Mission Statement

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Welcome!
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Executive Director Training
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFREExecutive
Director
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What we will cover in the next hour

• History of the Somerset Home
• Mission, Guiding Principles, Philosophy
• Program Implementation Timetable
• Funding
• Fiscal Management
• Agency Web Site

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History
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• Somerset Home for Temporarily
• Displaced Children
• Incorporated 1970

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Founders

• The founding board of the Somerset Home for
  Temporarily Displaced Children (Somerset Home)
  were members of the evening membership division
  (EMD) of the Somerville Civic League. The EMD
  formally disbanded in 1990.

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BRAHMA HOUSE (formerly Somerset Youth Shelter)

• We were the first private youth shelter in N.J.
  when we opened our doors to runaway, homeless and
  abused youth on March 3, 1973. Larry and Kathy
  Martin, the owners of the home were the first
  house parents.

Somerset Youth Shelter Garretson Road Bridgewater

1973-1975
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BRAHMA HOUSE

• The capacity at that time was 12. Kids of all
  ages and even mothers with small children were
  admitted. The Somerset County Probation
  Department (status offenders) and DYFS (child
  welfare) were the primary referral sources.

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BRAHMA HOUSE

• In 1974, the Martins, no longer interested in
  being house parents because of the long hours,
  resigned and moved out but continued to rent to
  the Somerset Home. Over the next few years, three
  sets of house parents held the job.

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BRAHMA HOUSE

• Then in 1975, two major changes occurred. First,
  the house parent model was abandoned in lieu of
  around the clock child care staff. And second,
  the Martins decided not to renew the Somerset
  Home's lease.

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BRAHMA HOUSE

• Somerset Home rented a single-family home on
  Grove Street in Somerville and began to search
  for a permanent program site for Brahma House.

1975 1976 Grove Street Somerville
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BRAHMA HOUSE

• Later that year, a house on Cliff Street in
  Somerville was purchased by Somerset Home and
  major zoning issues, community opposition and
  several months of Superior Court litigation
  resulted. The final ruling was against our plan.
  The building was later purchased and converted
  to law offices.

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BRAHMA HOUSE

• In 1976, the Brahma House found a permanent site
  at 49 Brahma Avenue, the former Bradley Gardens
  Firehouse.

1976 - today
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Clinical and Educational Services were added to
Brahma House in 1982
Counseling
Tutoring
Transitional Learning Center Basic Skills
Education Program
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PATHWAYS

• In 1986, it was determined a program for older
  adolescents needing independent living skills was
  needed.
  
• Pathways Independent Living Program (ILP)
  teaches life skills through individual counseling
  and group workshops.

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PATHWAYS Independent Living Skills

• Group Workshops, Individual Counseling
• Linkages - School Based Youth Services Program
  (at Somerset County Vocational Technical High
  School

1985-today
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PASSAGES Transitional Living Program (TLP)

• In 1987, Passages opened serving five young
  women (16-18 yrs. old).

Passages Somerville 1987-1992
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PASSAGES AND PATHWAYS FIND A HOME

• In 1992, the Passages finds a permanent home on
  Fourth Avenue in Bridgewater and now houses 10
  youth, ages 16-21.
  
• The Pathways independent living program staff
  and life-skills resource center were also
  relocated to this new building.

1991-today Passages/Pathways 16 Fourth Avenue B
ridgewater
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BRAHMA HOUSE EXPANSION

• Once the Pathways/Passages building was
  finished, the need for additional space at
  Brahma House became the next priority. In 1995
  the board of trustees approved a plan to expand
  counseling office space at the shelter and to
  purchase the house next door at 47 Brahma for
  additional recreation and parking space.

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BRAHMA HOUSE EXPANSION

PICNIC AREA/PARKING EXPANSION, SECOND FLOOR
COUNSELING OFFICES
1996-1999
RECREATION ROOM 1988-1989
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HOMELESS YOUTH ACT

• New Jersey adopted the Homeless Youth Act in
  1999. This law provides youth with safety from
  the streets without a court order and increased
  funding for shelters, TLP programs (such as
  Passages) and street outreach programs. Somerset
  Home worked in partnership with Covenant House
  and the Garden State Coalition to make this law a
  reality.

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VISION 2005

• One of the major steps in the history of
  organizational development is the accreditation
  by the Council on Accreditation in 2001. This
  accreditation was part of an 18-month process and
  accomplished one of the major goals outlined in
  the Vision 2005 Strategic Plan.
• Accreditation by COA ensures adherence to the
  highest service standards in the field.

COA TEAM 2001
COA TEAM 2005
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 STREET OUTREACH

• The street outreach program has identifies more
  than 50 homeless youth ages 16-21, each year.
  The need for expanding transitional housing for
  older youth has become evident.

Street Outreach 1998-today
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MY PLACE WHITNEY HOUSE

• My Place (2005) and Whitney House (2006) are two
  5-bed TLP group homes for youth ages 18-21.

Whitney House Whitney Court Bridgewater
My Place Third Avenue Bridgewater
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COA Reaccredidation May 2005
The agency must be reaccredited every four years
and remains reaccredited today.

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BRAHMA HOUSE
In June 2005, the Somerset Youth Shelter program
changed its name to Brahma House.
Brahma House provides short term residential
care, assessment and crisis stabilization
services for youth ages 13-17.
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Mission Statement

• It is the mission of the Somerset Home for
  Temporarily Displaced Children to provide abused,
  neglected and homeless youth with housing, a
  stable environment and supportive services that
  equip them to become contributing members of
  society.

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Guiding Principle I

• Staff Are Important
• Somerset Home believes its staff must be valued
  and treated with respect and dignity, have
  clearly established expectations and standards
  for performance, receive appropriate and ongoing
  training, be given constructive feedback
  regularly, be shown appreciation and thanked for
  a job well-done, be given opportunities to effect
  change in program design and be compensated
  appropriately and fairly for their efforts.

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Guiding Principle II

• Clients Are Important
• Somerset Home believes that our primary
  obligation is to the youth we serve.

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Guiding Principle III

• Part of Something Special
• Somerset Home staff and volunteers are part of
  something special. Their connection with our
  programs should be more than just a job or
  something to do in their spare time. We deliver
  our services better than anyone else. Everyone
  connected with our programs should feel they
  receive as much as they give. Positive energy is
  contagious and will extend to all we serve.

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Guiding Principle IV

• Valuing Youth
• We believe we have an obligation to educate and
  encourage policymakers to be active in
  acknowledging, protecting and enhancing the value
  of youth to the nation.

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Guiding Principle V

• Empowering Youth
• We believe youth empowerment is the act of
  bringing out natural talents and energies of
  youth. Youth can increase individual self-worth
  and skills and help build essential social
  services, while having a significant impact on
  services to communities, states and the nation.
  Youth should be active participants in decisions
  affecting their lives, including their living
  situations. Further, the involvement of young
  people in the planning and implementation of
  services and in mobilizing community support for
  programs that affect their lives and those of
  their families is essential to their individual
  development and the success of the programs
  working with them.

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Guiding Principle VI

• Strengthening Families
• We believe families are the foundation of our
  youth and society. Further, youth thrive when
  positive change is effected in the family
  context. The primary function of the family, at
  minimum, is to protect, nurture and educate
  children. Often, for many reasons, families are
  challenged in this role. We, then, must
  acknowledge and build on existing family
  strengths, with the primary objective of unifying
  families. We recognize that a family environment
  is the most appropriate setting for youth.

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Guiding Principle VII

• Promoting Healthy Alternatives
• We believe in healthy, positive alternatives for
  all youth. We believe young people can and will
  make informed choices concerning their own health
  and futures. We believe voluntary,
  community-based, youth-involved services can help
  youth adopt healthy, positive alternatives. These
  services allow for adult guidance and support,
  esteem-building activities, assistance in
  building personal decision-making skills and
  freedom of choice.

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Guiding Principle VIII

• Supporting Diversity
• We believe each person is unique and important.
  We value, encourage and celebrate the diversity
  of individuals of each race, age, sex, ethnicity,
  culture, sexual orientation, physical ability,
  religion and family background. All youth are
  entitled to receive services that recognize and
  are based on cultural strengths and differences.
  Organizational procedures, as well as public
  policies, must reflect positive efforts to
  promote the equality of all people, including
  youth. Programs serving youth and their families
  accommodate differences and encourage access to
  services and participation by lesbian, gay,
  bisexual and transgender and questioning youth as
  well as racial, ethnic and cultural minorities.

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Guiding Principle IX

• Encouraging Community Based Services
• We believe communities need to be the creators
  and partners in the development of innovative
  youth services. Partnerships between the public,
  private and nonprofit sectors need to strive to
  create innovative community resources that ensure
  essential needs are met for individual programs
  and other community endeavors. Volunteerism is
  encouraged, valued and recognized.

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Guiding Principle X

• Networking
• We believe quality services for youth -
  nationally, regionally and locally - are
  dependent on and developed and enhanced through
  networking (that is, information-sharing, the
  coordination of services and mutual support).
  Somerset Home is committed to strengthening
  networking activities at local, state, regional
  and national levels. Reciprocity, diverse
  representation, mutual respect, uninhibited
  communication and leadership are essential
  elements of dynamic networking.

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Guiding Principle XI

• Youth/Adult Partnerships
• We believe youth/adult partnerships play a very
  important role in achieving the goals of
  organizations working with, and on behalf of,
  youth and families. These dynamic, interactive
  relationships are built by people acknowledging
  and honoring each other's uniqueness while
  striving for balance between their different
  attributes in order to achieve a common goal.
  Youth/adult partnerships recognize that people of
  all ages are inherently worthy and they strive to
  value this within themselves and one another.

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Guiding Principle XII

• Quality of Service
• Somerset Home believes that the youth and
  families it serves deserve no less than
  excellence in all programs and services.

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Guiding Principle XIII

• Sound Managerial Practices
• The Somerset Home will adhere to sound
  managerial practices to maximize the use of its
  resources by maintaining an awareness of all
  rules, regulations, and procedures affecting our
  business and clients.

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Guiding Principle XIV

• Board Is Important
• Somerset Home believes the board of trustees is
  integral to the success of the organization
  through its governance role and its participation
  in support of the agency's strategy, mission,
  programs, and financial well-being.

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FINANCIAL
2008 Total (approximately) 4 million
Operating Budget 3.5 million Capital Budget
500,000

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Web Sites

• somersethome.org
• runforrunaways.com
• njacyf.org
• nn4youth.org
• alliance1.org

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Thank You!
Jeffrey Fetzko