Shawn, along with many of our kids at KidsTLC has had a chance to train, groom and even read to multiple dogs as a part of our Pet Therapy.

Along with celebrating President’s Day, February 20^th is also “Love Your Pet Day”.

A perfect day to highlight one of KidsTLC’s unique therapies.

A couple times a week the kids in our Psychiatric Treatment Facility hang out with the trainers and their dogs from the Delta Society.

Watching Shawn and the other kids interact with the dogs and their trainers, you quickly become aware of the joy and excitement this treatment brings to all involved. I have never seen a kid smile so big or a dog wag his tail as fast as I did when I watched the kids burst into the room where the dogs waited.

For Shawn, this is more than just teaching the dog to sit. It’s a chance for him to have a loving, bonding experience which is sometimes difficult with other people. 

Shawn and other kids get to experience the unconditional love and acceptance a pet can provide. They also interact with the dog’s owners, which provide an opportunity to bond with an adult.   

Amanda Harlow, KidsTLC Case Coordinator, said “In watching the kids visit with the dogs you can see a very different side of the youth.  They volunteer to read to the dogs, pet them, brush them and other nurturing activities.  These types of activities allow them to practice forming attachments without the fear of rejection.  It makes my week to see the kids hug the dog’s goodbye when they are finished with their visit.”

Through this interaction our kids learn the importance of taking care of these dogs and other pets. They help with grooming, training and walking the dogs along side their trainers. The pet therapy helps develop our kids:

• Owning a pet enhances a child’s self-esteem. 
• Having pets teaches children responsibility and respect towards other living beings.
• Children owning a pet are more involved in activities such as sports, hobbies, clubs or chores.
• Having an animal during therapy sessions or other animal-assisted activities/treatment shows significant improvements in the treatment procedures of a child suffering from an ailment

And as most dog owners know, everyone sometimes needs a little TLC from our best friends.

For more information about Delta Pet Societyvisit: http://www.deltasociety.org/

To see the News clip or to read more: Click below
http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/education/some-school-districts-see-spike-in-number-of-homeless-students-feb2012swp#ixzz1mYfT2swG

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – Some school districts around the Kansas City area are seeing more and more students living in shelters, sleeping on friends’ couches and packed in small rooms.

Dee Hurt, school counselor at William Chrisman High School in Independence, said there are 47 homeless students at her high school and 750 homeless students in the district.

“We spend a lot of time every day just making sure those students receive the services that they need,” Hurt said. Those services can include transportation to and from school, which offers its own challenges because Hurt said where the students are sleeping can change day-to-day and week-to-week.

Zachary Zumwalt is a senior at Chrisman High School and is one of those homeless students.

“We were living with family and the conditions there were not very good,” Zachary said. “We were all living in a small compacted trailer and it was me and my mother and three other people in one room. Needless to say you can’t fit five beds in there so three of us slept on the floor and two of us in the bed.”

But over the summer, his mother kicked him out.

“We had a difference of opinion and she was battling her own issues,” Zachary recalled, “so she said, ‘don’t come home’ and said, ‘I don’t want to see you again.’ I didn’t know what to do.”

He said he “kind of wanted to give up.” But he didn’t, and his cousin gave him a place to stay.

“She actually set up a little space for me in a little room,” Zachary said. “I share a space with my 13-year-old cousin, but he is not that bad. She provided me a bed and she provided me the necessities to keep on living during such a hard time.”

By The Numbers

A few districts are reporting fewer homeless students this year than last, but many are watching the numbers climb.

For example, in Kansas City Public Schools, the district is serving 852 students this year. For the 2010-2011 year, the district reported serving a total of 1,117 students.

Independence is another district that has seen a drop.

This year the district reported 750 students that were homeless and last year, compared to 846 students district-wide a year ago.

But Raytown School District saw a rise. Last year the district reported 66 students, this year 137 students were reported not having a place to call home.

In Kansas, the State Department of Education compiles the data from all districts.

Here is the breakdown from the past two years.

2010-2011
119 districts reported they had identified 8,996 students
7,824 doubled up (living with another family)
692 in shelters, transitional housing, or awaiting foster care
84 Unsheltered (cars, parks, campgrounds, temporary trailer, or abandoned buildings)
396 Hotels/Motels
214 Unaccompanied Youth (Grantee Data Only)
831 Students with disabilities (Grantee Data Only
2009-2010
126 districts reported they had identified 8,452 students
7,197 doubled up (living with another family)
646 in shelters, transitional housing, or awaiting foster care
90 Unsheltered (cars, parks, campgrounds, temporary trailer, or abandoned buildings)
519 Hotels/Motels
208 Unaccompanied Youth (Grantee Data Only)
1,054 Students with disabilities (Grantee Data Only)

There are groups like KidsTLC, ReStart and Synergy who have departments dedicated to helping homeless youth. At least three times a week the organizations are out on the streets trying to connect with anyone that’s young and homeless.

We spent a couple hours with the outreach team one morning, as they handed out brochures and information trying to make sure anyone who needed help received it.

Here is a link the KidsTLC website for more information click here. http://kidstlc.org/what-we-do/kids-in-the-community/street-outreach-services/

Zachary’s Story

In Zachary’s case, he is achieving. This year he took on a heavy workload. He spent hours applying for scholarships and is now getting some recognition.

Zachary was chosen as one of only 104 high school seniors nationwide to receive a Horatio Alger National Scholarship. The scholarship is designed to help high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles. It is a $20,000 scholarship that can be used at any public or private university in the country. Zachary is the only national recipient for the entire state of Missouri. Click here for more details: http://tinyurl.com/7adce8s

He is also a finalist in the competitive UMKC pre-med program.

“I want to be a surgeon. It has kind of been a dream of mine,” said Zachary. “I am tired of failure; I am tired of seeing so many people fail and the failure of my family. I am like a first generation college student, seeing people going into low end jobs thinking they can’t go into anything else is ridiculous.”

Part of Zachary’s scholarship also includes an all expense paid trip to Washington DC in April to accept their awards at the Annual Dinner.

Zachary said the most important thing he has learned this year is to ask for help.

“People don’t realize how many resources are out there for homeless and unaccompanied

Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/education/some-school-districts-see-spike-in-number-of-homeless-students-feb2012swp#ixzz1mYhyzVby

We will have a kickoff party the first Saturday of March…more details to follow and a Final “Giving Party” the last day of March.

This March, Jersey Mike’s will again join forces with its customers for the 2^nd Annual Month of Giving to raise money for 74 charities coast to coast in 31 days.  The month of fund-raising will culminate on March 28 with Jersey Mike’s nationwide “Make a Difference Day.”  Last year, we raised more than $600,000 for 66 charities nationwide.  Here’s a great link to a video detailing some of the inspiring stories from last year’s effort http://www.jerseymikes.com/news/read.php?id=337 .  This year, we’re hoping to raise even more and we are excited to have you as one of our partner charities.  This tool kit outlines the details of the program and some ways you can help us raise as much as possible for your organization.

Program Summary

As one of the benefiting organizations, Jersey Mike’s Subs stores in your area will offer you their fundraising support in several ways during the month of March:

1. Month-long fundraising campaign contributions.  During our March “Month of Giving” campaign, Jersey Mike’s Subs will partner with the community to encourage contributions to raise funds for your organization.  $1, $3 and $5 tear off sheets for donations will be available in each store.  All our stores will encourage community participation with special promotions, events, coupons, and displays.
2. Make A Difference Day.  Nationwide, Jersey Mike’s Subs locations will promote Make a Difference Day (March 28), encouraging customers to contribute to a local charity, including yours, raising significant funds in one day.  Each restaurant in your area will offer a free regular sized sub to thank customers for their contribution when they make a $2 minimum donation (although the hope is they will donate even more!).  Your local contact will tell you more about the fundraiser in your area.
3. Donations from local Jersey Mike’s restaurants.  As always, our franchisees are known for their generosity and many organizations will also benefit from their direct contributions.

A lot of people find themselves asking that question at some point in their lives.

Many take a long time to answer it. 

My passion or passions are easy to identify.  My family, my faith and helping kids are at the top of the list.

Jessica and I have three beautiful children who have love, structure, and a solid start in life.  But we know many kids are not so fortunate.

Kids here in the Greater Kansas City Area are born into abusive families, they have had outside traumas happen to them, or they may have a mental or emotional disorder that no one could have predicted.

That is why I came on board at KidsTLC.  I want to be a part of giving these kids hope for a brighter future that they may not have known existed.

As Vice Chair of Development & External Communications I am on the fun end of volunteering.  The United for Kids Gala, Taste and Tees for TLC wine tasting and golf tournament are awesome events for my wife and me.   I take my own kids to the Hoops for Kids Basketball tournament.

The money we raise with these and other fantastic events helps transform young lives in crisis.

As the needs have expanded in Johnson County, we have watched our services expand as well.  The mission and passion to serve is strong throughout the entire agency.

I am proud to be part of an organization that truly provides the best, most effective treatment to kids who are homeless, in foster care, and kids who have suffered trauma.

We are becoming less dependent on governmental funding and becoming more of a regional resource for other organizations.

I am blessed to be involved with KidsTLC and to meet and know some of the kids and see firsthand how their lives are being transformed.

KidsTLC is definitely a passion of mine.

What’s yours?

“The balance between demanding my daughter eat healthy and not gain too much weight, and the fact I do not want her to have a poor image of her body is a difficult for me.  My 14 year old and I find ourselves fighting about food quite a bit.  Do you have any suggestions on how I can successfully hand that?”

Answer:

First of all, thank you for reaching out with your concerns about your daughter.  Your concern and courage show that you are doing your job as a parent!  This “healthy eating/body image” is a difficult issue made more challenging by our “Culture of Narcissism.” Youngsters (and adults) are bombarded in the media with “beautiful people” most of whom are shallow and lack character!

The number one tip that I convey to parents is to create (in your child) a “person of character” before anything else.  Part of character development is helping your child build “internal” strengths and a realistic view of self in the midst of our culture’s focus on the “external.”  Although your child might seem to ignore you or not pay attention- discussions regarding the disparities in our culture and what is important to you and your family are vital.  Your words do sink into your child’s “inner” self eventually.  Think of it this way- if you talk to your child about this every single day, your message is still outnumbered 1000 to 1 with what they see on television, movies and the internet daily! Be persistent, your child’s character is at stake!  Don’t nag.  Use humor, love and concern when possible.  Your message doesn’t have to last hours. Speeches are a guaranteed turn-off.   Simple statements such as, “I love you inside and out,” or any of the messages stated in the article below are possible ways of making a connection with your child.

Be realistic with yourself as a parent, though.  Kids don’t hang on our every word!  More often than not, they avoid the conversation or sit in their seat making weird “teenager faces!”  Persevere, though, and send the message! Don’t personalize your child’s resistance so much and realize that it does get better.  My two children, now in their thirties talk and laugh about the “family talks” but now state unequivocally that these “talks” and encouragement helped significantly. I am getting “speechy” here myself!

The following advice comes from Denise Witmer, a valued child consultant (aboutteens.com). Check out the website because it has lots of links to other topics.

Here is what Denise has to say:

1. Create and maintain a door to open communication. This is often, and sometimes the only, step to many of the problems parents have with their teenagers. So work on keeping that door open.
2. Avoid talking negatively about food, weight, etc. Also avoid talking about how ‘good’ someone looks because they are thin.
3. Have fun and nutritious food available for your teenager all of the time as teens get hungry 24/7.
4. Be careful of what the media is portraying to your teenager about body image. Limit the television and teen magazines. Watch or read with them so you can talk about what your teen is seeing.
5. Compliment actions – what they do is more important than how they look!
6. Make food interesting and cool. Find healthy and fun recipes your teen will enjoy making, then let them invite a friend to “play” in the kitchen. Smoothie recipes are great for this purpose.
7. Encourage awareness in your community by taking part in a talk at a PTA meeting, or becoming involved in a youth organization with your teenager and actively promoting against size and sexual discrimination through positive activity.

One important listening skill to use when communicating with your teenager is using Door Openers, as opposed to Door Slammers. Door Openers are open-ended responses that do not convey evaluation or judgment. Door Slammers are just the opposite. They convey to your teenager that you do not wish to have this discussion with them.

Examples of Door Openers

• “What do you think?”
• “Would you like to share more about that?”
• “That’s a good question.”
• “I don’t know, but I’ll find out”
• “I’m interested in what you are saying.”
• “Do you know what that means?”
• “That sounds important to you.”
• “Do you want to talk about it?”

Examples of Door Slammers

• “You are too young to understand.”
• “If you say that again, I’ll…”
• “That’s none of your business.”
• “I don’t care what your friends are doing!”
• “We’ll talk about that when you need to know.”
• “That’s just for boys/girls”
• “Why are you asking me that?”
• “You don’t need to know about that.”
• “Don’t come to me if you mess up.”

I hope this helps.  Please don’t hesitate to write again or even call if you need assistance.

Mark Siegmund

Mary Davidson Cohen has been named Philanthropist of the Year and The Nigro Brothers have received the Impact Award from Non-Profit Connect.

Mary has been a supportive partner and sponsor in our Power With a Purpose Event.  She has also featured KidsTLC  kids and programs in her talk show broadcast by Johnson County Community College.

Mary is also a supporter of The Nerman Museum and the National World War I Museum.

The Nigro Brothers are well known throughout the Kansas City Philanthropic Community for their work raising funds in charity auctions.  They have raised nearly 250 million dollars for Kansas City nonprofit organizations and do not accept payment for their time.

The Nigro brothers support KidsTLC as auctioneers at our Taste and Tees for TLC wine auction, and our United for Kids Gala.

KidsTLC is also honored to be recognized among the top 5 golf tournaments in 2012

All of the award winners are featured in the February 4 edition of The Independent Magazine.

Mary Cohen and the Nigro Brothers will be honored at the 28^th Annual Philanthropy Awards Luncheon to held on May 11, 2012.

For more information visit   www.npconnect.org   or www.kcindependent.com

KidsTLC will be celebrating its 40th birthday this year. As we gear up to celebrate 40 years of Transforming Lives in Crisis we want to hear from you.

Have you ever been helped by KidsTLC? Have you ever volunteered, worked or you were helped by some of our services we provided?

If so, we want to hear from you! Email us a comment, memory or birthday wish. You can even visit our Face book page and post a comment.

If you know of any TLC alums out there, please spread the word. We want to share their stories in our 40 year celebration and continue to share them as a helpful reminder for future staff, volunteers or clients.

In 1972 the Johnson County Young Matrons dreamed big and set a noble goal: to provide a place for children who had been abused, abandoned or neglected; children who needed a safe, temporary, loving home.

These visionary women not only achieved their goal, but created an organization that could also adapt with the times to serve children and families of a community that would experience major change and growth.

The dream those women worked so hard to achieve is still alive today and going strong. We look back with admiration and gratitude for the women whose wise vision is still Transforming Lives in Crisis.

Stay tuned for lots of ways you can share in our remembering and celebrating this incredible journey of hope and transformation!

If you ask a child at KidsTLC what he or she thinks of Diane McIntosh they may well answer with “who?”

Diane may be what they print on her paycheck, but to almost everyone here she is known simply as “Mama D.”

She is the plain speaking, no nonsense Senior Program Manager in the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility.

She got the nickname from the kids in care.

Mama D is passionate about the children she works with.

“I always wanted to make a difference,” she explained.  “I have always loved being around and working with kids.”

But the kids Mama D works with each day are not always easy.

Many of these kids have suffered beatings, sexual abuse or abandonment in their past.

Others have complex psychiatric disorders that leave them confused, scared and acting out.

But Mama D loves them all.

“When you start to get through the brick walls they put up, you find they are all good kids inside,” she said.

To tear down the brick walls of pain, anger and despair, Mama D says she shows respect to the kids, and in turn, they give it back.

“When they realize we are not going anywhere and they realize we are not going to mistreat them or give up on them, then we get that little opening we need to begin their therapy.”

Transforming the lives of kids in crisis is a process.  “Taking it day by day, to figure out how to help them cope with what has happened to them.  To help them become a successful being in the communities where they live,” Mama D explains

Mama D has seen countless stories of heartbreak, and kids who have come to KidsTLC after dozens of placements in foster care, group homes or other facilities.

But she also sees stories of unbelievable success.

Her office is filled with hand made cards and posters creatively writing her nickname.  She gets thank you notes from the kids she has served long after they finished the program.

The goal is to give each child the knowledge that they need so they can move beyond their pain and depend on themselves

“There was one little girl who cried from the moment she came to us,” Mama D remembers.

“She continued to cry and fight because she didn’t understand the feelings she was having.  The day she stopped crying and trusted us enough to start working with her to be able to understand herself was a breakthrough,” Mama D said.

“The day she graduated her program she had a smile on her face and her head held high… Now she calls back to the staff to say I am doing well, I have some struggles but I can work through it all by myself and I am okay.”

Mama D’s world is difficult at times, but she wouldn’t be anywhere else.

“To get the greetings, the hand claps, the hugs the smiles or that one look they can give that says ‘Thanks’ without speaking.”

That’s what keeps you coming back.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Homeless teens in the metro received some extra help Tuesday night, from workers with Kids TLC, Synergy and reStart Inc.

The group walked through the Plaza and Westport area, looking for teens who live on the streets.

They traveled with green bags, that held things like food, water, clothing and hygiene products for the homeless.

The group says they will be out every week, making the route around the city.

“We want to get to know people on the way, and just let people know that if they don’t have somewhere to go, they can come talk to us”, said Student At Reach supervisor Jason Stary.

Organizers with the group estimate, there are nearly 4,000 homeless teens in the Kansas City area, on any given night.