Archives

Built around 1875, Hillcrest House served as the only Hillcrest facility from 1896 until 1954. The building is perhaps best remembered as the site of the Hillcrest Baby Fold for so many years. Now the administrative headquarters for Hillcrest Family Services, the renovation and preservation project has been an important way to commemorate the history of adoptions that has made such an impact on over 3,000 adoptive children and their families throughout the United States. It is also a way to rededicate ourselves to serving the many children and families who still need our help today.

“The purpose of pre-marital counseling,” says Williams, “is to increase awareness so as to improve the likelihood of a satisfying and successful marriage.”

Couples generally meet with Williams four to six times before their wedding. In addition to having them describe themselves and their interests, how they met, what attracted them to one another and what issues might be problematic for them, their family history is also explored. “Couples not only marry one another, but also their respective families,” says Williams. “Furthermore, how people ‘do marriage’ often reflects their parents’ marriage because that is usually the primary model most of us have for such a relationship.”

Making a commitment to be married is a big transition for most people. Williams says, “People tend to be more vulnerable during transitions, and increased vulnerability makes a person more susceptible to some type of difficulty.”

As a member of the clergy, Williams is also available to officiate at weddings. If the couple already has a minister to conduct the service, he can do just the pre-marital counseling. This can be helpful to pastors whose parish responsibilities make such counseling difficult to include in a busy schedule, or for clergy who feel they lack the training or expertise for the counseling.

In addition to the pre-marital counseling sessions, Williams likes to meet at least one more time with couples six months after the ceremony. “Sometimes things arise that can’t be foreseen,” he says. “The sooner one deals with such things, the better the chances for a mutually favorable resolution.”

Besides being an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC), Williams is certified as a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. Additionally, he is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a Licensed Master Social Worker in the state of Iowa.

Our state legislators tell us regularly that it is extremely important that the Governor’s office and the Department of Human Services support any further increases. Neither the Governor nor DHS has included increases for private providers in their legislative proposals for this session. Their current proposals do have a great deal of merit in that they support mental health parity legislation and improving the identification of abuse and neglect for all ages.

They do not recognize, however, the crisis that Hillcrest and other providers are facing in trying to hire and maintain quality staff. In recent comments, Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson said that while she sympathized with private providers, rate increases were not a priority for the Governor this session.

Please write the Lieutenant Governor immediately to let her know of the importance of increasing provider reimbursement in this session. Intensive letter writing helped change legislative priorities last year, and it is hoped that this can be done again with your help.

Here are two examples of the disparity that currently exists:

If this month’s issue revolves around a theme, I would have to say that theme
is money.

It is a fact of life that many issues relate directly to dollars. It is imperative that we have the financial resources to fulfill our mission, for ‘There is no mission
without margin.’

On the front page we document the events surrounding the dedication of the remodeled Hillcrest House in Dubuque. Much of this renovation was made possible by a number of generous donors. A few of them who gave very significant dollars have had either a room or artwork named in their behalf. These people include Bernilda Britt, Frank and Nancy Brownell III, Lou Norris, Tom and Julie Johnson, Edward Molitore, the Jeld Wend Corporation, and our Reflections in the Park Committee. There were many others who gavevarying amounts, according to their means. I know most of the people who supported this project quite well, and I know that they did not give to it because they would have their name on a plaque. They shared their resources with us so that we can expand the resources which will be available to the people we serve. They sacrificed because they have seen the people we serve, and know the benefits they receive from their association with Hillcrest.

On this page, we speak about legislative advocacy in an effort to increase our reimbursement from the state of Iowa. There is no better way to leverage your support of Hillcrest’s mission than to advocate for a fair and just payment for quality services. Please help us help others through your advocacy. Make no mistake about it — it really can generate large dividends.

Page three identifies some of the other ways that we expand our income to enhance services. These opportunities (through grants, gifts and special projects) were available to us because organizations and volunteers wished to share in our ministry.

Planned giving to Hillcrest is emphasized on page four as an important and readily available way to insure both your and Hillcrest’s financial security. A listing of the generous donors who support our Making a House a Home project completes the page.

All of this points to the critical need for investing in the future of children, families and persons with mental illnesses. Investing in early intervention and community based programs save money and resources in the long run.

The two Hy Vee Stores in Dubuque sponsored the 12 Kids for Christmas program to increase awareness of our Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and to help recruit Bigs for the Littles on our waiting list.

With this new creative approach to counseling, better client outcomes and benefits will be achieved.

Play Therapy is an approach in counseling children that allows them to use toys and other play or art material to express their thoughts and feelings. In a play session, children can use their play to show the counselor what they are thinking and feeling. The counselor can use the play to communicate with children about what is happening in their lives and to help them explore alternative behaviors and attitudes.

With standard counseling sessions, it is not unusual for a period of up to six months or more to pass before a child feels comforable enough to express their true feelings to a therapist with whom they have had no previous relationship. Play Therapy has been shown to make it possible to establish an almost immediate relationship between child and therapist.

$5,000 for the Church Relations Project. The goals of this project are to increase awareness and undersanding of Hillcrest’s mission and ministry throughout the state, to explore ways in which Hillcrest can be of service to pastors and congregations, and to increase visits by church groups and individuals to the Hillcrest campus.

A charitable gift annuity is a contract that stipulates that in exchange for your gift to Hillcrest, you will receive a fixed payment for life. After your lifetime, the remaining portion of the gift is given to Hillcrest. As a service to Hillcrest, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation administers all of Hillcrest’s gift annuities.

Annuities can be written in any amount from $500 to thousands of dollars.

What are the benefits to charitable gift annuities? There are many, including potential tax benefits and the personal satisfaction that comes with good stewardship. You provide generous support to Hillcrest. A charitable gift annuity makes it easier to make a gift during your lifetime. In most cases, part of each payment is tax-free, increasing each payment’s after-tax value. You may qualify for a federal income tax charitable contribution deduction, reducing the cost of your gift. It’s important to know that your contribution to the Church through a charitable gift annuity is an irrevocable gift.

The best way to determine how a gift annuity would fit into your planning is to have an illustration prepared. All that is needed is your date of birth and an amount that you might consider.Once you have this illustration, you can talk with your tax, legal or financial advisors.