Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2014

Insider's View of the Christmas Baskets

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty in his State of the Union address. Fifty years later, how have American families advanced? We are not too much altered 50 years later in 2014. When you visit your local stores I’m sure you have noticed everything is rising except our pay. Most of us have had to learn to get by on less, and tight budgets are a necessity to make ends meet. Well, what happens to the families that are already  getting by on less? These days, families have to persevere. Not to build moral character but in order to survive. Research shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to meet their most basic needs  I n some households they are not meeting those basic needs. Christmas especially is a time when my heart goes out to those families, and the homeless. It’s a hard lesson to learn to count the blessings you have, and not dwell on the blessings you don’t. Many families are discouraged when they ar

Insider 's view of the Christmas Baskets

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I’m actually pretty sure it’s in my genetic makeup to love the season. My grandma has always decorated her house and yard from high to low, bright lights and plastic Santa’s and multiple Christmas trees shine from Thanksgiving night til New Year’s in her neighborhood. Some of my earliest memories involve listening to my mom’s Elvis Presley Christmas decorations as I sat amidst our own house’s decorations in progress. Ten years ago it took on a very different meaning for me. I started working at Dove in August of 2004, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that in addition to all of its other programs, Dove, along with Northeast Community Fund, did an annual Christmas basket drive for those who need it. I still remember showing up in the basement of First United Methodist Church, where the baskets are organized and put together, that first year. Some tables were piled high with hats, gloves and scarves. Others were piled with

Quiet Nights

Hello, My name is Cynthia Farrington and I have been employed at Dove since 2005, in which I was hired on 2nd shift as Shelter Specialist, in this position it has lots on duties to the shelter itself. One that I like was being advocate to single women and women with children who came into shelter.  I really enjoy working with the clients because it challenged me to empower them to take their life back, and to learn more about the cycle of abuse. It also helps me to encourage clients to face their fears with staff's help  and to set goals that they thought was lost. It also challenged me in where I couldn't be judgmental to the abuser but to be more empowering to the victims of Domestic Violence. So with this said I do miss 2nd shirt and all the challenges it brings, however, I am no longer on this shift.   I work the Overnight shift which is 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Monday-Friday.  It is a quieter shift and less active with client interactions at times and I may not get