Community Perspectives Vol. 1
A Message from our CEO
Welcome to Community Perspectives, Lincoln Families' (Lincoln) introductory E-newsletter. I am humbled to have led this incredible organization over the past three years and celebrate our transformative work in the community.
When the pandemic began, we knew right away that the children and families we serve would be hit the hardest by the disparate health, financial, and educational impacts of COVID. We responded as we always have over our 139-year history, quickly adapting so that our staff could provide mental health, educational, and family supports through telehealth outreach and physical resources.
Lincoln staff became trusted lifelines, ensuring youth and families had access to essential mental health services and critical supplies, like rental assistance, diapers, food, and toiletries. Over the last two years, those services have shifted, and today we primarily provide in-person support.
We were honored to be recognized as a Bay Area Top Workplace this past year and are so grateful for our staff’s relentless commitment to seeing youth and families thrive. We have also recognized that sometimes we must advocate beyond our programs to support youth and families, which has led to expanded policy work at the local and state level. We must constantly find new and innovative ways to provide real solutions to youth and families' unique challenges. We are excited about building strong partnerships with supporters like you, committed to investing in real community change.
HOPE: Helping Scholars Transition Back to School
It’s no surprise that many parents and children felt anxious about returning to school in the fall. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant additional stress, fear, and worry for many families. The start of a new school year can mean going back to school after a long break, or for our youngest scholars, attending school for the first time.
September is Kinship Month
September is National Kinship Care Month, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate all kinship caregivers. Across the country, approximately 2.7 million grandparents and 1.4 million other relatives provide kinship care for children. Kinship caregivers provide safety, promote wellbeing, and establish stable households for vulnerable children.
Disrupting the School To Prison Pipeline
A vast majority of schools in the U.S continue to discipline students with strict policies that take them out of the classroom and into the criminal justice system for minor offenses. This school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately impacts minority students—most of whom are low-income and have histories of abuse.
Your gift propels our work impacting the lives of more than 41,000 children and their families every year!