Cornerstone Health Services
Hello from the Medical Clinic, or what we now call Health Services. Why the name change? If you have been keeping up with changes here, you know a lot is happening at Cornerstone and in the clinic. When I was brought on board in November, medical services were all we had. We are in the process of adding dental services, nutritional classes, cooking classes and a fitness center- so the broader term ‘Health Services’ includes everything.
To catch you up on everything, let’s start at the beginning. The medical clinic has functioned as part of the general operating business of Cornerstone for about 10 years. Generous donations and grants have helped develop the medical clinic over the past decade. In the fall of 2010, two large grants were received that will help complete a big piece of the leadership team’s vision for Health Services.
The first grant was from Tarrant County Indigent Planning Committee (TCIPC), which is a non-profit group formed by 4 hospital entities: Texas Health Resources, Methodist, HCA and Baylor. These groups recognize the importance of free clinics, such as Cornerstone’s, in taking care of the working poor without insurance. The grant will allow us to put into place an infrastructure that will build capacity for the clinic and avoid high emergency room costs for our patients. It will also help further our goal of transitioning the clinic to a full time multi-service clinic.
In addition, the development of the Vision Clinic through grants and donations from Alcon Labs continues. When completed, Cornerstone Health Services will be the only known clinic that provides the removal of cataracts without charge to uninsured patients.
A former Cornerstone AmeriCorps VISTA member wrote the second grant we received this past fall. The AstraZeneca Foundation awarded us a grant that allows us to expand our staff to include a medical provider, chef, and exercise trainer, as well as develop a large portion of the Cardio CAN program. Cardio CAN will include cardio and diabetic education along with a cooking class and exercise training. The goal is to provide our patients a total program focused on nutrition, education and fitness that will make positive, lasting changes in their lives.
The pieces are quickly falling into place, as we just hired our new Chef, Joe Patrick! Joe (pictured above) comes to Cornerstone with a very impressive background in the restaurant business. He will assist in developing the nutritional program for our patients and providing cooking classes in our new kitchen.
Curriculum for the diabetic education piece of Cardio CAN is progressing steadily as well. Each semester, students from TCU’s Harris School of Nursing participate in a new useful project for the clinic. Last semester, they developed very impressive education posters to be used in the diabetic program. The next class will actually develop the material to be used in teaching our patients a better way to eat and be healthy.
On top of the great progress we’ve mentioned already, we were very excited to receive a grant this past month from North Texas Specialty Physicians to assist in completing the exercise facility, allowing us to complete the Cardio CAN program. We have the equipment but need to develop a viable environment for the equipment to be used. Soon, we will have an exercise trainer on staff to put the exercise program to work for our patients.
As you can see, there is a lot going on in Health Services! But we still need your help. Not only do we need funding for continued services, we need YOU. We need medical providers such as physicians, NPs, PAs, MAs and people who can speak Spanish. Search your heart; if you are interested in volunteering, please call me at 817-632-6000. Until next time, God bless all of you!
Lorene McCoy
Director of Health Services
To see pictures of Cornerstone's Health Services, click here.
Cornerstone Lately...
Join our CEO Mike Doyle for a tour of our building to see and hear about the amazing things God is doing at Cornerstone!
This past Tuesday, we joined with TOMS Shoes and thousands of others and went without shoes to raise awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child's life.
Save the date! Cornerstone Golf Tournament Monday, October 10, 2011
Medical Clinic
The North Texas Specialty Physicians (NTSP) Charitable Fund Board has announced the 2011 recipients of its patient care grant funding opportunities- one of which is the Cornerstone Medical Clinic! This $10,000 grant will complete the medical clinic fitness facility and obtain more exercise equipment for the Cardio Can Fitness exercise program. Thank you, North Texas Specialty Physicians!
Cornerstone welcomed Chef Joe Patrick on board April 1. We are excited to have him!
Medical Mission Day was a great success! Three visiting physicians, 8 medical students from UNT Health Science Center, and 4 TCU nursing students helped out. Click here to see pictures.
Read the recent blog post about Cornerstone Health Services!
Community Services
Thanks to our network partner North Richland Hills Baptist Church for participating in a food drive to benefit CAN. Thanks especially to the Singles Ministry and Minister Derek Rowden for heading it up.
CCWJC
5 women graduated from Cornerstone CWJC March 24th! We are so proud of them. Three out of the 5 registered for college, and 2 of those began an additional computer class. One of the recent graduated called us the other day and said she thinks she’ll get the job she just interviewed for.
Although our next class won’t start up until August, there is a Friday language arts tutoring class on Fridays (that 4 of the students have been attending for over 1 year now!). We also plan to hold a finance workshop this summer.
The mentor support class that meets Tuesdays is growing! Want to be part of this incredible ministry? Contact Janet Powers at 817.632.6015 or jpowers@canetwork.org.
CWJC is so proud of 2010 Graduate Ana who not only completed her GED and CWJC training, but has now graduated from 7 months of computer courses with the Ladder Alliance. Ana stopped by last week to let us know our investment in her continues to bear fruit!
Janet Powers has been a certified CWJC coordinator for 1 year! We are beyond blessed to have her here at Cornerstone.
Thrift Store
Our HUGE anniversary sale was April 1 was a great success! If you missed it, don’t despair- we’ll have special sales the rest of this month to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!
Volunteer
Our volunteers rock! One helped move a client out of the New Life Center into his own apartment the other week. As they were moving stuff in, the volunteer noticed our client needed some extra things like a shower curtain, dish soap, etc. Later that night, our volunteer went to the dollar store on his own, went back to the gentleman's apartment and dropped off much needed supplies and a Bible!
Click here to see April’s volunteer opportunities.
Thank you, Lance and Eleanor Powers and the rest of the volunteers from Keystone Church who helped with the Thrift Store Anniversary Sale on April 2. You guys are top notch volunteers! We are grateful for your service!
Supportive Services
If you haven’t read the recent blog post Jenny Laing, our Client Case Aid wrote, you’ve got to check it out!
Taryn Freeze, our Director of Supportive Services, was in the back this week doing intakes and met with a homeless couple that had just moved into a duplex with the help of a partner church. They have been living in a tent for the last year and were so excited to have the opportunity to get some household items, food and clothes from our thrift store. The husband is an incredible poet and read her several of his poems. They were very thankful for the assistance they have received and wanted to give us a poem as a thank you. All of his poems were moving, but she asked him to pick out one that described how he felt about his experience at Cornerstone.
HOPE, FAITH AND LOVE
You show me each day, your unconditional love
A blessing I know, from my father above
To be simple and humble, to love one another
To walk hand in hand, as sisters and brothers.
To study the word, and walk with Christ
To spread the good news, each day of my life
To have faith and hope, and show others the way
With happiness and joy, every second of the day
Always do what you can, for someone in need
Fill your heart with the Spirit, and just believe
For the most previous gift, is God’s grace from above
And He blesses us all with
Hope
Faith
And Love
New Creations
New Creations is a new ministry, but growing fast! We’ve recently updated their page on our website. Check it out here.
WelcomeBack/Tarrant County
Our volunteer hours are up 30% from last year! That’s a good thing, because the numbers of parolees are growing as well and are projected to surpass 2400 this year.
Dalonika McDonald, the Supervisor of the DRC, is in the process of organizing an all-female orientation each month. We estimate that the orientations will start with 20-25 women and 5 leaders, and hope to see the number of leaders involved grow! Interested in learning more about serving women returning to Tarrant County in this way? Contact Jerry Cabluck, Director of WB/TC at 817.632.6000 ext. 106 or jcabluck@canetwork.org.
Intermediary Services
We got 13 more VISTAs approved for the summer!
Thank you, April Mitchell (Cornerstone’s Director of Fund Development), for giving a presentation at the last VISTA meeting!
Warm Fuzzies 8
A single mother found employment that has the potential to allow her to receive full benefits and full-time hours in the near future. She is still in need of reliable transportation as her truck continues to give her trouble. She has been finding comfort in reading the Bible and attending church.
Thursday Warm Fuzzies
A married father of 3 totaled his newly purchased truck on the way to work during the ice storm. This was the only vehicle the family had and caused a major setback since one of his jobs is not on the bus line. He works two jobs and his wife works full-time as well. Transportation became extremely difficult and expensive without their truck. They were able to purchase another vehicle to replace the truck and are hoping to become more stable with their transportation in the future.
Wednesday Warm Fuzzies 6
One of our clients successfully completed our housing assistance program this month. She has used the time in the program to secure a better job that is closer to her home. She and her teenage daughter are now stably housed thanks to Cornerstone’s help.
Supportive Services and the Cornerstone Thrift Store
I am always amazed to see the many things that the Lord is doing at Cornerstone Assistance Network. In the Supportive Services Department, alongside the Cornerstone Thrift Store, we are blessed to work with many different people from all walks of life. I am continually humbled and reminded of the grace given to us all as I see the Lord at work in each of our clients lives.
Recently, I worked with a precious lady who had been released from prison only 3 days before. While in prison, she was radically saved and her life changed forever! Coming in with only the clothes on her back, we walked together through the thrift store to find a few new tops, pants, and, most importantly, a new dress for her first Sunday in church. I was humbled as this soft spoken woman, who stood no taller than 5 feet, asked if she could hold my hands and pray for the Lord’s blessing over me. I cried as I realized that she had encouraged me more than I could ever encourage her.
As we finished our shopping, she timidly asked me for one last thing: a brush. Embarrassed, she quickly ran her fingers through her hair and admitted that she had not used a brush in over three days. Excited and grateful that the Lord provided many brand new toiletry items through donations to our thrift store, I was able to quickly retrieve a brush and comb for her. She immediately ran the brush through her hair, and began to weep, wrapped her arms around me, and thanked the Lord over and over. Once again, I was humbled to see how the Lord knew that such a small item could bring so much joy to one of his beloved children. Each day, I learn something new not only from the wonderful people that I work with at Cornerstone, but also from those whom I am honored to serve.
Jenny Laing is Cornerstone’s Client Case Aid. She acts as a liaison between the Cornerstone Thrift Store, Network Partners, case managers, and clients.
Cornerstone Lately...3.11.11
God is working like crazy in and through Cornerstone, so we want to fill you in on some of the highlights on a weekly basis. We’ll separate the updates out by department and link them to our website so you can find out more about that department if you’d like. This first update will be lengthy because we just came up with the idea but have a few weeks’ worth and want to fill you in!
The picture above is of Kim and Suzette, our wonderful Cornerstone Thrift Store managers. They're actually sitting down in one place at the same time so we had to get a picture!
The Cornerstone Thrift Store March is our 1 year Thrift Store anniversary! We will be having a big sale in April to celebrate…to be sure you’re in on all the coupons and secret sales, sign up for the Thrift Store e-Newsletter and follow us on Twitter @CANThrift.
Volunteer We love our volunteers! 103 individuals gave 892.6 hours of time and talent to Cornerstone in the month of February! To get the inside news on volunteer opportunities, sign up for our Volunteer e-Newsletter or check out our volunteer web page.
Supportive Services The Scripture wall several of the staff worked on is beautiful and inspirational to staff and clients alike!
We are also excited to welcome Jenny Laing as our Client Case Aid!
New Creations God has expanded New Creations within the last month and there are now three divisions within it!
- Women's Reentry Services
- Reentry Mentoring Program
- Promise House
New Creations is blessed to announce Promise House, a Christ-Centered woman's discipleship home dedicated to helping women releasing from prison experience the promises of God. During the month of March we will be working diligently to transform the house into a beautiful home for women with the hope to have a grand opening in April, 2011.
Please join us in welcoming Coyletta Govan, Director Women's Reentry Housing. Please be in prayer with us for Coyletta and the women who will come to New Creation's Promise House. We need help renovating Promise House and moving the women in. FMI, please click here:
WelcomeBack/Tarrant County Education and mentoring are two things that greatly benefit the individuals within our program as they reenter Tarrant County.
There is a great (free) program offered through TCC offering specialized training after the base hours are completed. For example, a student can take a forklift class to become certified or study OSHA.
We need men to mentor 30 gentlemen within the program and to encourage them as they hunt for jobs. Mentoring makes a large impact in the successful reentry of these men and women.
WB/TC is so thankful for Harold Kimber, who has volunteered hundreds of hours within our program. He organizes the mandatory orientation for parolees returning to Tarrant County.
Another great thing we’ve seen lately is a grant through the state and Kroger to supply wireless phones to parolees. There are, of course, criteria that must be met to obtain a phone, but the benefit of a parolee being able to contact their parole officer if they will miss a meeting is great! (Case in point: the ice storm in February).
Intermediary Services Lorenzo Pablo, the VISTA Project Coordinator, was marveling that CAN’s staff has nearly doubled since 2009. He has worked at Cornerstone for several years and has enjoyed seeing many programs, including the medical clinic, restaurant, and VISTA program, grow. He is excited to see what else God has in store and talked about how our CEO, Mike Doyle and CFO Roddy Youree have contributed much to the growth because of their God-centered leadership.
Community Services Last month, we had our first prospective partner tour and luncheon for church leaders and organizations. This introduced them to different ministries of CAN. We got great feedback and see tremendous possibilities with this new event.
Medical Clinic The Clinic is in expansion mode! We have submitted for free malpractice insurance through the federal government. This will cover our volunteer medical providers and will help us find more volunteers.
Key equipment (to see pictures, click here) has arrived, putting us closer to opening the vision piece of the clinic. Dental suites are on the horizon as well, and we are looking to apply for a grant to finish the fitness facility.
We are in need of more translators! Interested in volunteering? Please contact Kristen at khorton@canetwork.org.
Housing/Housing Development Corporation Soil samples are done and permits are being pulled! Project 1 (3 houses) will break ground this month. In the meantime, we're working to acquire 3 more lots for project 2 which should break ground in May.
Cornerstone Lately...3.18.11
God is working like crazy in and through Cornerstone, so we want to fill you in on some of the highlights on a more regular basis. We’ll separate them out by department and link them to our website so you can find out more about that department if you’d like.
New Creations We posted a short interview on Facebook this week to introduce Coyletta Govan. Coyletta is the Women's Reentry Housing Director for New Creations and we are excited to have her on board! Trinity Place is now New Creations Promise House! Click here to read about the transition and here to see pictures of the move.
We have been blessed by a generous donor with a huge shipment of appliances that we'll be picking up this week! (Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter @CANThrift to hear about the great sale that will follow...)
Volunteer The past two weeks have been busy with extra volunteer opportunities- for example, our regular weekly receptionist positions are all filled (PTL!) but we are looking for several volunteers willing to fill in when our regulars go on vacation. Want to help out? Please contact Kristen at khorton@canetwork.org.
"Like" Cornerstone Assistance Network on Facebook to be sure you're not missing any updates like this one in between our monthly Volunteer e-Newsletters (click here to sign up). We also want to thank Travis and Jill Pipkin, who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to create a database for us! They officially released the 1.0 version on March 4th and are going above and beyond to help us consistently track and report data. We can't thank them enough!
CCWJC Our current class is halfway through! We are proud of you, ladies! Keep up the great work. To see pictures, visit the CCWJC Facebook page and to learn more about the program, visit their page on our website.
Supportive Services We received some Warm Fuzzies Feedback (to read some of the amazing things God's been doing in the lives of those we're privileged to serve, visit our blog's homepage and click on a "Fuzzies" post) last week from a CAN supporter who posts the current edition in his office cube and chats with his co-workers about CAN. It made our day! It's exciting to see others getting excited about what's going on at CAN and helping us spreading the word.
Praise! A client of ours, a single mom with 2 small kids got a raise and will be able to support her family now.
We love success stories and can't resist sharing one more with you. One of our ladies exited her program successfully this week. She completed CCWJC and 1 semester of college during her time with us.
WelcomeBack/Tarrant County Every parolee must attend an orientation as part of the reentry process. Ten percent of attendees are women, and Jerry Cabluck, Director of WB/TC, saw the need for women parolees to attend an orientation led by and attended only by women. He began praying for women who would step up to meet with these women returning to Tarrant County. Now, a year later, that prayer is very close to becoming a reality and should happen within the next few weeks!
Community Services We sent out our first Network Partner e-Newsletter last week. Want more information on becoming a Network Partner of Cornerstone? Click here.
Medical Clinic Cornerstone's Medical Clinic continues with its development. The Vision Clinic has received two key pieces of equipment. In the near future, CAN will be the only facility to offer free cataract procedures for uninsured patients. Click here to see pictures.
Housing/Housing Development Corporation Trinity House is transitioning to New Creations Promise House, a Christ-centered women's discipleship home. Click here to read about the transition.
Wednesday Warm Fuzzies 5
Each "Wednesday Warm Fuzzies" post is a compilation (straight from our case managers) of the amazing things God is doing at Cornerstone and in the lives of those we are privileged to serve. To God be the glory!
One of our clients is competing the HPRP program this month. She had been looking for a job after her maternity leave. She was about to go back to working two part-time jobs in different parts of town, but sought one full-time position. Through our help at Cornerstone, she was able to find a better job to support herself, her daughter and her new baby boy.
A new client with HPRP in January really needed a bed for her daughter. She had been sleeping on a couch and it was very uncomfortable. Through the Cornerstone Thrift Store, we were able to get a bed for her daughter to sleep on. This made the mother feel so good to have a place for her daughter to lay her head at night that she could call her own.
One of our clients has had some very difficult family problems recently. She is the care taker for her aging mother as well as her own daughter. Her job had cut her hours back and she needed some help. Through HPRP, Cornerstone was able to help her in the midst of this difficult time with her mother in the hospital.
