looking for nonjudgmental listeners to provide immediate emotional support to adults and teens. Volunteer Crisis Line Specialists are needed to work at the center’s crisis hotline, which is staffed 365 days a year.

Last year, trained volunteers handled more than 20,000 calls from adults and teens with problems ranging from family conflict and physical abuse to addiction and suicide. If you’re looking for a place to serve, and if you’re willing to listen, CONTACT may be the opportunity to put your compassion to work.
Each and every one of our volunteers undergoes a rigorous, comprehensive training program, receiving education in topics as diverse as suicide, elderly and teen issues and the concerns of returning veterans.

With the speed of life increasing ever more rapidly in our world, the need for an understanding voice increases as well. Won’t you consider becoming a lifeline for someone in need?

Classes will be held on the following dates:

Thursday, September 20 from 6 to 9 PM

Tuesday, September 25 from 6 to 9 PM

Saturday, September 29 from 9 AM to 2 PM

Tuesday, October 2 from 6 to 9 PM

Saturday, October 6 from 9 AM to 2 PM

Tuesday, October 9 from 6 to 9 PM

Thursday, October 11 from 6 to 9 PM

Participation is mandatory at all training sessions. Applications are due September 7.


Upon completion of the training, volunteers are asked to work 8 to 12 service hours per month.
For additional information about becoming a volunteer, contact Christy Stuber of CONTACT Pittsburgh at
(412) 820-0100 or cstuber@contactpgh.org.
For more information about CONTACT Pittsburgh, go to
www.contactpgh.org.
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FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER FACTS-WORTH THE READ

* Prenatal alcohol exposure is the leading known cause of preventable mental retardation

* Estimates of the incidence in the U.S. is 1 in 100 live births have a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
At that rate, it is more common than Autism.

* A new study done in Italy, where it was thought there were almost no fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), they found an incidence in first graders of 1 in 25 to 1 in 50 children affected by an FASD.
As that was an active surveillance study, and in the U.S. we have only done passive surveillance,
that is thought to be a more accurate estimate of the incidence.
At that rate, it is more than 3 times as common as Autism.

* It is often unrecognized and/or misdiagnosed leading to inappropriate, unsuccessful treatment

* Many of the children and adolescents with an FASD reside in foster homes, adoptive homes, or residential settings and have frequently experienced multiple moves often because the FASD has not been recognized

* There remains a tremendous amount of stigma resulting in people not wanting to look at the possibility of an FASD. However, women do not use alcohol during their pregnancies because they want to give birth to a child with an FASD.
This is not a matter of shame, blame, guilt, or judgment. Rather, this is a matter of how to help
individuals and families be successful.

* This is a lifelong disorder

* The overall costs of raising one person with an FASD range from $860,000 to $4.2 million over a lifetime (presentation by Hendrick Harwood of the Lewin Group found in the “Grab and Go” section of the SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence website: www.fasdcenter.samhsa.gov.

* The effects of alcohol on a fetus begin before most women know they are pregnant.

* There is no proven safe amount of alcohol to use during pregnancy; the only proven
totally safe amount to use is none.

* Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause damage to the brain

* Intelligence may or may not be affected

* Children and adolescents with an unrecognized FASD often fail with typical education, parenting, and treatment approaches due to the way their brain functions

* People with an FASD can be very successful with the proper recognition and support.

* FASD is a human issue. We must never lose sight of that. It affects the lives of individuals, families, systems of care, and entire communities.

* This is one of the few birth defects that is 100% preventable

There are a number of fact sheets that can be downloaded from the Center’s website: www.fasdcenter.samhsa.gov that may be useful for further information.
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eliminating racism
empowering women


Please Save the Date:
YWCA Racial Justice Awards Reception & Dinner
Friday, November 30, 2007
6:00 PM
Omni William Penn Hotel, 530 William Penn Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________


YWCA Racial Justice Awards

Award Purpose and Categories
Through the YWCA's Racial Justice Awards, the YWCA seeks to promote a
society in which all people receive equal treatment and have equal
access in the workplace, public services and spaces, through the justice
system, in the classroom, and throughout the greater Pittsburgh
community.

For the past 16 years, the YWCA's Racial Justice Awards have recognized
people and organizations that have made a difference in promoting racial
justice.

To encourage broader implementation of positive actions and
groundbreaking changes that forever serve to enable racial equity and
bring about systemic change that creates a diverse community, in 2007
the YWCA is expanding its racial justice awards to include individuals
and/or organizations in the following categories:

* Community Engagement
* Community Service and Public Safety
* Company / Business
* Education
* Government
* Legal

The awards will be made to salute individuals, companies, and/or
organizations in each category that have implemented new laws, policies,
practices, procedures, programs, guidelines, and similar sustainable
actions that positively impact people of color in the broader society.

Nomination Process
An individual, organization, and/or company can nominate an individual,
company, and/or organization in any one of the categories.

Self-nominations are accepted as well.

The nominee's actions should significantly benefit Pittsburgh area residents.
The nominee should have undertaken a groundbreaking action within the past two years that should
have made an irrevocable, positive change in how people are treated in
the applicable category.

Examples of fundamental changes that would have
qualified in their time include actions leading to:

t
he Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Americans with Disabilities Act,
Title 9 Legislation,
the Home Rule Charter of 1998,
the Saunders Taskforce,
Small Business Administration,
new workplace employment guidelines/policies,
changes to procedures for counsel or law enforcement,
legal or legislative actions,
community event or activity, or creation of a new office or community
program to enable fair treatment and inclusion for all, and similar
efforts.


Nominations should be printed and submitted either electronically or via
mail.
Online: www.ywcapgh.org
Email: rja@ywcapgh.org

Fax: 412-391-5109 (Attention: Racial Justice Awards)

Mail: YWCA Racial Justice Awards, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, 305 Wood
Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

Attachments should be limited to 5 pages.

NOMINATIONS ARE DUE TO THE
YWCA BY 5:00PM EST AUGUST 24, 2007.

Award Selection

The YWCA's Racial Justice Award Committee, comprised of a broad cross
section of Pittsburgh's community leaders, determines the award
recipients. Each entry is judged on a sliding scale to identify:

* leadership taken to address racial inequity;
* quantifiable change that is now enabled;
* initiative taken to address the specific problem identified;
and,
* timing, breadth of impact, and geographic scope of action.

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