Seven years ago, Hands On Tzedakah formed a partnership with Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (RRJFS) and the Caridad Center (formerly known as the Migrant Association of South Florida). HOT has funded a half-time clinical social worker who is addressing the needs of the clients at Caridad. She provides mental health assessment and treatment, educates volunteers, physicians and other Center staff about mental health issues. The clinician is supervised by RRJFS. While Caridad has traditionally provided free medical and dental care to a large population of migrant farm workers, laborers and the working poor of Palm Beach County, they didn’t have the ability to offer more than intermittent mental health care.
So far in 2011 the JFS bi-lingual social worker stationed at Caridad has provided mental health counseling to 95 at risk individuals. The following case study best describes her importance to the community:
Carla arrived at Caridad for treatment of anxiety due to worry about her oldest daughter. She fled Guatemala approximately 1 year earlier, leaving an abusive relationship. Unfortunately, she could only afford to bring her two youngest children (ages 3 and 6), leaving her eldest (aged 15) with trusted relatives with the understanding that she would collect her as soon as she could afford to. In recent weeks, Carla heard from her relatives that her ex-husband had been coming to their home demanding to take her daughter from their care. Afraid of the abuse her daughter would receive she had suffered from insomnia, appetite loss, panic attacks and cried several times a day. JFS’ therapist at Caridad was able to calm the mother and connect her to legal aid, who worked through the American Embassy to secure her daughter’s passage to America. Both Carla and her daughter are continuing treatment to recover from the ordeal as well as gain valuable coping skills.
Bringing these two organizations together to work in tandem fulfills HOT’s mission of both supporting essential life sustaining programs and collaborating with agencies that dedicate themselves to helping others.
Sadly, HOT has not received any designated gifts for this program, and this year we reduced our support to half of the half. Caridad has received another grant that will cover the other quarter until October 2011 but has no assurance of replacing it. We would like to receive designations up to $17,500 to make sure if Caridad cannot continue paying their quarter we will be able to restore our grant to the full half.