Holiday Cheer for the End of the Year!
As we wrap up another year, the First 1,000 Days Suncoast Team would like to thank all of those who made our year and many families’ year so great! It is our mission to improve access and coordination of services for families and babies; with the help of our partner organizations and addition of our new team, we did just that! In the new year, we look forward to continuing to grow and reach many more families who need assistance.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Every year First 1,000 Days sends out an Annual Partner Survey. This survey is used to gauge any new community barriers, develop priorities, identify ways to help further support community organizations, and celebrate partnerships. Please take 10 minutes complete the survey by the end of the year! 5 randomly selected participants will receive a $20 gift card to Target.
First 1,000 Days Emergent Learning Webinar
There are many times organizations, groups, and/or coalitions have challenges which there is no clear and perfect solution. These challenges can be used as practice areas to re-frame the way organizations work together, implement new ideas, and learn from action.
Emergent Learning is a systematic approach to use existing challenges and opportunities and develop solutions through learning and evaluation. This process involves the identification of challenges, implementation of a new a strategy, then learning from each cycle of action with the understanding that each wave of new experiences builds insights from one to the next, thus resulting in more effective results.
Join First 1,000 Days and Sherry Immediato, a founding practitioner in the field of organizational learning, for a discussion on Emergent Learning on January 12th from 9-10:30am via Zoom. CLICK HERE to register for the event!
Trauma Informed Care Training Series
Don’t forget to sign up here for the last non-clinical Trauma Informed Training series on December 14th at 8:30am.
CLICK HERE to register for our Resilient Retreat Trauma Informed Care Training series for clinical professionals. 1.0 continuing education credit, per each class, will be provided. Clinical staff include physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, medical technicians, social workers, etc.
Building New Partnerships
“We look forward to being able to share in the wonderful work you have started. Our patients will benefit and we will be feeling the joy of helping.”
–Katie Powers RN IBCLC, Momms Place, Manatee Memorial Hospital
Last week First 1,000 Days, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and Manatee Memorial Hospital nurses gathered to discuss ways to better support families in our region. MoMMs Place is an out-patient facility at Manatee Memorial Hospital where postpartum mothers and newborns can attend classes, support groups and get one-on-one breastfeeding and medical support and assessments. This partnership will be key to ensuring all families in the region have the tools and resources they need to help their children thrive.
Community Stations
Thank you to Mothers Helping Mothers, Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center, and CenterPlace Health for allowing First 1,000 Days team members, Tina and Siena to set up a booth and connect families to services.
“Being in the community has been so rewarding! I love being able to create relationships with local partners and engage with staff members and volunteers. By connecting families to local resources, we are empowering them to do better for themselves and for their families. While at community stations, speaking with mothers, fathers, caregivers, and children really paints a picture of what is needed and what has been beneficial. Learning about their desires, what organizations they trust, and what they need to be successful has paved the way for improved outcomes.”
“The Suncoast area is an incredible group that cohesively strives to refine local resources. Being involved with organizations that want to better the accessibility to support and care, has been tremendously uplifting. It is even more rewarding to connect with families who need a helping hand, to lead them in the right direction so they have the chance to live the life they deserve. It can be overwhelming for people who don’t know where to start or who to turn to, and being stationed throughout the community allows our team to provide the necessary tools to for them.”
Partner Spotlights
Maria Somera
Maria is on the First 1,000 Days Steering Committee, representative of our Parent Advisory Committee, CenterPlace Health Board Member, and Children First Parent-led Policy Council. Maria is kind and compassionate, and dedicated to helping families in the community by working with a variety of nonprofit partners. She continues to demonstrate excellent leadership within our community. She is going to be one of the recipients of the National Council of Jewish Women Sarasota-Manatee Chapter’s Women in Power awards at their annual luncheon they are hosting in January. She is being recognized for her service to Children First and our broader community during Covid-19. Way to go Maria!
Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County
Huge thank you to the Healthy Start Coalition team, especially Shon Ewens, Executive Director, and Sara Oleson, Associate Executive Director. Their leadership and support have been crucial in the success of our collaboration. We appreciate the time dedicated to our workgroups, Steering Committee and taskforces and the valuable knowledge they continuously bring to the table to encourage continued growth. They are also improving the coordination of services for families in the region through the Unite Us platform. They have sent close to 600 community referrals for families on Unite Us!! Wow!
Circuit 12 Plan of Safe Care
The purpose of the Plan of Safe Care (POSC) is to identify pregnant women with substance use prenatally, connect them with resources, and provide on-going coordination and support prior to and after the delivery of their baby. By linking mothers, families, and babies to services in the community we strive to reduce the risk of child removal and child welfare involvement and improve child and family health and well-being.
Please refer any pregnant individual with substance use (including methadone, alcohol, marijuana, opioids, etc.) to the Safe Children Coalition-Plan of Safe Care. The preferred method for referrals is through Unite Us, however you can also download and fax/email this form.
Referral Process on Unite Us:
1. Enter mother/parent demographic information including: name, birthdate, phone number, gender, race, ethnicity, zip code, city, and state.
2. Send a referral by searching for service type Substance Use
3. Select Safe Children Coalition- Plan of Safe Care
Want to learn more? E-mail first1000days@smh.com so we can add you to the virtual training with Unite Us on December 13th from 9:30-10:30am.
Upcoming Events
NAMI Sarasota & Manatee Counties Info Session
Click here to join the meeting on December 7th at 12:00pm
Mothers Helping Mothers
January 30th: KIDS Rock Concert: Come join MHM for good food, music, fun and a live & silent auction to benefit local families in need! If you would like to donate, sponsor or buy a VIP table, please contact MHM!
Calls-To-Action
We welcome you to be a part of the initiative. Partnerships are key to innovation and we believe you can help! See below for ways to get involved:
Join Unite Us! Spread the word to other local organizations in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota County. The more organizations we have sending electronic referrals, the more cohesive it’ll be for our families to get connected to local services. If you are needing help with Unite Us, Stephanie Harris will be in town two days a month for in person training and can stop by your organization for assistance.
Notify our team if you have any community events or opportunities for us to set up a table in your lobby to connect families to resources.
“Like” and “follow” the First 1,000 Days Suncoast Facebook and Instagram Pages and share relevant content on your organization’s page.