Fiscal Year 2013 Gratitude Report

www.voamass.org

Dear Friends,

Over the decades you’ve helped us serve thousands of individuals and families from all over Massachusetts in a multitude of different programs.

Today, because of your support, we provided services to 3,200 people in 12 programs across four separate companies during Fiscal Year 2013. As you will read in this year’s Gratitude Report our clients come to us at many different places in their lives…some come to us after they have retired and are in need of housing assistance; some come to us when they are homeless and out of options; and others come as addicts with nowhere else to turn. Because of you, we have had the opportunity to help them.

Often times, people ask me why our programs are so diverse, but to me the answer seems obvious… we do it because people in our community need the distinct, diverse services we offer. The philosophy we seek to embody is, “meeting people where they’re at.” Which means that even though the challenges each of our clients face may be radically different for each individual, we still strive to meet that person “where they’re at” and not “where we want them to be”; always with the goal that we will empower them to lead healthy and productive lives.

Because of you, we’re able to meet our clients where they’re at and ensure every individual receives the highest level of care, and for that we are incredibly thankful.

Warm regards,

Thomas BierbaumPresident and CEO

Because of you... we made a difference.

“Meeting clients where they’re at”

The Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center

This year we opened the Massachusetts

Bay Veterans Center, a program that has the potential to change the lives of homeless veterans who struggle to access housing and employment in Massachusetts. When veterans can’t find jobs or housing they are forced to live on people’s couches and in shelters, and more often than we want to believe…on the street. This puts veteran’s lives at risk!

Our new building and program provides veterans with 22 units of transitional housing on the first two floors and seven units of permanent housing on the third floor. The cornerstone of the program is giving veterans a stable place to live with priority services that immediately help them and get them out of harm’s way. By focusing on medical and mental health services, employment, and permanent housing solutions the Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center gives formally homeless veterans a better chance of transitioning back into the community.

Your Impact

Photo by Tara Carvali

Your Impact

I Remember Mama celebrates 20 years helping thousands of women along the way

For the 20th year, the annual I Remember Mama event brought women from all over the greater Boston

area to celebrate Mother’s Day. And just as we celebrate them on this day and throughout the year, we’re also celebrating you. Whether you gave $15, gave at a sponsorship level, or volunteered, friends like you mean the world to us.

The women who attend the event come from different backgrounds and range in age from their early 20’s to their late 90’s. Some are women who are without family on Mother’s Day and others are current and former clients at one of our women’s program. We believe it’s important for the women we serve to know they have people like you on their side, people who care about their well-being, their success, and their happiness. It is this kind of encouragement that motivates them and helps them look forward to another year, another day, and another milestone.

Michael Satterwhite Volunteer

They’re not related, but Michael Satterwhite has celebrated Mother’s Day

with many of the same women for seventeen years. When Michael was only eleven years old, he began volunteering at the Volunteers of America Massachusetts’ Annual I Remember Mama event. With each passing year, the bond between Michael and the women attending the event grows stronger. Like a real family, the mother’s at I Remember Mama have watched him become the person he is today—a successful attorney in Salem, Massachusetts engaged to be married. Despite his busy schedule, Michael still makes time to volunteer at the annual event that supports senior mothers in the greater Boston area.

Michael gives his time, energy, and love to the mothers of the event as a response to the help he received years ago when his family was struggling. There was a time when he was, “without a bed to sleep in or a place to call home” and “at one point, I had to sleep at the sober house where my mother was completing her drug rehab program.” Undoubtedly, this period of his life broadens Michael’s understanding of how seemingly impossible challenges can be to overcome. “I remember spending Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner with these ladies at the recovery house,” he says. “I did not know their stories, but I knew they were trying to do the right thing.”

Each year, Michael reunites with the women of I Remember Mama who’ve become part of his family as both a celebration of their experiences as well as a call to action for the community.

Commitment and growth highlight a dedicated volunteer’s journey

Your Impact on our Programs

Adult Substance Use Disorder Programs

Each year, your funding enables us to provide individuals struggling with addiction the opportunity to repair their lives through the men’s and women’s Hello House programs. Clients come to the Hello Houses ready to live alcohol and drug free. By using personal case management, our experienced staff leads them through one of the most difficult processes of their lives. With your support in FY 13, the Hello House programs were able to provide service to 244 men and women.

And for those individuals who feel they still need a supportive environment, after graduation clients are given the opportunity to live at one of our sober houses, Next Step Apartments for Men and Shiloh House for Women. In FY 13, over 50 men and women lived at one of these two sober residences.

At-Risk Youth Programs

Rebound Boys Residential Treatment Program provided recovery services from drugs and alcohol to over 83 youth in FY 13. These boys range in age from 13-19 and are referred to the program in order to help them overcome their addiction, but also help them repair their relationships with their family, work on reintegrating back into school, and addressing any type of mental health needs they may have.

Last year, 98 adolescent boys were provided with a secure, caring environment as they learn new skills to become productive members of the community at Casa Isla Short-Term Treatment and Revocation Center. These boys have been committed to the care of the Department of Youth Services by the juvenile courts and depend on the community to ensure they are equipped to reject negative influences and have a chance at a successful future.

Independent & Assisted Living for Seniors

Our independent and assisted living communities continued to thrive this year. Concord Park and Nashoba Park provided 223 residents with independent and assisted living for seniors in Concord and Ayer. For both residences, the goal is to provide seniors with not only a safe environment, but also a place they can call home and lead active, healthy lives. In light of the growing need for proper memory related care, Concord Park features a memory support neighborhood for individuals with memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer ’s disease.

Mental Health Counseling

961 people received transformative counseling from The Family Center mental health and substance abuse program at locations in Quincy and Taunton in FY 13. The Family Center is a clinic that specializes in providing care to people but also struggle with mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, or trauma as well those who suffer from substance use disorders

Veteran Service Programs

The goal of the Supportive Services for Veteran Families is to prevent veterans and their families from eviction and to relocate any veteran and their family members living in a shelter. In FY 13, that goal was met for 370 families who were walked through exceedingly difficult challenges with the guidance of skilled case managers.

Last year, 30 veterans were provided with the transformative opportunity of permanent employment through the Veterans Employment Network. The program helps homeless veterans with updating resumes, job searches, practice interviews, and even coordinates employment opportunities with veteran friendly workplaces.

Your Impact on our Programs

Because of our board members... our impact is greater.

Ash Nadkarni, M.D. Board MemberAssociate Physician, Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

At the annual Volunteers of America Veteran’s Leadership Dinner I listened

to a young veteran describing a life changing moment when he thought he might die.  All he could think was whether he could answer two questions with a satisfactory response:

“What did I do in my life that helped people?”

“What did I do in my life that was meaningful?” 

Listening to this veteran’s moving insight, I was reminded of why I’m proud to serve as a board member for Volunteers of America. It’s an organization that embodies the response to these two very important questions in its core mission.

  Readiness for change can be one of the most critical moments during rehabilitation. It

marks the point at which a person takes ownership of their recovery. Volunteers of America helps clients by putting them on a path towards self-empowerment. With rehabilitative programs emphasizing collaboration, autonomy and exploration, VOA gives people the power to make their own choices and build a momentum for change. It’s a privilege to serve on the board of an organization that fosters such meaning in people’s lives. 

Major League Baseball Players Trust

Because of our community partners…. residents thrive.

Community Partner

For many years the kitchen at the Rebound Adolescent and Family Treatment Center was a bit unsightly and the

space was oddly dysfunctional. There was very little counter or cupboard space and because of its small size there wasn’t enough room for all the cookware and provisions.

More importantly, the program recognized that as the teens moved into adulthood, the advantages of learning how to cook and prepare healthy meals would benefit them for the rest of their lives. One solution to this problem, that they knew could make a huge impact on the residents’ lives and the recovery process, was by teaching them how to prepare meals that were inexpensive and healthy. In order to create an environment conducive to proper cooking instructions, they needed a newly expanded kitchen and dining area.

Fortunately for Volunteers of America Massachusetts, the Major League Baseball Players Trust stepped in and awarded a grant to the Rebound Program to enable them to build the kitchen they desperately needed. Today, the newly renovated space is filled with up to date appliances, refreshed counter tops, and an expanded dining area. Our community partnership with the Major League Baseball Players Trust gave us the funding to remodel the kitchen, but more importantly it gave us the resources we needed to make a lifelong positive change in the lives of our residents.

“Major Leaguers are proud of their decade-long practice of providing grants from the Players Trust to Volunteers of America’s local offices to help increase the reach and impact of important programs that benefit youth, seniors and veterans, among others. Together, the Players Trust and Volunteers of America continue to help improve the lives of our neighbors in need, and encourage others to do the same.” -Melissa Persaud, Major League Baseball Players Trust, Director

Statement of financial position

Assets FY 2012 FY 2013

Cash $1,520,947 $1,669,207Investments 1,503,958 1,854,747Accounts Receivable 953,321 1,021,022Prepaid Expenses 51,536 48,535Other Assets 14,332,728 17,987,598

Total Assets $18,362,490 $22,581,109

Liabilities & Fund Balance

Accounts Payable & Accrued Exp $880,260 $999,255Notes and Loans Payable 13,607,910 15,235,236Line of Credit – –Other Liabilities 335,750 335,750

Total Liabilities $14,823,920 $16,570,241Fund Balances 3,538,570 6,010,868

Total Liabilities & Fund Balances $18,362,490 $22,581,109

Statement of financial position

< Revenue Your gift is combined with other donors, corporate and foundation partners, government agencies, and other sources to provide clients with the best possible care. Here is how we fund our servies.

< ExpensesThank you for supporting Volunteers of America Massachusetts. We strive to ensure that every penny of support helps improve the lives of the clients we serve. Here’s how we use donor funds to support our missions.

Administration 12%

Fund Raising 3%

Assisted Living & Senior Services 39%

Adolescent Services 22%

Mental Health Services 12%

Adult Substance Abuse Treatment

12%

Government Fees 48%

Private & Other

Income 39%

Investments 1%Contributions 12%

Fiscal Year 2013 Board of Directors

Lisette Smith, Chair • James Goldinger, Vice Chair • F. George Davitt, Secretary/Clerk Peter Raskin, Treasurer • Thomas Bierbaum, President & CEO • Phil Chadwick

Robert Femino • Joseph Freeman • Ashwini Nadkarni • Eric Segal Faith Smith • R. Newcomb Stillwell

Volunteers of America Massachusetts441 Centre St • Jamaica Plain, MA • 02130 • (617) 522-8086

www.voamass.org • info@voamass.org