Some parents think a slap across the face is the only way to convey a message to their children. Hetty Hollander is trying to teach families that physical abuse is not a correct form of communication.
A volunteer caseworker for Family Outreach of East Dallas since 1990, Hollander meets weekly with parents who have abused their children.
Family Outreach is a non-profit agency dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The agency works with the Child Protective Service (CPS) department of Texas Protective and Regulatory Services to identify parents who have abused their children or are at risk to do so.
The agency focuses on educating these parents and teaching them alternatives to physical, emotional and sexual abuse. In 1991, the staff and 15 volunteer caseworkers worked with 41 families in East Dallas.
Hollander’s responsibilities as a caseworker include meeting with the parents in their homes once a week, listening to them, offering advice and helping them access community resources. In addition, she writes and files reports with CPS.
While most volunteers work with one or two families, Hollander is working with four families. Her volunteer time changes weekly because she never knows what her families might need.
Most of the parents in the program admit they need help and have agreed to work with CPS and Family Outreach. So, Hollander works with the parents to find alternative means of discipline and communication.
“Usually, the parents themselves come from abused families. It’s what they’re used to,” Hollander says. “We try to make them see another side of life.
“These families are so dysfunctional and their lives are so upside down,” she says. “Sometimes we go five steps forward and six steps back, but we do see a little bit of payoff. Sometimes we really see results.”
Hollander tells the success story of one mother who was overwhelmed with the responsibility of raising five boys. She often forgot to sign papers sent home by teachers and rarely asked her boys about their homework. The boys were falling behind in school and weren’t receiving the help they needed at home.
Hollander helped the mother make a list of ways she could support her boys. The caseworker encouraged her to ask them questions and become involved in their educations.
Soon, teachers and counselors were commenting that the mother was very involved with her boys.
“The teachers didn’t know we were there helping, but they noticed the difference,” Hollander says. She says results like these make her volunteer job rewarding.
In addition to her regular duties, Hollander also coordinated the agency’s Christmas program last year. She located companies and individuals to adopt the children served by Family Outreach.
Her garage became Santa’s workshop, filled with clothes, food and toys for the children, wrapping paper and ribbons. When it came time to deliver the gifts, Hollander even dressed in an elf costume.
The children were delighted with the gifts and their visitor from the North Pole. “One girl actually thought I was an elf,” she says.
Hollander believes that Family Outreach is making a difference in the lives of children, and she is happy to be a part of it.
“I like volunteering for Family Outreach because I enjoy meeting people face-to-face,” she says. “I try to teach them a different lifestyle, and I get to see the results.”
Volunteer Opportunities
The Volunteer Center is a United Way agency that serves as a clearinghouse to recruit and refer volunteers for more than 750 agencies in Dallas. Thousands of volunteer positions are waiting to be filled. Call the Volunteer Center at 826-6767 for more information about these and other volunteer opportunities.
YOU CAN PREVENT CHILD ABUSE when you volunteer for Family Outreach of East Dallas. The agency is looking for volunteers to teach parenting classes, serve in its speakers bureau, perform one-on-one casework with families and assist with telephone intake and referral. Training will begin March 4.
HELP THESE SPECIAL ATHLETES prepare for national competitions. The Disable Sports Association of North Texas needs volunteers to assist with sports training, equipment construction and athlete recruitment. Volunteers also can videotape events, serve on the speakers bureau or provide support for a golf tournament or bowl-a-thon.
ONE UPON A TIME…KERA’S preschool education program needs volunteers to serve as story readers. A volunteer orientation will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19. Help child-care providers and their children discover the joy and importance of reading by reading storybooks to preschool children.
