HARVEST Riverside

Ms. J is the current relative caregiver for 3 children. Ms. J also has 4 biological children of her own. There are a total of 8 people living in an apartment. Ms. J is receiving very limited funding from DCFS. 2 out of the 3 foster children who reside with Ms. J were adopted.  Despite those 2 children being detained from the adoptive mother she is still receiving her AAP benefits based on regulation. The adoptive mother is not providing financial support to the relative caregiver. The caregiver needs assistance to transport the children to school and daycare.

A single mother to a 10-year old son currently facing financial and personal hardship. The mother is unemployed at this time to prioritize her mental health and work through ongoing recovery from substance abuse. She is proud to share that she has receiving her pin for achieving her 1 year of sobriety the beginning of this month. Recently, an unexpected issue occurred when her son's mattress was infested with bed bugs. To prevent further infestation throughout their unit, she immediately disposed of the mattress. Unfortunately, she is not in a financial position to replace the bed on her own at this time. She is kindly asking for assistance in the form of donated box spring and mattress for her son. She is open to either a twin or full sized mattress/bed frame, whichever is available first.

The participant and her family consist of parents and their 13 year old daughter. The family recently moved into their new unit and have been sleeping on the floor or on the couch of their apartment. They are are only receiving $650 in cash aid and her husband had to leave his job he had due to the move. The husband recently returned to school to achieve his GED and has been doing great and staying on task and focused, and has just started applying for jobs at nearby grocery stores. We would like to support this family's progress by assisting them in obtaining a bed for the daughter and a bed for the parents, with bed frames.

KINSHIP. Kin Caregiver/Grandmother is currently caring for her grandchildren and requires assistance with furniture items due to her recent move to a new apartment. The family had to move due to flooding of her previous location, where many items were damaged. The caregiver is requesting a bunk bed and dressers for the children for the home approval and sustainability. Providing this support will help the family meet their basic needs and enable children to stay in their home. The caregiver currently receives DCFS funding, and she also receives CalWORKs, Section 8, Cal Fresh to help support her biological daughter and two grandchildren in her. The caregiver will continue to work with the DCFS staff to finalize the home approval to ensure a safe environment for the children, as well as to seek resources and opportunities to enrich their basic needs.

Single father caring for two children who is struggling financially specifically with rent, and gas money. Father is working two jobs but it's still having a hard time making ends meet. The additional driving to and from both jobs and transporting the children to school and daycare is adding more financial strains. Hence the need for assistance for gas money. One of the children has medical issues making public transportation detrimental to her health. Her exposure to the public should be limited. The family is at risk of losing their housing due to FA not being able to cover his bills. Father has been using money that would usually go to the rent to pay for the children's necessities. The department is helping with beds and desk for the children. This one time assistance will help the father maintain his household financially. As mentioned earlier, FA is employed ( two jobs). This family has a lot of needs and any assistance to assist this family to maintain their home is greatly appreciated.

Parents have a daughter 3 and son 1. The family currently has an open case and have made steady improvements to ensure they can care the children. The mother is a full-time student working towards her degree in psychology, she’s expected to finish this summer. The father has a small business where he fixes and sells cars. The children are developmentally on target and thriving with their parents. The mother is currently on disability due to postpartum complications after giving birth. She works a couple hours through work study on campus. The parents currently spend most of their money on rent and household expenses leaving little money for big purchase items. The 3 yr old sleeps with the parents and the 1 yr old has outgrown his bassinet. They need a bunkbed that the children will be able to grow into and use for many years. The family is also searching for a dresser to store the kid’s cloths. Currently they use plastic bins that are falling apart. The family would like the items to help maintain a safe environment for the kids and for them to have comfortable beds to sleep in. Dresser Go To Link Beds Go To Link ###-#### Mattress Go To Link

The caregiver has taken in a sibling set of 3 children and is providing them with permanent placement services after the parents were not able to reunify with the children. The children are issued laptops during the school year however they are on summer break and still require the use for educational and entertainment purposes. However, they had to give the laptops back to the school once the school year ended. This will help the caregiver out financially as she is unable to manage the expense of purchasing laptops for 3 children at this time. She can continue to focus on the children’s needs and fostering a safe healthy environment for them.

Family of 6 is currently homeless and at a temporary shelter. The family is experiencing financial hardship. The student has had a hard time in school staying focused and on task when present. Mom has been trying to connect him with sports but financially cannot afford it, school counselor spoke to coaches and staff, and they are willing to let him join, needs proper wrestling shoes to be able to start training with the team. Shoe size is 11.5 preferably or 11 wide in men's.

The client is a 14-year-old female who was removed from her parents at the age of 9, due to neglect (substance abuse/domestic violence) by the mother and her significant other. Child’s bio-father passed away when she was 3. The child was placed in a stable foster home where she remains to date. Mother’s reunification svcs have been terminated; the child is likely to remain in foster care as she does not wish to be adopted or placed in legal guardianship.

The foster parents report the child is a pleasure to have in their home – she is respectful and listens well. The child recently completed 7th grade and admitted she spends much of her time alone in her room. To address/mitigate isolative behaviors, we investigated her interests. This child is quite amazing and is talented in the arts. She enjoys reading, drawing, and is interested in learning to play the flute and violin. Respectfully, we would like to request the following:

• Art Supplies – graphite pencils, sketchbooks, or a gift card to Target, Walmart, or an arts supply store so she can purchase art supplies.
• Gift card to a bookstore such as Barnes and Noble to buy books for summer reading.
• Donation of a gently used flute and/or violin so she can join the school band or take music lessons. Thank you for your consideration in assisting with the requested items. Obtaining these items will help prevent isolative behaviors, increase social integration and self-confidence, and develop her artistic skills.

This request is for a refugee family of 7 who recently moved from a small furnished apartment to an unfurnished one. They are asking for a refrigerator that is in good working condition. Since they live in an apartment, the ideal size would be between 20 and 24 cu ft. Style is not essential.

The father has only been able to secure work two days a week, and the mother stays at home to care for the five children. The father attends school to continue improving his English skills, which will give him more employment opportunities.