Children, youth and families from two programs of BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene celebrated Christmas over the past week.

Youth from the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program enjoyed gift-giving, games and a traditional Christmas meal on December 13. Representatives from both the U.S. Army and Job Corps presented to the youth in attendance about what their organizations could offer. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services presented each of the youth with gift-filled stockings, and Wylie Christian Church, a local donor and partner of BCFS-Abilene for many years, brought gifts for the youth as well as the young adults in the program with children. Several members of the church even came to celebrate with BCFS-Abilene and the youth from PAL.

Another celebration took place on the evening of December 18, where parents and children from the Healthy Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES) program had their own party with a “Pancakes and Pajamas” theme. Local new station KTAB worked with BCFS-Abilene to give the families in the HOPES programs gifts for Christmas, holding a toy drive that Abilene residents donated to. In addition, private donations were made to BCFS-Abilene to give children winter coats and clothing. In total, each of the 46 children in the HOPES program received multiple Christmas gifts and a new winter outfit.

Throughout the year, BCFS Health and Human Services hosts events during the holidays for their clients and communities. It is as important as much of the work that they do, providing an opportunity to celebrate the time together.

“A lot of our youth don’t have the nuclear family anymore,” said Will Meiron, program director with BCFS-Abilene. “They don’t have anywhere to go for Christmas. They’re young adults or young parents on their own. So to give them a chance to celebrate with peers in their same age range and from a similar life path can be really special. What we offer is a family environment with food, fellowship and a good time.”

Learn more about BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene.

Holiday music played quietly in the background. A Christmas tree, tall enough to nearly touch the ceiling, completed the joyful atmosphere. The smell of spices filled the room. Around a table, 10 youth stood to take part in what is, for many Texas families, an annual holiday tradition.

The youth were visiting BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio for a two-part cooking lesson held December 12-13. As part of the ongoing “What’s Cooking?” series of classes, Alejandra Quezada, education specialist with BCFS-San Antonio, is teaching youth to make a variety of meals in preparation for life on their own. This was the 12th cooking class to date, and since the beginning of the series, youth have had the opportunity to learn how to make dishes like teriyaki chicken, beef and turkey burgers, picadillo, and fried rice.

Their most recent class was all about tamales – a food not to be made by the faint of heart or the short on time. On the first day ingredients were sorted and cooked, prepared to later fill the tamales. Peppers were roasted, corn husks were soaked, beans were slow-cooked and chiles were boiled.

The next day, youth returned to combine the ingredients and then assemble and cook the tamales. In total, they made more than 250 tamales, and each person that prepared the food got to take home a dozen.

“My favorite thing about the cooking classes has been being able to pass down my love for cooking and the ties it has to family,” said Alejandra. “Many of our clients do not have strong familial ties and I like to believe this is a moment in time that they enjoy and hopefully remember.”

A few participants had made tamales before, but it was a first experience for most of the youth. Whether teaching meal preparation, professional success, educational achievement, or healthy relational habits, BCFS-San Antonio consistently finds a way to help youth who are or were in foster care, letting them plan their lives and establish their purpose, ensuring they are given every opportunity to transition out of foster care and into a life of independence and success.

Learn more about the work that BCFS Health and Human Services is doing in San Antonio.

Fathers and daughters from across Del Rio donned their best attire to attend the fourth annual Father Daughter Dance hosted by BCFS Health and Human Services-Del Rio on December 12. The event celebrated the special bond between a father and his daughter and gave families an opportunity for a memorable night of fun, music and community engagement.

“We had a wonderful turnout,” said BCFS Director Delia Ramos. “Fathers and daughters spent quality time by dancing away in the Del Rio Civic Center. Door prizes for both fathers and daughters were an added treat.”

To mark this special event, the first song of the evening was “Dance with My Daughter” by Jason Blaine. There were 143 attendees including 78 girls and 65 fathers.

Sponsors who partnered with BCFS-Del Rio on the dance included The Bank & Trust, Brown Automotive, Border Federal Credit Union, Del Rio Towing Company, San Felipe Lions, Las Brisas Apartments and individual community members. Proceeds from ticket sales at the dance will benefit BCFS-Del Rio’s domestic violence program.

BCFS-Del Rio provides domestic violence prevention and treatment, and crisis intervention and counseling for families. BCFS-Del Rio operates the Services to At Risk Youth (STAR) program to help families reduce conflict and prevent delinquent behavior like running away or truancy. STAR works with youth and their families to learn to resolve crises and develop coping and parenting skills.

Youth from BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio’s programs shared a Thanksgiving meal together on November 26, enjoying outdoor games, face painting, coffee and pastries while chatting with friends.

Once guests were seated for lunch, they were introduced to Roy Juarez Jr., author of “Homeless by Choice” and a native of San Antonio, Texas. Roy has spoken to thousands of young people around the world, using the most difficult moments of his life as a storytelling tool to encourage those who may feel defeated.

BCFS-San Antonio had the pleasure of hosting Roy as the featured speaker that day, where some of the more than 140 youth in attendance found similarities between Roy’s life and their own.

Roy had a strained relationship with both of his parents from a young age, admitting that he learned how to hate and how to hold a grudge by the age of 7. Roy’s mother left her husband to escape domestic abuse, yet he followed the family wherever they moved, injecting constant fear and chaos into their lives.

By his teenage years, Roy was in foster care, trading houses and families so often that he rarely if ever had the chance to learn what a relationship built on trust and vulnerability might look like.

It wasn’t until Roy studied psychology in college that he learned his parents were broken people from broken places. “As kids, we don’t realize that parents are human; that they make mistakes,” Roy told the crowd. “I am thankful for education because education gave me my family back.”

Roy emphasized that he still loves his family today, and that forgiveness is an incredibly powerful tool and necessary step toward finding peace. Forgiveness lets victims define their lives by more than their survival, allowing them to live with freedom and without limits.

“Just because we make it to this side, that doesn’t mean we forget where we come from,” said Roy, reminding the audience that success is not something to have and hold onto, but something to share.

After his message, Roy was presented with an award of appreciation by Noel Martinez, program director at BCFS-San Antonio. Several youth and guests met with Roy afterward, either to thank him or to share some of their own story.

Today, BCFS-San Antonio helps youth facing some of the same issues Roy did. The organization aids youth who are or were in foster care by helping them plan their lives and establish their purpose, ensuring they are given every opportunity to transition out of foster care and into a life of independence and success.

Learn more about the work that BCFS Health and Human Services is doing in San Antonio.

We are pleased to announce that Maria Barquin Sommers, advocate with BCFS Health and Human Service’s Common Thread Project, is a 2019 winner of the San Antonio Business Journal Nonprofit & Corporate Philanthropy Award. This award recognizes people and businesses that have made a difference in the community over the past year.

Maria was recognized and presented with the award during the annual Nonprofit & Corporate Philanthropy Awards luncheon on November 14, 2019.  Maria joined Common Thread in 2016 as an advocate who provides case management to survivors of commercial sex trafficking. She was nominated for the award by Sonya Thompson, executive director of the program.

“Maria was actually the first advocate to come on board with Common Thread for the San Antonio location and in her position she has served dozens of survivors of child sex trafficking,” Sonya said. “Maria has been a leader amongst her peers and we are honored to have her as a member of the BCFS Health and Human Services team.”

Maria manages a special team of advocates at Common Thread who specialize in nurturing and connecting with survivors and coordinating their long-term care and recovery including emergency shelter, residential services, vocational training, transitional living and much more.

“I really enjoy helping people to break the cycles of abuse,” Maria said during her video introduction. “The most satisfying thing about my job is creating an environment where survivors can begin to accomplish their goals one at a time.”

Maria was selected as one of a dozen nonprofit workers across San Antonio who were recognized for their service to the community. The ceremony was held at the Events Center at Morgan’s Wonderland and was sponsored by the Najim Charitable Foundation and The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation.

The award ceremony was held at Morgan's Wonderland.

Maria chats with coworkers in the break room.

Maria accepts the San Antonio Business Journal Nonprofit & Corporate Philanthropy Award.

Award winners came back on stage for a group photo.

Maria and her fellow Common Thread staffers.

Three cities served by BCFS Health and Human Services’ Community Services Division (CSD) gathered to celebrate the fall season this week.

In Abilene, Texas, nearly a dozen vehicles parked at BCFS Health and Human Services-Abilene, their trunks open and decorated to welcome the public to stop by, grab some candy, learn something new, or just chat.

Alana Jeter, regional director of North Texas at CSD and an Abilene resident, shared that their organization wanted to host a public event so they had a chance to interact with other community members who may not yet be familiar with the work that BCFS-Abilene does.

The Trunk or Treat event featured several local partners, including medical-service providers, counselors from a drug and alcohol recovery clinic, guests that help victims of human trafficking, representatives from the city of Abilene, and U.S. Air Force members.

A few hundred miles south, BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio gathered more than 60 friends and family from their programs into a venue spooked out with lights and festive decorations. The Fall Festival included competitive games, dinner and dessert, pumpkin and cookie decorating, and dancing.

A mummy relay challenged two teams to see who could wrap their partner fastest. Meanwhile, a play on the classic cake-walk invited guests of all ages to try their luck walking between paper cutouts of pumpkins on the floor, stopping when the music did in hopes that their number would net them one of several prizes.

In South Texas, BCFS Health and Human Services-Del Rio celebrated with a trunk-or-treat similar to the event in Abilene. Staff passed out more than 4,000 pieces of candy to the community and hope next year to invite other local partners to their event. This was BCFS-Del Rio’s first fall event of its kind, celebrating both Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.

Across Texas, CSD helps teens and young adults in eight cities with a range of services that increase access to education, counseling, housing, and more. The organization serves youth that often face a statistical risk for negative outcomes.

Learn more about what BCFS Health and Human Services provides to youth in Texas.

More than a dozen excited mothers and fathers attended a baby shower hosted by BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio on Sept. 26 to celebrate early parenthood. The festive and informational event, complete with pink and blue balloons and two cream-colored cakes, was an invite-only affair for soon-to-be parents and parents of newborn children in San Antonio, Texas.

Janie Quinonez, a registered nurse from Methodist Women’s Services, gave a presentation on young-adult childbirth, after which attendees were given time to discuss questions they had with the speaker as well as any of several other community partners at the event.

“Janie was really honest with participants about what they could expect,” said Victoria Martinez, PAL¹ Training Lead at BCFS-San Antonio. “Because of that honesty, I think they were more open and vulnerable with their questions.”

Like any traditional baby shower, Thursday’s event came complete with party favors, baby-themed games, confessed worries of new parents, and friends to lean on when support is needed most.

Every family who attended received diaper bags and other baby supplies, and six lucky winners took home a new stroller with a car seat. One of the winners decided to give her stroller and car seat away to a soon-to-be father. The mother said she was fortunate to already have one and, seeing a greater need, felt it was the right thing to do.

This was the first time BCFS-San Antonio hosted a baby shower for parents in their programs. The clients that the organization works with – typically youth in their late teens and early 20s with inconsistent support from older role-models – have the chance to receive invaluable benefits from events like this one.

“I think childcare education is probably the most important to them right now: how to burp your baby, how to breastfeed,” said Victoria, “simple things that you aren’t sure parents need until you give them a safe place to ask.”

To learn more about BCFS-San Antonio’s work with youth, click here.

BCFS-San Antonio thanks the following sponsors for their contributions to this event:

• QuikTrip
• The Law Offices of Thomas J Henry
• HEB
• Oh Yeah Cakes
• The Cake Shop

¹ Preparation for Adult Living

BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio’s Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program, in partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), hosted the annual Independence Day Conference this year on July 23 at UTSA’s main campus, where approximately 100 prospective students from PAL and similar programs came together to learn more about the details involved in a college career.

The Independence Day Conference allows teens and young adults who are currently or were formerly in foster care to dialogue with college representatives about what they can expect from higher education and what higher education will expect from them. Experiences like these offer vital opportunities for young people from foster care, statistically at a disadvantage when it comes to education, to thoughtfully engage with their futures and think critically alongside partners who can offer realistic answers to their most pressing questions.

“We owe these young people a better future. We can do so much better and I believe higher education is the best path forward in doing so,” Peggy Eighmy said in coverage from UTSA Today. Mrs. Eighmy, the first lady of UTSA, was one of several speakers scheduled to offer encouragement and advice to students throughout the day. President Taylor Eighmy, Coach Frank Wilson, and Judge Charles Montemayor also addressed the group.

Frank Wilson, the head football coach for UTSA, shared how he focuses on who and where he wants to be eight years from now as a measure of personal success. “Every time you set a standard, you raise the bar yet again, and yet again. If ever in life you feel ‘I’ve arrived; I’ve made it,’ that’s when things go down,” the coach said.

After the morning’s speakers, attendants were treated to a campus tour, complimentary lunch, and workshops focusing on subjects from engineering to social work. In the afternoon, Dr. Megan Piel led a student panel where attendants were invited to discuss the college experience with peers who have lived through and know that experience. The final hour of the day was spent at UTSA’s Recreation Center, where youth were invited to play basketball and boardgames, or to climb the facility’s rock wall.

The PAL Independence Day Conference, held now for at least three years, continues to prove its importance as a guiding tool for prospective students from foster care looking to make a positive difference in their own lives and the lives of those around them. Sharing the advantages of higher education and the importance of a college degree lets students build a stable plan to achieve the goals they set for themselves.

Thanks to the Salon Professional Academy, a select group from BCFS Health and Human Services-San Antonio enjoyed a relaxing day free of charge on May 28. Those in attendance chose from a range of services, including manicures, pedicures, and hair styling and washing.

For a few hours, the young women were able to relax and unwind while seated in black leather chairs, laid back while they were pampered and attended to by the staff at The Salon Professional Academy on the north side of San Antonio, Texas.

“Some of our youth don’t always come from a background where they’re able to spend time and money on themselves. With something like this, they can forget for just a moment about the troubles of daily life and treat themselves,” said Raquel Escobar, Lead Case Manager in the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program at BCFS-San Antonio.

While the ladies enjoyed their time, Suzette Thomas, Admissions Director at The Salon Professional Academy, took the BCFS-San Antonio staff on a tour of the facility and walked them through the details of how they train their students to become professionals in cosmetology and esthetics, either of which can take up to 1,500 hours to master.

Eventually the day was done and it was time to pack up and head out, but not before the ladies received a small gift bag from BCFS-San Antonio with some cosmetic and bath items, bringing a bit of the pampering back home with them.

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Thanks to The Salon Professional Academy for their service and gracious hospitality of BCFS-San Antonio’s beneficiaries and staff.

Texas is blessed by strong leaders who guide an effective state government. Breckenridge Village of Tyler (BVT) witnessed this first-hand during the recently concluded 86^th session of the Texas Legislature, where Tyler-area lawmakers Matt Schaefer and Bryan Hughes sponsored and passed an important bill helping BVT and the vulnerable population which the organization serves. 

Breckenridge Village of Tyler is a residential community for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, such as Down syndrome or autism. The nonprofit’s programs and activities are designed to help residents develop the skills they need to achieve their God-given potential with a special brand of care unique to BVT.

To meet a growing need, BVT recently built three new homes that can house up to 18 residents. However, with that expansion came a roadblock: years ago, the Texas government stopped issuing new licenses to intermediate care facilities like BVT. Existing licenses had to be sold and transferred, while new licenses could not be created.  

With a limited supply and an increasing need for individuals with disabilities, the cost of licenses for intermediate care facilities came to exceed $40,000 each. For a non-profit like BVT, paying nearly $1 million for additional state licenses would take away necessary funds meant to serve the Breckenridge Village community and the needs of its residents.

That’s where Rep. Schaefer and Sen. Hughes stepped in with House Bill 3117, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law on June 14. The bill allows the state’s Health and Human Services Commission to periodically review active facility licenses while reallocating suspended licenses to facilities where those residents can be given a home, such as BVT.

We are fortunate that in Tyler, leaders like Matt Schaefer, Bryan Hughes and Greg Abbott demonstrate that government can be effective and compassionate. We applaud their work to change state law to improve the status and care of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and to inspire the best from our communities and neighbors. Thanks to House Bill 3117, more families are given hope and more individuals are offered a place to call home.

View coverage on House Bill 3117 from local news outlets:
Tyler Morning Telegraph | CBS Channel 19 | ABC Channel 7