Family Outreach/ Youth and Community Outreach

Family Outreach Programs- Paul Hartley Complex

With strong community support in 2010, the Family Outreach Department contin-
ued to meet our two overarching goals: (1) to alleviate clients’ distress and (2) to
build resilience by offering our in home counseling and supportive services to mili-
tary families. Providing Supportive Services such as respite child care, car
seats, cribs, diapers, glasses referrals, gift cards for food and gas, and our monthly
Neighborhood Exchange food distribution, concretely alleviates the distress of mili-
tary families. Families that access our Supportive Services experience a success in
problem solving and build trust in the Family Outreach (FO) Department. When
our FO Social Workers alleviate a concrete need, Counseling Services become less
scary and more accessible. Once families are receiving In Home Counseling, it is then that FO Social Workers begin
the more challenging work of alleviating the emotional distress of their clients and building their resiliency.
Throughout the year, FO Social Workers held weekly Children’s Deployment Groups in local schools and the Ex-
ceptional Family Member Support Group met monthly. The Military Family Advisory Committee, introduced in
the spring of 2010 and made up of volunteer military community members, continued to work to identify needs and
strengthen resources for military families. Operation Love Life, another new program developed in 2010, is a quarterly
seminar designed to engage the single active duty service member in discussions about relationships and marriage. This
program serves as a unique way for FO social workers to utilize their therapeutic training to prevent problems they see
with families in counseling.
This past year, with community support and generous grant funding, we purchased two newer vehicles - a 2009 Kia
Spectra and a 2008 Toyota Tacoma – to ensure that our FO Social Workers have safe, reliable transportation to home
visits. With the addition of the truck, we now have the ability to transport essential goods, such as cribs and mattresses,
to families. Overall in 2010, FO Social Workers accepted 519 counseling referrals, conducted 2250 visits- a 150% in-
crease from 2000, and provided food to a total of 8115 individuals from 1691 households through the increasingly popu-
lar Neighborhood Exchange Food Bank partnership. In addition, via our Supportive Services, an average of 5 families
a month were provided respite child care, an average of 25 families a month were provided Family Emergency Supplies,
and an average of 2 families a month were provided taxi vouchers. FO Social Workers closed the year by recognizing the
efforts of military parents via the SuperParent Holiday Shopping Day toy program, the Holiday Elf Program, and
other community holiday events. This year, our holiday programs served over 1237 families!

Youth & Community Outreach Programs- Paul Hartley Complex

The Youth and Community Outreach Department’s goal for 2010 was to deliver de-
pendable, consistent, welcoming programs to military families and their children.
For many military families, moving to a new community can be stressful. As families
move from duty station to duty station, dependent spouses and their children are
required to restart their lives finding new jobs, going to new schools, making new
friends, and building new support systems. Through nine weekly programs includ-
ing Mom & Tots, Playgroup, Kids Club, and Craft and Conversation, YCO
made it easy for military families to create new relationships.
In January, YCO introduced Intersession Day Out, an educational fun out-
ing during the winter break for children 6 to 8 years old. This program relieved
parents of the stress of having to keep their kids busy during the school break and
gave children the opportunity to ice skate at Horton Square and explore the New
Children’s Museum. To support military children during the school year, the YCO department provided 12 Operation
Hero programs for 85 students at five elementary schools. Students practiced skills to increase their resiliency and em-
power them to handle the many challenges of military life. In the summer YCO served an additional 50 children through a
free week-long day camp experience with Camp Hero.
The Youth and Community Outreach Department also offers opportunities for military families to connect at special
events. The 4th Annual Father and Daughter Dance, “Enchanted Evening”, allowed 200 military personnel to laugh
and be silly with their daughters on the dance floor. Operation Outdoors afforded 70 military children the opportunity
to experience a week of summer camp at local YMCA’s and also provided 27 families a weekend of games, crafts, and
recreation during family camp.
With the assistance of over 60 volunteers from the American Sewing Guild, the Operation Kid Comfort Program
reached its 3,000th quilt in 2010! These quilts have provided an immeasurable amount of comfort and connection to
over 1,600 San Diego families who continue to struggle with the hardships of having a service member deployed. Our
volunteers have donated an unbelievable 30,000 hours of service crafting these beautiful quilts. In the words of one
young quilt recipient, “My quilt was made by a quilt fairy, because only fairies can make magic happen!”
SAN DIEGO ARMED SERVICES YMCA—2010 PROGRAMS
Naval Medical Center/ Active Duty Military Programs
Wounded, Injured and Ill at Naval Medical Center
In 2010, over 20,000 wounded, injured and ill patients, along with family
members, benefited from the Armed Services YMCA programs offered at Na-
val Medical Center. Hospitalization can be lonely, stressful and boring – the
ASYMCA helps. At Naval Medical Center, the goal of ASYMCA staff and volun-
teers is to contribute to patients’ healing and wellness, and this is accom-
plished in a number of ways. The Therapy Dogs are always a welcome sight.
Recreation opportunities delivered to the patient’s bedside include laptop
computers, TV’s with gaming systems, movies, and craft projects. ASYMCA
Staff and Volunteers meet every wounded and injured service member air
lifted to Naval Medical Center. As worried family members rush to the bedside, volunteers offer assistance and comfort.
For patients with limited mobility or amputations, the ASYMCA has a supply of adaptive clothing with snaps and velcro
openings. Additional resources are available to wounded warriors thanks to generous donations from: Warrior Founda-
tion, Tri West, Hotel Motel Association, Atlas Hotels, Rescue Task Force, San Diego Yacht Club, Mayor Sanders, Navy Old
Goats, along with Matt Fevang and others.
Patients make reservations for holistic services such as: yoga, meditation, massage and Reiki. As part of a compre-
hensive team that formed in 2010 to address severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the ASYMCA sponsors weekly work-
shops that include: Art and Writing Workshops, Therapeutic Horseback Riding, and Warriors Giving Back. Throughout
the year, San Diego businesses and organizations show their appreciation to wounded, injured and ill by offering admis-
sion to: sporting events, dinners, theaters, museums and other venues. To encourage participation, the ASYMCA provides
transportation upon request so patients can easily attend: fishing, bowling, and other fun outings. For our Littlest Warri-
ors, the ASYMCA provides many special events throughout the year for military families who have children with disabili-
ties or special needs. These are wonderful events for the entire family: Neonatal Intensive Care Reunion, Miramar Air
Show Preview, San Diego Yacht Club Sailfest, Coronado Yacht Club Cruise and BBQ, and a children’s holiday party.

Volunteer Services Department

Throughout 2010, our dedicated volunteers contributed 26,090 hours to ASYMCA programs- this is equivalent to 12
full-time staff. The vast work of volunteers significantly contributes to enriching the lives of active duty military and
their families. Many thanks to all ASYMCA volunteers!

Active Duty Military Programs- Naval Base San Diego

2010 brought about a number of changes for San Diego Armed
Services YMCA Active Duty Programs. Our biggest change was
our move into a brand new office located on Naval Base San
Diego, Building 71. The office’s prime location has allowed us
to effectively reach our program goals of providing community
outreach, positive choices, and social networking for San
Diego’s active duty military personnel.
Over the course of the year, Active Duty Programs gave 42
Out & About Tours to 1,300 service members and spouses
new to the San Diego area. The tours included stops at Coro-
nado, Old Town, Balboa Park, Gaslamp District, Mount Soledad,
Mission Beach, and more. We also continued our Adopt-A-
Command pizza parties, recreational trips, and presence at Homecomings of San Diego’s ships and other commands to
show support to anxious military families.
In addition to our ongoing programs, the Active Duty Program Department participated in a number of special
events. The annual 4th of July Freedom Festival served over 600 military children with toys, games, and fun activities.
Our annual Operation Liberty Call event, held during Fleet Week, provided hundreds of military personnel with cou-
pon books offering special military discounts throughout San Diego. At the annual Christmas at the Hard Rock, 50 chil-
dren of deployed service members received breakfast, toys, and a visit from Santa on Christmas morning.
The foundation of the Active Duty Program, our Military Volunteer Program (MVP), continued to thrive in 2010
as 1,500 active duty volunteers gave 8,038 hours of their time during 144 different events benefiting the San Diego
community. Our greatest success in 2010 was the significant increase in the number of participants who volunteered
more than once to MVP. Throughout the year, 51% of military volunteers attended multiple volunteer events and an
equally impressive 49% of participants were new to the program. The impact of their hard work is immeasurable.

SAN DIEGO ARMED SERVICES YMCA—2010 PROGRAMS