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Share the Spirit: Helping stressed-out mothers with advice and basic needs
By Matt O'BrienContra Costa Times Posted: 12/21/2009 03:44:06 PM PST Updated: 12/21/2009 03:44:07 PM PST
Sara Azanza, a mother of four, fights back the tears as she talks about how Child Abuse...
PITTSBURG -- Her husband was suddenly out of the picture, leaving Sara Azanza saddled with debt and almost no income to raise their children. She had just given birth to a fourth child but was having a hard time seeing the joy past the tears.
"I was feeling so depressed," said the Pittsburg mother. "There were days when I was crying all the time."
That's when Edith Senatori of Newborn Connections stepped in, lending an observant ear to Azanza and an aunt-like devotion to the children.
"She was devastated," remembers Senatori. "She was very depressed. I started to visit her twice a week."
Senatori is a home visitor with New Connections who juggles appointments with 15 to 18 families at a time, building strong attachments to all of them as she helps to relieve household tension.
Almost 30 months after Senatori and Azanza met, Azanza's youngest child, Arisbeth, has grown into a bright and outgoing 2-year-old. She calls herself "La Princesa No. 2," deferring the top royalty spot to her 4-year-old sister.
The girls and their brothers, ages 11 and 13, now have a computer that Newborn Connections donated to them, plus extra clothes and food. Most importantly, they have a mother who says she is doing better emotionally and skilled at meeting the high demands of single parenthood.
"She helped me so much," Azanza said as Senatori played with Arisbeth in the family's Pittsburg home last week.
Newborn Connections is a program of the Child Abuse Prevention Council of
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Contra Costa County that for more than two decades has assisted mothers overwhelmed by childbirth.
"We focus on the parenting, the postpartum depression, the isolation issues," said project coordinator Rose Marie Wallace. "They just need to feel supported. They need to have our ear, and to know they're not alone."
The home visitors are connected to distressed mothers almost immediately after childbirth, easing the stress that in some circumstances could cascade into child neglect or physical and emotional abuse.
Founded in 1976 as part of an umbrella organization, the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa County was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1984. The Newborn Connections program began four years later and is based in Concord with a satellite office in Antioch.
Senatori, Wallace and the other home visitors now serve about 65 families a year in central and eastern Contra Costa County.
The visitors usually stop by for about an hour each week, and their visits can continue for four to eight months. Sometimes, if crisis hits again later, they will return.
Their advice in Spanish or English covers breast-feeding techniques, proper nutrition for mother and baby, infant development and education opportunities in the area. They are ready to answer questions about sibling issues or why the baby is crying so much. The program also offers material support.
"When we come, sometimes they don't have anything for the baby," Senatori said. "No crib, no stroller, no diapers."
Through a partnership with the Share the Spirit program, which disburses donations to 36 charities throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties, mothers served by Newborn Connections are getting grocery vouchers they can use for their holiday dinners or other meals -- providing them one less thing to worry about in an anxious time.
Learn more about the program at www.capc-coco.org or by calling 925-798-0546. SHARE THE SPIRIT
The Share the Spirit campaign, sponsored by Bay Area News Group, benefits nonprofit agencies in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Readers who wish to help can clip the coupon accompanying this story and send it to the address printed on it. The Volunteer Center of the East Bay administers the fund. Readers with questions and corporations interested in making large contributions may contact the Volunteer Center of the East Bay at 925-472-5760.
January 2008 Contra Costa Times article: County programs assist parents
CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION COUNCIL OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FACT SHEET
- Child abuse costs the taxpayers of California $95 billion a year. The cost of prevention is a fraction of that amount
- In Contra Costa County during 2007 there were 5290 reports of suspected child abuse/neglect affecting 9823 children
- National statistics show that one in four girls and one in eight boys will be maltreated before the age of 18
- Child abuse /neglect affect children of all ages, races, and incomes
- Children under the age of two are at the greatest risk of abuse
- Child abuse is the most common cause of brain injury in children under one year of age
- Children with disabilities are three to seven times more likely to suffer from child maltreatment than children without disabilities
- Parents abusing drugs or alcohol are at a higher risk of neglecting/abusing their children
- Circumstances that place parents under substantial stress is likely to increase the risk of child abuse i.e., mental and physical illness, economic stress, drug abuse, isolation
- Domestic violence greatly impacts children in the home.
- Children living in domestic violence situations are at risk of being physically abused them selves
- Neglected or sexually abused children may not show any physical signs of harm
- Adults who were abused as children are at risk of suffering from heart disease, cancer, lung disease, obesity, and many other physical and mental health related problems.
- Reporting child abuse does not automatically mean the child will be removed from the home
- Programs offering by the Child Abuse Prevention Council positively impact a family at risk and prevent child abuse
- Supporting a stressed parent or caregiver helps both the parent and the child
- Child Abuse is 100% preventable.
1410 Danzig Plaza, Suite 110
Concord, CA 94520-7971
925.798.0546 Concord
301 West 10th Street #1
Antioch, CA 94509
925.755.4200 Antioch
For information about current and upcoming news, please contact:
Carol Carrillo
Executive Director
Child Abuse Prevention Council of Contra Costa
1410 Danzig Plaza #110
Concord, CA. 94520
(925) 798-0546
(925) 798-0756 Fax