Thank you to Banner Sponsors: 

• Summit Oaks Hospital
• Pinto Brothers
• Thank you to our Mile Mark Sponsors:
• Dr. Jim Bremner, Chiropractor
• Dr. & Mrs. Robert Manduley

Thank you to our T-shirt Sponsors:

• Dr. Jim Bremner, Chiropractor.  Bound Brook. www.DrJimChiro.com (908)251-3588
• Summit Oaks Hospital, (800)753-5223, www.SummitOaksHospital.com
• Applebee’s Grill & Bar of Bridgewater. 640 Promenade Blvd, Bridgewater, NJ (732)627-0888
• Merry Maids of Middlesex, Somerset and Union County – (908)336-0278
•  Ernest Renda, Esq.  Bridgewater. (908)722-1255
•  Pleasant Run Family Physicians/PCP, (908)788-9468, www.PleasantRunDoctors.com
• GenPsyche, www.genpsych.com, (855)436-7792
• Hillsborough Dental Center. www.HillsboroughDental.com (908)359-1112
•  Leading Edge Lacrosse. LeadingEdgeLacrosse.com (973)348-5291
• PALS Play And Learn School.  (908)359-PALS (7257)
• The Krupat Family
• The Harris Family
• The Hessel Family
• The Patullo Family
• The Man in the Hat

Thank you to Wegmans of Bridgewater for being our food sponsor

Thank you to all of the following for their generous monetary donations:

Our Gold Sponsors:

• Mr. John McCormack
• Dr. and Mrs. Robert Manduley
• Ms. Anita Attridge
• Mrs. Christine Massey

Our Silver Sponsors:

• Pet Sitting by Ruthe
• Ms. Claire Roberts
• Ms. Irene Counihan
• Ms. Helen Connor
• Ms. Kristen Chmielewski
• Mr. Seebu John
• Ms. Lori Goldberg
• Ms. Margo Cordivari

Our Bronze Sponsors:

• Ms. Akshaya Channira
• Samanthat Nici
• Ms. Jackie Gruber
• Ms. Kim Graham
• Ms. Michelle Castellani
• Ms. Catherine Mitch
• Ms. Emily Woo
• Ms. Janelle Escalona
• Ms. Veronica Lenox
• Ms. Lisa Verga
• Mr. Jackson Franklin
• Ms. Ramya Sundaresan

• More than one in three women and more than one in four men in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• 74 percent of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner (spouse, common-law spouse, ex-spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend). Of these, 96 percent were women killed by their intimate partners.
• One in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
• Interpersonal violence is the leading cause of female homicides and injury-related deaths during pregnancy.
• The percentage of women who consider their mental health to be poor is almost three times higher among women with a history of violence than among those without.
• Women with disabilities have a 40 percent greater risk of intimate partner violence, especially severe violence, than women without disabilities.
Source: American Psychological Association

Domestic violence is a subject that some people find difficult to discuss. We have empathy for the victim(s) and others who suffer through residual effects of the abuse but how should we feel about the perpetrator? Should we want to help them too?

Though many people believe the term “batterer” implies physical abuse, domestic abuse/violence is more than just physical abuse. Many couples are either unable to identify or are in denial when the abuse is about “control”. Control is one of the most destructive forms of abuse and is the reason that so many abusive situations end in murder/suicide.

By gathering and using appropriate accountability measures and self-awareness tools, abusive partners can eventually have healthy, respectful relationships if they accept responsibility for their actions, identify and challenge the belief systems which contributed to their unhealthy behaviors and learn healthy, non-violent ways to interact with their partners.

Our trained staff are certified instructors in the RESPECT program and are here to help support those individuals currently identified as a “batterer” in his or her journey to shed the label of a “batterer” and engage in healthy and respectful relationships. Please call 732-356-1082 or email respect@fcssomerset.org for more details.

It is with mixed emotions that I share the news that Eric Harris, our Executive Director, has decided to retire from his role at Family & Community Services of Somerset County.  Eric has spent the past 35 years of his career at FCSSC, starting as an intern while he studied Social Work at Rutgers, eventually working his way up to Executive Director.  While he will remain at FCSSC in a part time clinical role, it is still a time to reflect on his legacy to our agency, and to the community.

When Eric was asked in 1995 to become Executive Director, he did it the way he always does everything.   He hesitantly said “yes”, but then put his entirety into the role.  At that time, the agency was close to closing its doors due to major financial struggles.  While the agency was able to keep the lights on, it was never a smooth sail even up to today.  Non-profit work is a constant struggle to keep the lights on.  With funding ups and downs, with changes in government policies and reimbursement, with the continued challenge to find the right staff and board members, Eric continually stayed focused on what truly matters, making sure those in Somerset County, who rely on FCSSC, were able to get the help that they needed.

As I reflect back on my years on the Board, and most recently, my years as Board President, I value the friendship that I have developed with Eric.  He has taught me the importance of family, not only immediate family, but that of an extended family.  Eric and his wonderful wife Carol, are the proud parents of three grown men, and have recently welcomed a new grandson into their lives.  Eric has taught me that nothing is more important than family and that while occasionally life will throw you a curveball, “it is what it is”,  you deal with it , and address it head on.  He has also taught me that the people you work with are family as well.  I have gotten to know many of the staff members at FCSSC, who have been hired, trained and mentored by Eric.  They all have the passion for community, the drive to help and the dedication to others that has kept the lights on.  That comes from the example that Eric has set every day.

As we have located a successor to Eric, we looked for someone who had the qualities that can continue to create a family culture at FCSSC.  During the interview process, Eric had continually reminded us the importance of keeping the culture that he and his staff have created over the years. It is one where we strive to help our friends, neighbors and family members who need our help.

Eric’s last day as Executive Director will be September 9, 2016.  He will remain at the agency part time as a clinician, continuing to give back to the community.  Please help me congratulate Eric on this wonderful milestone in his family’s life.

It was 20 years ago that I completed my first year as Executive Director of
Family and Community Services after many years of being a clinician and supervisor for the agency. I remember at the time a great deal of ambivalence about taking on this position. There has certainly been a great deal of challenges during this period but also a great deal of rewards.

It is only fitting that the past year (my 20^th) can be described very similarly to my description of the total time period. Times for small non-profits have been very difficult and our agency, like others, has had to confront many obstacles recently. However, due to a team of very dedicated and skilled staff and Board members, we continue to make adjustments and accomplish some ambitious goals.

The highlights of the past year include:

• Program outcomes and client feedback was better than ever
• We hired several new part-time fee for service staff as well as two other part-time staff members who have made key contributions to the agency’s growth in the past year.
• We began to recruit some new valuable Board members as well as volunteers.
• We were actually able to increase the levels of service in our professional counseling services despite continued economically driven funding decreases. We increased our client fee revenues very significantly.
• We began to implement changes that resulted from our Mental Health and Addictions Program Licensure reviews.
• We increased our fundraising activities and fundraising event revenues.

I feel especially grateful to Howard Hessel who has been a tremendous President of the Board over the past few years. He has done so much to contribute to the agency’s success, to support my efforts as well as the staff, to motivate the Board. I am also extremely appreciative of my Staff Administrative team who remain so dedicated, effective and who continue to help create a very positive work environment which is one of the strengths of the agency. I am also so thankful to our great team of staff, Board Members, and volunteers who are being asked regularly to do more with less, yet who remain so committed to our critical cause.

Eric Harris LCSW
Executive Director