The Bay Area Crisis Nursery's mission is child abuse prevention. The purpose of the Bay Area Crisis Nursery is to prevent abuse and neglect of young children by providing support to families who are under stress or in crisis.

Description:
The Bay Area Crisis Nursery (BACN) provides residential care for children birth through age eleven while their parents deal with a crisis (homelessness, illness, domestic violence, drugs or alcohol, etc.) or stress from parenting.

We accomplish our mission by providing a safe haven for children whose parents care but temporarily can't cope. The Bay Area Crisis Nursery (BACN)is the only free, confidential program in the San Francisco Bay Area where parents voluntarily place their children in short-term residential care. Rather than treat a child after abuse occurs BACN focuses on stopping child abuse before it starts. The Bay Area Crisis Nursery provides 24-hour residential care for children birth through age eleven in a warm, safe, loving and homelike environment. Besides a safe and caring place to live, children receive three meals a day plus snacks. Clothing is provided. BACN's staff assesses and evaluates the children's socialization and activities of daily living (ADL). Through play we assist the children in developing gross and fine motor skills. By modeling positive behaviors in a structured environment we improve the children's social skills. For example, older children set and clear the table for dinner - the staff member eats with the children, modeling table manners and engaging the children in positive conversation.

Equally important with keeping the children safe is what happens to the family. The parent, freed from childcare responsibilities, is able to focus on the problem and its solutions and can make more efficient use of other services. The parent helps to develop an action plan and receives individualized referrals to Bay Area agencies that provide specialized services such as housing, substance abuse treatment, counseling, etc. Case management occurs every time the parent calls or comes in. Staff ask questions about how appointments, meetings, trainings, etc. went and update the plan as needed. We measure our success by the family's success - completing the steps in their family plan, resolving the immediate crisis, alleviating stress, etc.

BACN facilitates long-term, positive change in families as illustrated by the following real-life example. A professional association collected toys for our Holiday Giving Program and asked Sister Ann to speak at a dinner where the toys would be presented. The woman who set up the collection was a former client who had used the Nursery 15 years ago when she was jobless, almost homeless and at the end of her rope. She brought her son to the Nursery and was able to concentrate on finding a new job, getting secure housing and restarting her life. Today she has worked in a professional capacity for over ten years; her son is in college and she is a homeowner. She has since become a regular childcare volunteer.

History:
Sister Ann Weltz, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, established the Bay Area Crisis Nursery (BACN) in July of 1981. Sister Ann had taught in Catholic schools in the Bay Area for ten years. In 1976, while in Arizona, she became Assistant Director at a crisis nursery operated by a nun. Because there were no other crisis nurseries in the Bay Area offering free, voluntary, and confidential services, Sister Ann raised $300,000 in donations and loans to open the doors to the Bay Area Crisis Nursery. After twenty-three years, we are still the only crisis nursery in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Crisis Nursery has had over 14,000 admissions, counting both crisis and respite admissions. In 2003 there were 782 admissions.

BACN operates solely on donations from individuals, corporations, the faith community, clubs/organizations and private foundations and on income raised through several fundraising events each year. BACN does not seek government funding. We require funding for ongoing operations, capital and non-capital expenses. In the year 2003, individuals contributed 57.2% of our funding, foundations 15.4%, fundraising events 11.2%, corporations/businesses 6.1%, faith communities 2.9% and clubs/organizations 3.8%. Other income (3.4%) included interest, gains on investments and in-kind donations.

Expansion Project: Our Expansion Project, begun in 1998, had three primary goals: 1) Expand our current facilities to provide adequate storage, office and training space for all programs; 2) Establish two group homes for older children and 3) Relocate and restructure the transitional housing program for women and children from shared living to individual units with an emphasis on teaching independent living skills.



In April 2000 we opened the "Don and Mary Mitchell Family Center". This building, located next door to the current Nursery site, provides meeting rooms, offices and storage space. Staff and volunteer training sessions, parent activities and special events, such as holiday gift wrapping, are held here.

For the past 22 years, the Bay Area Crisis Nursery only had space to accommodate children from birth through five-years-old. Licensing requires children aged five and under to be housed apart from children aged six and over. It was never easy to see the younger children admitted to the nursery while the six or ten year old went off with the family to sleep in the car, live in an unsafe environment, or camp out in the hospital or family court hallways. BACN owns another property one block from the current Nursery, formerly used for transitional housing, which was remodeled and refurnished as the first older children's group home. Dahlstrom House began admitting children in July 2003 and can accommodate six children. Since only six children can stay at Dahlstrom House, we will need to find another house in the neighborhood in order to open a second home for older children.

Future plans include the purchase of a six to eight unit apartment building to re-establish transitional housing in individual units with training in independent living skills.

Contact people:

Sister Ann Weltz, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Sandy Hathaway, Community Relations Coordinator, (phone), (email) Lisa Heimbruch, Office/Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: 925-689-5815

Address:

1506 Mendocino Dr. Concord, CA 94521 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.bacn.info

Directions:

From Tri-Valley or Oakland/San Francisco take appropriate freeway to 680 North, exit at Treat Blvd, turn right on Treat, follow for several miles until you come to Clayton Rd, turn left on Clayton Rd, go down two traffic lights, turn right onto Mendocino, 1506 is the first building on your right as soon as you turn onto Mendocino. *Note: it is a single story residential building. From Pittsburg/Antioch/Richmond areas take Hwy 4 to Willow Pass Rd, turn left onto Willow Pass Rd, follow Willow Pass Rd into Concord until you reach Farm Bureau Rd, turn left on Farm Bureau, follow Farm Bureau to Clayton Rd, turn left on Clayton, go two traffic lights to Mendocino Dr., turn left on Mendocino.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: BART Concord,   Walk distance (in minutes): 20   Nearest Bus Stop: CCTA 110, 115, 314 (Sundays only) - coming from Concord BART stop is at Cape Cod Dr/Clayton Rd; coming from Treat Blvd, stop is at Mendocino Dr and Clayton Rd, 2 minute walk

Overall Experience   
Most meaningful volunteer experience for me

Working at the Bay Area Crisis Nursery had the most meaning for me. The Bay Area Crisis Nursery provides residential care for children birth through age eleven while their parents deal with a crisis (homelessness, illness, domestic violence, drugs or alcohol, etc.) or stress from parenting. Through play, I assisted the children in developing gross and fine motor skills. I helped improve the children's social skills. For example, older children set and clear the table for dinner. I would eat with the children, engaging the children in positive conversations. posted by alexlowen on October 25, 2004