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 CAAFA wins United Way award
Apache Junction-based Community Alliance Against Family Abuse has been awarded the United Way of Pinal County's 2004 Program of the Year for its Human Services Resource Directory for Northern Pinal County. "Every year we bestow recognition on folks who have done great things for our annual United Way campaign. We also recognize the programs and agencies that we fund for various things they have done. The Program of the Year award went to CAAFA's Human Services Resource Directory for Northern Pinal County," said Bill Ludeke, executive director of United Way of Pinal County. "We've been looking at new and different ways to fund things. The resource guide really fulfills a lot of the things that we're looking for. First of all it's a project that will potentially service all of the people in Northern Pinal County - not just people who are clients of a social service agency. If anybody needs any help at all in terms of social services, they can find it in the guide and accompanying Web site," he added. The directory is available online at www.npcresources.org and by calling Tesha Hensley, director of community partnerships, at (480) 982-0205. It includes information about 82 human services agencies, churches, support groups, emergency contact numbers, and civic organizations in Apache Junction, Florence, Gold Canyon, Johnson Ranch, Queen Creek, Queen Valley and Superior. "Our committee was developed from the CAAFA's Safe Home Network, a program of the Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, comprised of over 100 partners representing 16 different sectors of the community - law enforcement, faith based (agencies), social services agencies, private citizens, etc.," Ms. Hensley said. "CAAFA's Safe Home Network builds on the assets of the community, while increasing awareness of domestic abuse and improving access to essential resources." The 14-member planning committee began meeting in June 2004 to "proactively address the community challenge of limited knowledge of resources in our area of Pinal County," Ms. Hensley said. "We brainstormed about how we could address the community challenge and acknowledge the resources in our community, meaning, in dialogue with the Safe Home Network, we decided to develop a committee to further work on that issue," Ms. Hensley said. "During the committee meetings, we discussed what a solution might look like to that issue. We decided to create a resource directory that would be free to the community that could be updated on a regular basis. It went from an idea of a cookbook-style hard copy directory then to the idea of having a Web-based directory that could print an actual hard copy." The Web site is updated regularly with new information, Ms. Hensley said. Those who have the ringed binder version of the directory can search the Web site for new information posted since Feb. 16, the date the book was printed. The pages can then be printed and placed in the ringed binder. The Web site also allows visitors to search by various criteria. "If you're someone who needs counseling that's of no cost that's provided in Spanish in the Apache Junction area, you can go to the Web site and click on the features that you're looking for," Ms. Hensley said. The committee, she said, was comprised of a community member, former City Councilwoman Carol Urich, and 13 representatives of area agencies - Judy Benshoof, Arizona Bridge to Independent Living; Mel Dauzat, Kids! Bright and Healthy Neighborhood Project; Gayle Gardner, Ms. Hensley, Christy Johnson and Shannon Reyes of CAAFA; Heidi Haeder-Heild, then of Pinal Gila Behavioral Health Association; C. Patrick Hernandez and Andrew Kopolow, Triple R Behavioral Health, Inc.; Dave Jordan, Pinal County Sheriff's Office; Rebecca Lauchner, Pinal County Juvenile Court Services; Carol Papalassams, Division of Developmental Disabilities, State of Arizona; and Tom Smith, United Way of Pinal County. "What's great about it is it was a collaborative project. It wasn't just CAAFA. It was many agencies that were concerned about or didn't know enough about what's going on in the community. Some said, ‘We don't know about other programs that might be available to our program participants,'" Ms. Hensley said. Ms. Gardner, a volunteer who was contracted for the project, spent a significant amount of time contacting different agencies and informing them about the project, Ms. Hensley said. She compiled the information for the database and turned it over to the Web designer who incorporated it into the Web site. Ms. Hensley added that CAAFA is looking for more agencies willing to list their information in the Human Services Resource Directory for Northern Pinal County. "It's an ongoing process. Agencies can still contact us to have their information included. We're looking for agencies that serve at least one of the Northern Pinal County cities - Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Florence, Superior, Queen Creek, Queen Valley and Johnson Ranch," Ms. Hensley said. "Our priority is really given toward nonprofit agencies or human services agencies that serve at least one of those communities." The $10,000 cost was paid for by the United Way of Pinal County. Most of the costs involved were one-time charges, said Ms. Johnson, CAAFA's executive director. She said that CAAFA is a familiar figure with the United Way of Pinal County. "This is actually CAAFA's second time getting the United Way of Pinal County Program of the Year," Ms. Johnson said. CAAFA as a whole won the award in 2003. "It's neat that we could continue to offer innovative projects that address the community. The project that Tesha facilitated is just one of the many different committees that she works with," Ms. Johnson said. Local outreach CAAFA provides a multitude of services. A 24-hour crisis line - (480) 982-0196 or toll-free (877) 982-0196 - provides callers with information, referrals and access to all of CAAFA's services. It is toll free and staffed by trained and certified advocates. The office line is (480) 982-0205. Shelter services provide those affected by domestic abuse a safe, secure and confidential place to stay while recovering from emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse. CAAFA operates the only safe home for victims of abuse in northern Pinal County. It has the capacity to shelter eight women and children per night. The organization is building a new safe home in a location kept private to protect the identities of its occupants. The target date for completion is Sept. 1. Post your comments on these issues at http://newsblog.info/0101/ News editor Christina Fuoco can be reached at (480) 982-7799 or cfuoco@newszap.com.
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