For convenience and savings, groups put services under one roof - The Washington Post

A single mother on the verge of homelessness must decide which ofher children will make a sacrifice today: Will her son miss out onhelp from a tutor, or will her daughter give up free medical helpthree bus transfers across town?

According to Sarah Newman, executive director of the nonprofitorganization Helping Children Worldwide, such decisions are madeevery day by families in need of social services in Fairfax County.

After five years of planning, Newman's vision of a partnership ofnonprofit service providers in one location is about to become areality.

Connections for Hope, six private nonprofit organizations and theFairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, will move into a new10,000-square-foot facility in Herndon next week.

Newman said the facility will allow the groups to deliver theirprograms more consistently, cost-effectively and conveniently.

'By spreading the operating expenses across several organizationsand taking advantage of the economics of resource sharing, eachnonprofit will have more financial resources to invest in programdevelopment and the delivery of services to those whose lives dependon them,' she said.

Helping Children Worldwide will sublease the space to thepartnering organizations. Newman said deciding on a location tooksome doing.

'We had some unique zoning requirements,' she said. Eventually,setting up shop at 13525 Dulles Technology Dr. in Herndon seemedideal.

'It is on the edge of a corporate park, and there are also twoelementary schools nearby, McNair and Hutchinson, both with a highnumber of students enrolled in the [National School Lunch Program],so there are obviously pockets of need around us here,' she said.

For some of the organizations involved, the need to establish aconvenient, central facility that pursues an integrated approach toserving the needs of the community could not be more pressing.

The Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic, a community-based organizationproviding health services to uninsured low-income residents inwestern Fairfax County, began its volunteer services in thecafeteria of Herndon Middle School in 2002. It opened a clinicoffice in 2007, but demand has since outgrown what that facility canprovide.

'We treat children countywide and adults in the Herndon, Reston,Chantilly and Centreville area that have high blood pressure anddiabetes,' said Meagan Ulrich, the clinic's executive director. 'Wewould like to do more, but we just can't. Unfortunately, we have toturn many people away.'

Even so, Ulrich said that last year the clinic treated about1,000 people, a 62 percent increase from 2008. The clinic willrelocate to Connections for Hope next week.

'We will gain an extra exam room, and the overall space will bemuch more useable, even though the cost will remain relatively thesame,' Ulrich said.

Jeanie Schmidt, a retired public health nurse, initiallyconceived the idea for the clinic -- the first free clinic inFairfax County -- to provide low-income students with thephysicals they need for school and activities. The clinic expandedits services to adults soon after.

The clinic and Reston Interfaith often refer clients to eachother. Now, those in need can walk across a hallway to access bothorganizations.

FREE DENTAL CLINIC SET FOR TOWN HALL - The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)

WALPOLE Dental examinations, oral cancer screening, and hygieneinstruction will be available to senior citizens during a free dentalclinic scheduled for April 13 at Town Hall.

The clinic, hosted by the Walpole Council on Aging, will run from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local dentists, as well as dentists from TuftsUniversity, Harvard University, Boston University, Forsyth DentalInstitute, and Delta Dental will be on hand at the screening. Dentalhygiene students from Mt. Ida College and dental assistant studentsfrom Massasoit Community College also will offer their services totown residents 60 years or older.

According to Council on Aging director Barbara Coghlan, thescreening is funded by a grant from the Division of Health CareFinance and Policy, written by HESSCO Elder Services. Free packets ofdental care items will be distributed.

Seniors are encouraged to make appointments. Handicappedaccessible transportation is available. For more information, call508-668-3330.

FINAL LECTURE OF SERIES ON ISLAM

The Plymouth Area Interfaith Clergy Association concludes its'Exploring Islam' series next Sunday with a program featuring Dr.Abdul Cader Asmai, president of the Islamic Center of Boston. Theprogram is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the ChristEpiscopal Church, 149 Court St.

The clergy association has sponsored two forums on 'ExploringIslam,' the first in November and the second in January. TheNovember series concluded with a panel discussion led by Muslimwomen. The Rev. Kenneth Heckman, the series' organizer, said thesubjects of some of the November programs were repeated in Januaryfor people unable to make the earlier dates.

'Everyone is invited to the concluding session,' Heckman said. 'Prior participation is not required.'

An executive member of the American Muslim Council, Asmai hasparticipated in discussions between Christians, Jews and Muslimssponsored by various religious organizations, including the NationalCouncil on Churches and Anti-Defamation League. Asmai is also anassistant clinical professor of medicine at Harvard UniversityMedical School.

ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR TO GIVE LIBRARY TALK

Steven Karidoyanes, music director of the Plymouth PhilharmonicOrchestra, had been scheduled to present a program at the PlymouthLibrary Sept. 11 on the orchestra's then-upcoming concert season.

Karidoyanes will finally make that library appearance on Tuesday.He will present a program on music and poetry titled 'Finding Solacein Sound,' which will be dedicated to the victims of the Sept. 11terrorist attacks, said Jennifer Conragan, the library's assistantdirector.

April is National Poetry Month, and Karidoyanes will discuss theconnections between music and poetry in classical works by composerssuch as Samuel Barber and John Corigiano and play recorded excerptsfrom the works.

Aaron Copland's 'The Tender Land,' Ralph Vaughan Williams's'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,' and poems by James Agee andCharles Baudelaire will also be included in the program.

'Finding Solace in Sound' will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m.Admission is free.

HEADING TO AFRICA FOR AIDS HIKE

Having raised over $12,000 for AIDS research, Jean Zahn is on herway to South Africa to spread awareness of the disease and thedevastation it has unleashed on the country.

Zahn, a Hull resident and Canton native, will go on a 75-mile hikein South Africa with about 150 other walkers as part of the AfricanAIDSTrek. She began raising money last fall.

Pallotta TeamWorks, a California-based company that is organizingthe trek, stresses the need for AIDS awareness in Africa.

in brief - The Washington Post

At the request of the Leesburg Town Council, Town Manager John A.Wells proposed Tuesday night that the town phase out its financing ofseven social service groups.

Wells proposed a four-year phaseout of funding for the AmericanRed Cross, La Voz, the Loudoun Free Clinic, Loudoun InterfaithRelief, Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, Northern Virginia FamilyService and the Loudoun County Branch of the YMCA. The sevenrequested a combined $97,000 from the town for the next fiscal year.

Wells said he based his recommendation on the idea that countygovernment, not Leesburg, should play the lead role in funding socialservice programs.

Loudoun Interfaith Relief, which was denied funding in the just-approved county budget, will aggressively pursue other avenues tooffset the town's proposed cut of about $6,000, said ExecutiveDirector Bonnie Inman.

'We're appreciative that they're going to support our efforts insome fashion,' Inman said Tuesday.

At the Tuesday night budget markup session, Wells also proposedincreasing support for the Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squadby about $8,700. Council members said they overwhelmingly supportedthose initiatives at budget work sessions this month.

A 13-year-old Leesburg boy who allegedly robbed a gas stationSaturday morning was turned in to police less than two hours later -- by his mother.

The Exxon station on Edwards Ferry Road reported being robbed by ayoung male brandishing a six-inch steak knife, Leesburg police said.The cashier handed over a $100 bill, and the robber left the store.

Shortly after noon, the 13-year-old and his mother arrived atpolice headquarters. She handed over a $100 bill and told officersthat her son had told his older brother that he robbed the store, apolice spokesman said Monday. The brother in turn told his mother.Police recovered the knife near the store.

The outcome of a hearing Monday in Juvenile and Domestic RelationsCourt was not immediately available.

A Front Royal man was sentenced to five years in prison Friday fora one-day string of crimes last August stretching from Purcellvilleto Sterling.

William Russell Gibson, 33, was sentenced by Circuit Court JudgeJames Chamblin for robbing the M&T Bank in Leesburg on Aug. 24 andtrying to rob the High-Up Food Mart in Sterling about two hourslater.

Earlier that day, Gibson stole a car from a co-worker's home inPurcellville. Sheriff's deputies said the car was used in theattempted robbery. Gibson previously pleaded guilty to charges inthat case.

Much of downtown Leesburg will be closed to motorists for thisweekend's Leesburg Flower and Garden Show.

These intersections will be blocked from 6 p.m. tomorrow to 6 p.m.Sunday: South King Street and Loudoun Street; West Market Street andWirt Street; East Market Street and Church Street; and North KingStreet and North Street. Signs will direct motorists to detours.

The alley adjacent to the town's parking garage also will beclosed. Parking will be available at the Pennington Lot off NorthStreet NE; Courts Parking Lot on North Street; the town's parkinggarage; and Ida Lee Park. A free shuttle service will be providedbetween Ida Lee and the flower show.

The Loudoun County Health Department announced Tuesday that it hasformed a task force -- composed of representatives of county andtown governments, Inova Loudoun Hospital and the public schools -- to prepare for a possible flu pandemic.

In coming months, the group will meet with medical first-responders, businesses and community groups to coordinatepreparedness efforts, said David Goodfriend, Health Departmentdirector.

Residents interested in attending community meetings can registerat www.loudoun.gov/flu, where they can also find information on flupandemics and preparedness.

This year's emergency preparedness exercise -- Oct. 21 atHeritage High School -- will simulate the county's response to aflu pandemic, Goodfriend said.

-- Compiled by

jobless rate is lower, but safety nets are fraying.(Y) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

WHEN I realizedmy job situation was about to change dramatically last year, I fretted about being too old for anew career and too youngto retire.

So I called by brother, a good listener who is practical and blunt. Worrying was not included in his advice. Carve your life into three chapters, he said, and set out on this, your third.

It seemed overly philosophical at first. But a variety of circumstances and his admonition to look forward helped with the transition. And the change opened up new opportunities, which I had always thought was a cliche.

Others on the Outer Banks can't say the same thing. Unemployment in Dare County, while declining with the approaching tourist season, is still high. A drop from more than 17 percent in February to a little more than 14 percent in March is not particularly good news. The numbers are close to the same as they were a year ago during the same months.

Interfaith Community Outreach, a coalition of churches, is helping a lot more people these days. The non profit, which offers one-time assistance by paying things like utility bills, says it won't have enough money to help any more people in the coming budget year than it has in this one.

The Community Care Clinic, which helps people who can't afford health treatment, has asked Dare County for $125,000 on top of the $75,000 it received this year.

There's a chance that neither will be getting more money, because the county is hurting too. Something has to give if the county wants a balanced budget without raising taxes.

To do that, it will have to lay off as many as 10 people, freeze openings, force workers to take five furlough days amounting to nearly a 2 percent pay cut, take away a 1 percent 401(k) match, and offer incentives for early retirement.

It will also have to put off some big-ticket items for another year.

The only way Nags Head is likely to avoid a tax increase is by eliminating jobs and cutting back shifts in the fire department, its biggest expense.

Welcome to the real world, some will say. Business has been dealing with this for more than two years.

I'll grant that government can always cut back, and some jobs are symptoms of bloated bureaucracies. But not all government workers are on the gravy train. And when I start to see how budget cuts will affect real people, I empathize because I have been there.

If my two local governments make a good-faith effort at trimming their spending, I'm willing to split the difference to keep people working - as long as they have real jobs to do.

If that's not going to happen, the county and the towns should at least think about giving more money to the Community Care Clinic and Interfaith Community Outreach.

They might be seeing a few more clients.

FREE IMMUNIZATION CLINICS OFFERED - The Record (Bergen County, NJ)

TINA TRASTER POLAK, Staff Writer
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
10-09-1994
FREE IMMUNIZATION CLINICS OFFERED -- THEIR BEST SHOT VOLUNTEER EFFORT AIMS
TO KEEP KIDS HEALTHY
By TINA TRASTER POLAK, Staff Writer
Date: 10-09-1994, Sunday
Section: NEWS
Edition: All Editions -- Sunday

Things were going just fine for 19-month-old Shane McDermott. He
had a pink balloon in one hand, an orange lollipop in the other, and a
painted ladybug on his face. Then came the big jab.

Tears streamed down Shane's cheeks, smearing his ladybug, but his
grandmother, Inez Deas, felt relieved.

'I brought him here because it's free,' said Deas, one of 30
Paterson residents who attended a free immunization clinic at the city's
Public School 6 on Saturday.

Deas, who is retired and is minding Shane and his 6-month-old
sister, said she did not have the money to get the boy inoculated
against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis -- the vaccines for which are
combined in one shot -- and polio.

Shane is not an exception.

Only 3.2 percent of the children of Paterson are immunized by the
age of 2, said Carlla Horton, acting executive director of the Paterson
Interfaith Communities Organization.

The organization, with the help of an $8,000 grant from the state
Department of Health's Office of Minority Health, and volunteers from
city schools and hospitals, is leading a drive to immunize the city's
children, especially those from poorer immigrant and African-American
neighborhoods.

Additional clinics will be held on Oct. 15 and Oct. 29 at School 9,
and on Oct. 22 at School 6.

Joseph Sinatra Fulmore, principal of Public School 6, said many of
Paterson's mothers are raising children alone, and many are unaware that
children need to be immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis --
also known as whooping cough -- polio, measles, mumps, and rubella before
they begin kindergarten.

'It's so hard for babies having babies,' Fulmore said, referring to
the city's many teenage mothers. 'They themselves need guidance --
sometimes they don't even know their kids need to be inoculated.'

Fulmore said about 20 children who started kindergarten this year
did not have proper immunizations. There are 175 kindergarten students
in Public School 6.

Volunteers from Hope for Kids, a Harlem-based group that has fanned
into urban neighborhoods to educate parents about immunization, will
continue going door-to-door to recruit mothers and guardians. They have
been distributing vaccination literature in Arabic, Spanish, and
English.

If a Hope for Kids volunteer had not knocked on her door, Mirla
Gonzalez would not have known about the clinics.

The 15-year-old mother, who was bouncing her 9-month-old son,
Victor, on her lap during a visit to the immunization clinic, said, 'I
don't have any money or health insurance.'

Illustrations/Photos: PHOTO - KLAUS-PETER STEITZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER - Shane
McDermott getting a checkup from Dr. Mercedes Lesesne at a Paterson clinic Saturday.

Keywords: PATERSON. CHILD. HEALTH

Copyright 1994 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.

Christians work with Muslims to build clinic - Winnipeg Free Press

By Brenda Suderman

INSPIRED by the co-operation of Christians and Muslims in Uganda, a Winnipeg woman is mobilizing her church and the city's Muslim community to raise funds for a village medical clinic.

St. James Anglican Church and the Islamic Social Services Association are jointly hosting a fundraising dinner next month to support the construction of a health clinic in Uganda, which will serve both Muslim and Christian patients.

The initiative is thought to be the first time Christians and Muslims in Winnipeg have worked together on a common overseas project.

'The model for that is the actual people in Uganda working together,' explains Pat Stewart, who toured Uganda last year with a delegation of Anglicans from the Diocese of Rupert's Land. 'I think if we can work together here, we work at understanding and becoming better neighbours, and promote peace and understanding .'

Initially, Stewart was overwhelmed by the request by the people of Kyermina, a community 130 kilometres southwest of Kampala, to build a clinic to serve provide primary health care, prenatal care, and education about HIV/AIDs.

'Then I got an e-mail in July (saying) that we are making 20,000 bricks in August,' explains the nursing instructor at Assiniboine Community College. 'I admired the faith in the people.'

Months after returning to Winnipeg, she approached Shahina Siddiqui of the Islamic Social Services Association to see if they could work together to build the 10-room, $40,000 clinic.

'Because the village is both Christian and Muslim, we thought what a good way to do something together for a worthy cause,' says Siddiqui of her group's participation in the project.

The March 8 dinner at the St. James Civic Centre will incorporate a mixture of flavours and cultures, with Muslims preparing the main dishes of samosas, curries and rice, and the Anglican contingent providing the desserts, says Stewart. The event is projected to raise about $12,000.

Hosting a dinner together will benefits two faith communities in Uganda, and may also build bridges in Winnipeg in a new way, says Siddiqui.

'There are people who can talk and have theological debates, but for us, it's a matter of doing things, to make things better, to have action,' she says.

'I think interfaith at the grassroots level is more inclusive and is more at the community level.'

brenda@suderman.com

Dinner details

* Tickets are available for $40 from St. James Anglican Church at 888-3489 or Islamic Social Services Association at 944-1560.

* The dinner takes place at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8 at the St. James Civic Centre. The event also includes a craft sale and silent auction.

Faith in the City update

* Today, I'm worshipping at the 11 a.m. service at Salvation Army Heritage Park Temple, 825 School Rd., Tel. 889-9203.

* Evening service, 6 p.m. today, Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, 561 Wellington Ave. This worship service and presentation on Judaism is the third evening in the six-part course sponsored by the Manitoba Interfaith Council and the University of Winnipeg. Drop-in participants are welcome, although there is a $5 fee payable at the door.

* Sunday mass, 11 a.m. Feb. 24, St. Gianna's Roman Catholic Church, Winnipeg Technical College, 130 Henlow Bay. Plan to arrive by 10:40.

* Evening prayers, 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 29, Winnipeg Central Mosque, 715 Ellice Ave. Dress code is conservative and everyone is required to remove their shoes before entering the prayer hall.

* Prayers and discussion, 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, Baha'i Centre, 521 McMillan Ave. This event with Winnipeg's Baha'i community begins with 15 minutes of prayers, includes a group consultation, and ends with refreshments. Parking available on the street near this former Masonic Temple or at the nearby school.

* Looking ahead: Called to Love, April 4 to 6. A weekend of conversation in Morden, Miami and Manitou about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with three spiritual leaders of those traditions. More information to come.

Baby born alive at abortion clinic killed - Charleston Daily Mail

TAMPA, Fla. - Eighteen and pregnant, Sycloria Williams went to anabortion clinic outside Miami and paid $1,200 for Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique to terminate her 23-week pregnancy.

Three days later, she sat in a reclining chair, medicated todilate her cervix and otherwise get her ready for the procedure.

Only Renelique didn't arrive in time. According to Williams andthe Florida Department of Health, she went into labor and delivereda live baby girl.

What Williams and the Health Department say happened next hasshocked people on both sides of the abortion debate: One of theclinic's owners, who has no medical license, cut the infant'sumbilical cord. Williams says the woman placed the baby in a plasticbiohazard bag and threw it out.

Police recovered the decomposing remains in a cardboard box aweek later after getting anonymous tips.

'I don't care what your politics are, what your morals are, thisshould not be happening in our community,' said Tom Pennekamp, aMiami attorney representing Williams in her lawsuit againstRenelique and the clinic owners.

The state Board of Medicine is to hear Renelique's case in Tampaon Friday and determine whether to strip his license. The stateattorney's homicide division is investigating, though no chargeshave been filed. Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman with the Miami-DadeCounty State Attorney's Office, said this week that prosecutors werenearing a decision.

Renelique's attorney, Joseph Harrison, called the allegations atbest 'misguided and incomplete' in an e-mail to The AssociatedPress. He didn't provide details.

The case has riled the anti-abortion community, which contendsthe clinic's actions constitute murder.

'The baby was just treated as a piece of garbage,' said TomBrejcha, president of The Thomas More Society, a law firm that isalso representing Williams. 'People all over the country are justaghast.'

According to state records, Renelique received his medicaltraining at the State University of Haiti. In 1991, he completed afour-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at InterfaithMedical Center in New York.

New York records show that Renelique has made at least fivemedical malpractice payments in the past decade, the circumstancesof which were not detailed in the filings.

Williams concluded she didn't have the resources or maturity toraise a child, Pennekamp said, and went to the Miramar Women'sCenter on July 17, 2006. Sonograms indicated she was 23 weekspregnant, according to the Department of Health. She met Reneliqueat a second clinic two days later.

Renelique gave Williams laminaria, a drug that dilates thecervix, and prescribed three other medications, according to theadministrative complaint filed by the Health Department. She wastold to go to yet another clinic, A Gyn Diagnostic Center inHialeah, where the procedure would be performed the next day, onJuly 20, 2006.

Williams arrived in the morning and was given more medication.

The Department of Health account continues as follows: Justbefore noon she began to feel ill. The clinic contacted Renelique.Two hours later, he still hadn't shown up. Williams went into laborand delivered the baby.

The complaint says one of the clinic owners, Belkis Gonzalez camein and cut the umbilical cord with scissors, then placed the baby ina plastic bag, and the bag in a trash can.

Williams' lawsuit offers a cruder account: She says Gonzalezknocked the baby off the recliner chair where she had given birth,onto the floor. The baby's umbilical cord was not clamped, allowingher to bleed out. Gonzalez scooped the baby, placenta and afterbirthinto a red plastic biohazard bag and threw it out.

At 23 weeks, an otherwise healthy fetus would have a slim butlegitimate chance of survival. Quadruplets born at 23 weeks lastyear at The Nebraska Medical Center survived.