McCall Foundation Advocates on behalf of Children and Families

United Way of Northwest Connecticut covers 16 towns and 25 communities in the Northwest corner of the State – touching the lives of 58,936 people. We fund 24 agencies including the McCall Foundation which advocates on behalf of its clients including those at-risk of developing behavioral and emotional problems. While the McCall Foundation is primarily known for its treatment programs for people with substance abuse and other behavioral and emotional problems, McCall also provides a number of other services including numerous Prevention Programs that educate and advocate for children, adolescents, and families in the community who are at risk for developing problems. Take for example a neglected young girl who was removed from her family in Torrington by DCF and placed in a foster home in Waterbury. Up until her removal she had been taking part in one of the McCall Foundation’s children’s weekly support groups and she both enjoyed and benefited from that involvement. When she moved to Waterbury, however, this young girl was cut off from the only support she had in her sad and sorely disrupted life. In response the McCall’s prevention staff made the effort to commute up and down Route 8 every week to ensure that she was able to continue to attend her support group. This young girl needed now more than ever to be around staff and other group members in order to share her fears of what might happen to her as her family fell apart. Today she is a successful college student who continues to stop by the McCall Foundation every school break to give an update on her progress and to say thanks for all the help she received at the Foundation. Another example of going above and beyond the call of duty involved helping a mother who was struggling with addiction and facing the loss of custody of her children. While many in her life had given up on her, McCall’s prevention staff saw in her the potential to be a great mom and helped her get into treatment. They then enrolled her in some of the prevention program’s groups and taught her parenting and life skills so she could learn how to take care of herself and children more successfully. Today she is a happy homemaker and mother raising her kids in a safe and happy environment. It takes a special person to work in a prevention program. And McCall Foundation’s staff are indeed special. They care deeply for their clients and frequently go above and beyond to advocate for their clients. It’s good to know that this hard work often pays off and the many lives that have been saved is proof that this effort is more than worthwhile.