Family Resources is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. We prevent child abuse before it happens. We intervene when it does. We treat when healing is needed. The region’s leader in the fight against child abuse.
Mission + Vision
Trauma-Informed Culture
At Family Resources we ask “What Happened?” Not “What’s Wrong?”
Yes, everyone is traumatized. It does not happen to only some people. It’s not just survivors of abuse or violence or major disasters who experience trauma. Perhaps you witnessed a bad car accident on the way home from work. Possibly you or someone you care about experienced a sudden job loss or serious illness. Maybe an unexpected turn of events stirred up a painful memory?
Family Resources is a trauma-informed agency because we:
- Realize the widespread impact of trauma and recognize paths for recovery
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in our clients, staff, collaborating partners and communities
- Respond by fully integrating our knowledge about trauma into our policies, procedures, and practices
Oprah takes up the cause of trauma-informed care.
Click to watch video:
Click to Learn More
Adapted from CDC’s Office of Readiness and Response (ORR), in collaboration with SAMHSA’s National Center for Trauma-Informed Care (NCTIC)
Safety
We welcome all & all are safe.
We commit to creating an organization where all feel physically and psychologically safe, whether an employee, client, board member, partner, or stakeholder. We also promote a sense of safety in our physical settings and interpersonal interactions.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Emotional Intelligence
- Nonviolence
Transparency + Trustworthiness
We build trust through transparency.
We are committed to conducting organizational operations and decision-making openly, allowing us to build and maintain trust with our employees and the clients served.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Shared Voice
Peer Support
We honor the shared and lived experiences of our employees and clients.
We seek to establish trust and safety within our organization as we promote support, healing, and resiliency. A result of our commitment to honoring our employees and clients stories and lived experiences is a culture of collaboration and respect for the commonalities of our experiences.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Social Responsibility
- Social Learning
- Shared Voice
- Emotional Intelligence
Collaboration + Mutuality
We level power differences to support shared decision-making.
Meaningfully sharing power and decision-making makes our culture stronger. We can only do this if we are committed to leveling power differences, developing meaningful relationships, and enrichening our partnerships so that everyone has a role in shaping our trauma-informed workplace.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Social Responsibility
- Social Learning
Empowerment, Agency, + Choice
We empower, recognize, and validate our employees.
We believe that our role is to foster a culture that recognizes and embraces the strengths & experiences of our employees and clients. We are committed to centering the diminished voices of our community in our shared decision-making, goal-setting, and organizational practices: aligning our operations, workforce development, and services to level power differentials and empower our employees and clients. We do this to cultivate a belief in the agency of the people served, in resilience, and in the ability of our employees and organization to heal and promote recovery from trauma.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Social Responsibility
- Shared Voice
- Emotional Intelligence
Cultural, Historical, + Gender Issues
We actively recognize and address bias, stereotypes, and historical & contemporary trauma.
We are committed to offering access to gender-responsive services, healing through cultural connections, and addressing historical & contemporary trauma. We demonstrate this by incorporating policies, practices, & learning opportunities into our organizational operations that are responsive to and appreciative of the specific yet diverse needs of our employees and those we serve.
Committed to:
- Open Communication
- Social Responsibility
- Social Learning
- Shared Voice
- Emotional Intelligence
Our Team
The team at Family Resources are leaders in their field who constantly seek and implement best practices and evidence-based approaches to compassionately serve families in need. More importantly, at the core of everything we do to end child abuse and treat trauma, is the value of leading and inspiring with love.
Aimee Kolick
Executive Director
Since becoming Executive Director in 2016, Aimee has led the way for cultural equality within the Family Resources staff and Board of Directors. Under her tenure, Family Resources created an Allied Resources Committee, dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization.
The three beliefs that Aimee holds deep have led to many success stories within our agency. 1) Trauma-informed care is never optional. 2) the best and bravest leaders admit they don’t know much, but have super smart colleagues who do. 3) it’s okay to sometimes let love lead to decision making.
Aimee also believes that an employee “first” focus is imperative to the structure of Family Resources organization. “I have been with the agency since 2011 and have had the privilege of serving the superheroes of our agency, our frontline staff. They are the ones who work closely and intimately with the families we serve, day in and out, delivering our services. I am truly indebted to them.”
A strong animal advocate, she has recently added a new component to treating trauma in adults and children with the upcoming inception of FURiends of Family Resources Program. Her hope is to bring the calmness and serenity attached to the human-animal relationship to our clients and continue our vision to build a world where no child lives in fear of abuse.
Aimee is a graduate of Seton Hill University and spent her early career teaching in one of California’s underserved communities. She lives with her husband, Les, Mabel, her beloved English Bulldog, and Buddy, Family Resources Security Staff Yorkie, Mac, Family Resources Facility Dog, and Crosby, the wise black lab.
If you would like to talk to Aimee about any of our programs, please email her directly at [email protected]
Brooke Generett Ware, LCSW
Director of Prevention Services
Contact
Cynthia Lockett, LSW
Director of Intervention Services
Contact
Brian Tessmer, MA, NCC, LPC
Director of Treatment Services
Contact
Lisa Costa
Development Manager
Contact
Rachel Blumenreich
Director of Finance
Contact
Buddy
Director of Security
Contact
2024-25 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Family Resources is led by a diverse, visionary board of directors dedicated to the eradication of child abuse and improving the communities we serve.
Officers
Kate Booker, President
Jacki Szymanski, Vice President
Myra Powell, Secretary
Richard Bartley, Treasurer
Directors
Yodit Betru
Vicki Clites
Angelique Drakeford
Jennifer Engel
Simone Freeman
Jeremy Gracik
Miriam Mayr
Eric McClimans
Kathryn Vargas
Adam Viccaro
FOLLOW US
One of the best ways to help us is to share our work with your network!
