Board of Visitors grant to help homeless families

A $90,000 grant from The Board of Visitors is funding Save the Family's new Helping Homeless Families H.E.A.L. (Health, Education, Awareness and Lifestyle) Initiative designed to help homeless families heal and stabilize by connecting them to mental health and substance-abuse treatment programs.

The program hopes to address issues that may have resulted from significant childhood trauma, physical and/or sexual abuse, violence, neglect and exposure to drugs and alcohol.

"Our grant recipients, like Save the Family, improve the lives of scores of individuals in our community," said Karen Kotalik, chairman of The Board of Visitors.

"We are proud to be able to help them continue and expand their good work."

Save the Family CEO Jacki Taylor said that "family stability is one of our primary concerns, and long-term stability is crucial to a family's overall health and ability to prosper.

"The incredibly generous grant from The Board of Visitors will enable Save the Family to offer critically important programs and services that address this need."

Through Helping Homeless Families H.E.A.L., Save the Family case coordinators will assess the needs and recommend targeted courses of action for parents and families.

"For many of these families, stability will depend largely on their willingness and ability to address their past traumas by engaging in individual, group or family therapy," Mr. Taylor said

"Unfortunately, because of their homelessness, they lack the financial resources to engage in treatment. At the same time, many do not understand the relationship between past traumas and risky behaviors, mental health, substance abuse and continued struggles with homelessness.

"With help from The Board of Visitors and others, the H.E.A.L. program will address those challenges."

For more information about Save the Family Foundation of Arizona, visit www.SaveTheFamily.org.