Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 4, No. 6, March 23, 2006
The Executive Director's News is published specifically for the employees of the Somerset Home. This issue and past issues are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
What's in a name...
The Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children is the official name of the corporation where you are employed. Somerset Home (not "Somerset Homes") is the abbreviated corporation name and is the corporation that provides supportive services enabling all of the following programs to operate:
1. Brahma House (formerly Somerset Youth Shelter) not "Brahma House Shelter" is the largest program and is also home to the corporate offices. Brahma House was at one time the only program of the Somerset Home.
2. Street S.M.A.R.T. (Somerset Mobile Adolescent/Adult Resource Team) is our street outreach for homeless youth program. We also have an HIV prevention program called Street Smart but this program was not named by us and was implemented after our street outreach program was already named.
3. The Transitional Learning Center (TLC) is our in-house school program at Brahma House.
4. Passages is a 10-bed transitional living group home for youth (ages 16-21).
5. & 6. My Place I (for males) and My Place II (for females) are both 5-bed transitional living group homes for youth (ages 18-21).
7. Pathways is our independent living skills education program. We also have a full-time Pathways staff person who works as part of the Linkages school-based youth services program at the Somerset Vocational Technical High School.
Note: When you answer the telephone at Brahma House, you answer "Somerset Home" because it's the location of our corporate offices.
My Place II - Three weeks to go...
Our construction and renovation projects continue. We now have a new laundry room and sprinkler system in the newly renovated mechanical room. My Place II has all of the new appliances installed and furniture was delivered on Tuesday.
We have reviewed, interviewed and accepted three youth as our first residents and new staff continue to be hired to work as RA's. We still have a few inspections to go but we are getting very close to opening day!
My Place I Landscaping Project
The My Place I Landscaping Project which was envisioned more than a year ago is now out for bid. The project will include additional parking, a paver patio, and numerous shade trees and shrubs, a basketball hoop, belgian block curbing, a new driveway, grading and other site work. This project will incorporate the extra lot that we purchased when we bought MPI and make it one property. This project will greatly expand our outdoor recreation area and we expect the work to be completed this Spring.
My Place II Landscaping Project
As part of our earth day celebration this year we will be taking on three landscaping projects at My Place II and Passages. We have more than 50 volunteers who will be digging, raking, planting, mulching at Passages and My Place II and picking up garbage that has collected on the vacant property at the end of Whitney Court, in between My Place II and Passages. The My Place II project depicted above includes moving the shed, building a new deck and extensive landscaping.
As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
