United Methodist Family Services

The UMFS is an arm of our location on 3900 W. Broad St. has a residential home where 40 youth live and go to school while being treated. The new Charterhouse School on this site provides a beautiful setting for young people ages 12 to 17 to grow and develop academically, mentally and spiritually. A chaplain is a permanent part of the staff.

As your representative, I recently participated in three activities there.  One was a birthday party for the students having recent birthdays.  One young man stood up and thanked those who gave the party.  He said, "I never felt that I was loved before I came here."  He was 14 years old.  

At a recent commencement held for those completing the program, two youth came to the podium and after hugs and congratulations from the teachers and staff who had worked with them said, "While here I learned to hold my head up and feel that I was important."  They were 15 and 16 years old.

At a recent Halloween party, I saw forty young teens playing games, eating homemade cookies and smiling, while having a fun time which many of them had not experienced before.

THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU FIND AT UNITED METHODIST FAMILY SERVICES!

DECEMBER is the month designated by the Virginia Annual Conference as UNITED FAMILY SERVICES MONTH!  It is the one time each year that all Methodists are given the opportunity to donate to this worthy cause.  This year our theme was:  CELEBRATE AND REJOICE!   As usual,  our offering on Christmas Eve was designated to United Methodist Family Services -- and as usual you continued to Give With Your Heart and Were Generous As You Always Are!!  THANK YOU!!

As a member of the United Methodist Church, I am proud to be a part of the work done by UMFS to make a difference in the lives of our youth.  I attend a monthly meeting the third Thursday of each month.  Please feel free to attend these meetings with me or inquire about some of the activities in which you might wish to participate.

                                                                                            Dot Gay, UMFS Representative from LHUMC

Ongoing ways in which you may help this mission are:

(1) Register at Food Lion with your MPV Card and a percent of your purchase will be donated to UMFS Call 1-800-210-9569 or on line www.foodlion.com This is easy way to contribute and only takes a few minutes of your time.

(2) Save General Mills Box Tops for Education and Campbell’s Soup labels, Progresso, Pepperidge Farm, Pace, Prego, V8, and Franco American Products. Put them in the designated box in the Narthex.

(3) Donate specific items at Christmas (a new request list is made each year). 

(4) Be a volunteer or a mentor.

(5) Purchase an engraved brick in honor or memory of someone for the walk at Charterhouse School. The cost is $100.00 per brick.

(6) Be a part of the Woman’s Auxiliary. Call Dot Gay 795-5196 for information.

(7) Take a group to visit the Richmond campus to see what our church is doing. Call Kendra Swagger at 804-353-4461 x 1601 to set up a time.

History

The year was 1900.  William McKinley was president.  The cost of a first-class stamp was $0.02.  And Yale won the NCAA Championship.  The Virginia Annual Conference is granted a charter from the State Legislature and builds an orphanage on property in Richmond at 3900 West Broad Street.. It flourishes as a farming community and includes a school, print shop and dairy.  The orphanage also operates a farm and camp in New Kent County.  (Since then, UMFS has evolved into a thriving organization delivering services from seven locations and helping 3,000 children and families annually.  Our history is rich but our potential is even greater- READ ON). 

1929 -- At the outset of the Great Depression many children are placed at the orphanage due to financial necessity.  The number of residents peaks at 365 children between 1929 and 1935.

1933 -- The church designates the month of December to raise funds for the orphanage.  Prior to this, the Board requests that a 10 percent assessment on pastors' salaries be the means of financing the orphanage oeration.  Farm income, and later, special church collections, provide funds to operate the Home. 

1935 -- The Social Security Act is enacted.  Combined with public assistance, this means children no longer have to be placed in institutional care due to financial necessity.  From this date forward, the number of children living at the orphanage for custodial care declines.

1951 -- The name of the orphanage changes to the Virginia Methodist Children's Home.  Programs now serve more children on a temporary basis and return them to their families. 

1953 -- The farm operation at the Broad Street site is discontinued.  Child labor laws prohibit farming as a profitable venture. 

1959 -- The farms in New Kent County are closed and sold.  Funds from the sale, plus funds from land sold on Broad Street, in addition to a Conference Fund Drive, are being used to finance new cottages and other buildings on the West Broad Street property.

1979 -- Charterhouse School opens on the Broad Street campus and is named after the Methodist founder John Wesley's school.  Charterhouse School will provide greatly needed special education for residential youth.  

1980 -- To meet the changing needs of society and to better identify our program goals, the Annual Conference votes to change the name to United Methodist Family Services.  Now a special emphasis is placed on working with the whole family to help meet the needs of children.  

1984 -- Programs expand to include adoption and foster care as well as a residential treatment program for youth.  Regional centers open in Northern Virginia and Tidewater.

1993 -- Ground breaking takes place for Guardian Place, a 120 unit apartment for people over 55 with low-to-moderate income.  A satellite office of the Northern Virginia Regional Center opens in Harrisonburg.  Services include home studies and post placement supervision for international and private domestic adoptions and services for parents putting their children up for adoption. 

1996 -- Fredericksburg Regional Center opens and offers treatment foster care and mentor services.

1998 -- United Methodist Family Services teams with WRIC-TV8 and corporate sponsors to create A Child Waiting, a weekly television series profiling children waiting for adoption.  An outcomes measurement system to inform our customers and the community of our strengths and accomplishments is created.  

2000 -- United Methodist Family Services celebrates 100 years.  UMFS sees unprecedented progress in its first-ever capital campaign.  Guardian Place II opens and together with Guardian Place I provides 250 apartments for adults 55 and over who live on a fixed income. 

2001 -- Regional Center opens in South Central Virginia with a satellite office in Farmville.

2002 --  A national grant is awarded to UMFS creating a regional Quality Improvement Center on Adoption. 

2003 -- The new building for Charterhouse School opens on the Richmond campus.  The old Charterhouse School building houses a new program called Charterhouse School Therapeutic Day Program for youth ages 11-17 who struggle to function in their current school setting.  

2004 -- A new program for sexually reactive males opens.  UMFS receives a federal grant for Virginia's Children of Promise, a program that mentors children that have a parent who is incarcerated.  

2005 -- United Methodist Family Services adopts UMFS as its operating name.

Adoption

UMFS provides a range of placement services that recognize that adoption is a lifelong process creating a relationship between a child and adoptive parents. We pay special attention to the complex circumstances that give rise to the need for adoption and to the stresses and adjustments that ensue for all parties in this process.  Areas with special emphasis include:

• Parental placement

• Special Needs Adoption

• International Adoption

Treatment Foster Care

The UMFS Treatment Foster Care Program was developed in 1980.  This program provides for a therapeutic structured environment that allows us to place emotionally, behaviorally, physically, or medically challenged youth in the community.  Treatment foster parents are trained to be part of a professionally supervised team model based in the home and serving children and adolescents with certain emotional, behavioral, psychiatric, and psychological problems.

 Did you know:

• In Virginia, over 7,000 children are in foster care at any given time.

• 26 children in Virginia died from injuries attributable to abuse and/or neglect in fiscal year 2005.

Residential Treatment

UMFS offers residential treatment on our 33-acre campus in Richmond .  The UMFS Residential Treatment Program is widely recognized for its innovative and successful approach to youth development, mental health treatment and case management for adolescents with emotional, behavioral, psychiatric and psychological problems that can best be addressed in a residential setting.  The youth in the Residential Treatment Program attend the fully accredited, year-round Charterhouse School.  Special attention is received by:       

1. Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Problems, and

2. Sexually Reactive Males

Did you know:

• In 2005, 82% of Residential Treatment Center youth were returned to a less restrictive environment.

• A 12 month follow-up showed that 77% of youth were in school or working and had no negative contact with the police.

Support Services

UMFS offers a range of services which support children and families.  In many cases, these types of services may help preclude the need for more intensive support or treatment in the future.  These include:

1. In-Home Family Services

2. Mentoring, and

3. Counseling

Did you know:

• 87.5% of children discharged from our in-home family services program were either maintained in their current placement or transitioned to a less restrictive environment.

• It is estimated that 140,000 children are awaiting mentors in the State of Virginia.

ATTENTION!!!   NEEDED!!

    Campbell labels from beans, soups of every kind, tomato juice, V8 and Swanson broths and poultry.  Also, front labels from Prego pasta sauces and lids from pasta sauces and pasta bake sauce.  They also need lids from Pace salsa and Picante.  Front labels are needed from Franco-American Gravies and Spaghettios as well as Box tops from Education coupons.  Please look for containers around the church to place them in or give them to Kathy Russell or Dot Gay.  Thank you for helping our youth at Family Services.

For additional information call 804-3534461. fax 804-355-2334 or on line www.umfs.org