StarNewsDaily.com – Week of May 10, 2012 – Vol.5, No. 19 – FREE
GA Family Services Seeks Foster Homes Thanskgiving; or, who do you call in we try to normalize.” the middle of the night when your Editor Becoming a certified foster parbelly aches? Hopefully, she says, it’s ent takes about 12 weeks. First, a the foster mother or foster dad, who home visit is scheduled to discuss Customers of Wendy’s Restaurants may also get kids through those rites all aspects of foster care. Pre-service will receive a call to action when they of passage such as buying a first car, trainings are provided and assesssit down at the chain’s area restauor finding a job and dating. ments are made to gather family inrants this month. Printed on place formation which determines the best “It’s those typical events in life that mats is a picture of a small boy holding up a sign asking “Is There Love In Your Home For Me?” “Currently we have more children in care than It’s part of the public awareness camwe have certified foster families...It’s a critical paign for May as Foster Care Month and highlights the need for more need at this time.” foster homes in Chautauqua County. —Beth Coughlin, GA’s Therapeutic Foster Care Program. “Currently we have more children in care than we have certified foster families,” says Beth Coughlin, family resource coordinator at GA’s Therapeutic Foster Care Program in Jamestown. There’s a critical need and that’s why we must shed light on it at this time.” Along with public awareness, Coughlin says Foster Care Month gives a reason to celebrate those individuals who currently serve as foster parents. She has seen first hand the difference foster parents can make in the young lives they touch. Program Manager Sylvia Trusso, is also a foster parent and says that “even a temporary home can lead to a lifetime of lasting connections.” Trusso says those lasting connections are made by seeing kids through some of the normal events of life. “I think of my boys 16, 18, 19 and ask “where do you go for Christmas or by Patricia Pihl
match for the family and the child. A home study and background check are also part of the process. The pre-service training is free and there is no obligation. In addition, applicants must be 21, meet safety standards of New York State, and successfully complete the application process. Some of the intangible, but equally important qualifications include being willing to teach life skills, share talents and being motivated to make a difference in the life of a child. Trusso says that foster parents often work very closely with biological parents. And unlike foster care in the past, the number of foster care homes a child is placed in is limited. “We want to keep the moves as limited as possible”, says Coughlin, because each disruption in a child’s life makes them relive the trauma. “Keeping siblings together is also important, since the kids are already suffering a huge loss.” According to Trusso, GA’s therapeutic foster care is a different than a basic foster care program. Staff members are on call 24/7 to support foster parents and weekly in home visits planned with th parents and the child. In addition, case managers are meeting the biological family twice a month. “Therapeutic is a little higher level of need, says Trusso, and sometimes
Continued on page 2
%PAGESn 46L.L5OW isio a dec YEor to makinge.*
Marked by Success
pri urchas you in on a p d n i f s umer unications s n o c l Wil T Comm nty the DFauqua Couctory t Chau unity Dire m Com pages? 0 8-003 yellow 3 3 r 0o n 6-920r position i 6 3 l l Ca ure you . ition to sec 2-2013 ed tion 2010 d 1 ia te the 20 cal Search Adssyo(IcSS) conlindeuc
Crossroads Market enters fifteenth year
By Mallory Diefenbach Star News Writer
On Saturday, May 5, Crossroads Market opened up its doors for the fifteenth time. The Cross Roads is a small market which has dozens of different vendors, all of which who sell goods which are creative and have a high standard of quality. From food vendors to furniture to pottery, there is something for everybody. The Cross Roads Market is a small business incubator unique to Chautauqua County. It is situated near the spot of the original county settlement along the Portage Trail connecting Lake Chautauqua and Lake Erie. According to the Cross Roads website, Cross Roads originally started in 1996, when members of the Co-op cleared the land, erected two 65 x 100-foot steel buildings and a stateof-the-art, environmentally sensitive restroom facility. A decade later they opened a third building to accommodate their growing businesses. And the Cross Roads is still growing even now; a new vendor by the name of Marlene Coletta of Mar-Co Gifts has joined the Cross Roads family. According to Mark Pouthier, the
s umeer s n o c of sider th con
ing Stu and on ce: Lo *Sour edia Shoppludes print m c r Inte S. Total in by TN pages. yellow
manager of the Cross Roads Market, she will be selling porcelain and vinyl dolls, dream catchers, poly-resin animals and one of a kind animal salt and pepper shakers amongst many more gift items. In addition to having unique ven-
dors, the Cross Roads also hosts a number of events. This year the Cross Roads are staging a Classic Car Cruise In /Car show on Aug. 18 and a show of non Cross Roads vendors and artists on Sept. 15 to commemorate their 15th year in business.
For more information on Cross Roads or their vendors, you can visit their website at http://www.thecrossroadsmarket.com or call them at 716-326-6278. They are open every Saturday May through December from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.