Nonprofit firm seeks help after burglary
Thieves stalk away with computers, other valuable items
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:16 AM PDT
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| Tess Shellenbarger, director of The Family Place, Ontario, shows one of the old computer monitors in the front office that needs to be replaced after being pressed into service after a burglary at the agency. Donations are being sought to replace it and other missing equipment. |
ONTARIO — A local mental health facility is scrambling for help from the public to replace items snatched from its office near Heinz Frozen Foods after a recent burglary.
The Family Place — an outpatient facility that specializes in helping families, especially children, in the local area — lost two computers in the fiscal office and electronic equipment used in the parenting classes, including a television, video cassette recorder and DVD player, Tess Shellenbarger, Family Place director, said. That electronic equipment is critical for the parenting classes, she added.
“Donations are always welcome,” Shellenbarger said, of the nonprofit organization. A private business donated some computers, she said, but did not have monitors.
“We need good monitors for them,” she said.
Court-related services at The Family Place include substance abuse assessments, child custody evaluations and court-appointed visitor evaluations. Therapy is available for adults, children and families. Specialized services include sexual abuse/trauma assessment and/or treatment, marital and premarital counseling and parenting classes and support groups.
“There are 35 to 40 clients we carry at a time,” Shellenbarger said. “We do jail classes.”
Staff members also go to Snake River Correctional Institution to do group therapy and in-take evaluations, she said.
“We help parents who need help getting their children back,” she said.
The Family Place has four master’s degree level therapists, Shellenbarger said, including herself, with a drug and alcohol dual diagnosis certification.
“We also help with programs in the community for families,” she said. One of those programs is Family Fun Night.
“We want to do everything we can to support the community.”
Besides, working in Ontario, Shellenbarger, works out of an office in Weiser. For further information or to make a donation contact The Family Place at (541)-889-1050.
