• Hi everyone! I'm Abbie, Family Promise of Barry County's new Executive Director. I'm happy to be here and look forward to meeting and working with you all. I am a Yooper, born and raised in the beautiful Marquette, MI. I graduated from Northern Michigan University with a bachelor's degree in Community Health Education in 2016. I am a community health professional with almost 7 years of experience working in community mental health, nonprofit disability network, and employment services. I have dedicated my education and training in hopes to achieve a higher quality of care, access to community resources, access to affordable housing, and to build independent life skills. I am a dynamic and motivated individual with a diverse skill set that is excited to share her passion for working with communities and their vulnerable populations to achieve their goals and feel happy, healthy, and safe. I relocated to Grand Rapids April 24th, 2020 and have since moved to Hastings where I live with my boyfriend and his two children. I'm a lover of music, animals, outdoors, health and wellness, photography, hula hooping, and much more. Thank you for this exciting opportunity and your support of not only me but of Family Promise of Barry County.

• Case Management is an essential component of Family Promise programming. Each affiliate, including ours, grows to offer Prevention, Shelter, and Stabilization programming. Case management is the provision of guidance, encouragement, direction and structure that assists our families to navigate their way to sustainable independence. 
• Within case management, we provide personalized mentoring where each family plans weekly goals with our staff. Topics include budgeting, landlord-tenant relationships (Keys to Good Tenancy Curriculum), education, job training (referrals to MiWorks), and parenting (Alpha & Family Resource Center). 
• Each family has unique needs, so we have to address each case differently. We assist with transportation as needed. We've worked with schools to ensure kids like Thomas are getting their work done on time. We also attend to basic needs like clothing - Darci came to us with very little and was thrilled with clothing and donations; Steve has taken guests to The Shack in Delton. When Robin picked up Michelle from the accident site, she was barefoot. Robin took Michelle back to the Day Center and was able to give her shoes and a hoodie out of our donation/storage area. We've also assisted putting air in car tires. The list goes on.
• We refer out to our community partners to address individual needs and then communicate regularly with them to ensure goals are being met. Examples: The United Way for all housing resources (but our case managers also assist with rental searches), applications, etc. Barry County Cares offers financial assistance with individual needs like gas cards to get to work or appointments, if the family has a car. 
• We also follow families after they have "graduated" to make sure they remain stable. This happens monthly to every three months typically for the first year and then less often as the years go on.

Did you know that "Food Waste" is one of the major problems that are causing our environmental crisis? Yup, it's true. Check it out.

So, when helping out by providing a meal for Family Promise, please try to keep these helpful tips in mind!

• You probably don't eat a three course meal with dessert every night. They don't either. Your generosity is beautiful, but look at what others are bringing and know it's okay to skip the dessert.

• These are families with kids/teens and they are all going through some trauma right now. Trying something new is great! But comfort foods that are familiar will probably be most welcome.

• Providing choice helps when kids (or adults!) are picky eaters. Several small options or "build your own" meals might go over better than a casserole where everything is all mixed together.

• Individual portions can also be easier for families: popsicles or cupcakes instead of a whole cake or gallon of ice cream, for example; snack packs with carrots and dip instead of a tray full of vegetables.

• Hand-held foods require fewer plastic utensils to be wasted. Disposable plates and such are still the norm as washing dishis is difficult, so consider that as well.

• When the meal is finished, consider taking the leftovers with you. Half a casserole will probably never be finished. Better to take that home and enjoy it with family! Left over half a tomato or onion, or a small bit of salad will probably also go to waste. If there are already nearly full bottles of ketchup and mustard in the fridge and you brought more, take yours home with you.

Sharing the meal is a great opportunity to model eating well, trying new things and being thankful for good food, so be sure to sit with the families and dig in as well! It's also a wonderful time for dinner table conversations and that family connection they may all be missing (or may have never had). 

Realize that these families are in a tough spot, and may "pick their battles" and let the kids eat ice cream instead of vegetables. They may not say thank you, often due to embarrassment or shame over accepting the kindness of strangers, but this does not mean that they are not thankful. The blessings come from being able to offer what you can with no judgement or expectation of thanks or reward. Know in your heart, what you are doing helps.

And we are so thankful for you and the service you have provided!