Agency Details:

Joan A. Male Family Support Center

The mission of the Joan A. Male Family Support Center is to provide free support to families and safety to children when parenting gets tough.

Description:
The Joan A. Male Family Support Center (formerly Parents Anonymous) provides services to families with children of all ages - the support they can't always get from families, neighbors, or even parents. Agency services include: 24-Hour Parent Help Line and in-home crisis intervention, phone follow-up services, parent support groups with companion child care groups, child enrichment programs, intensive home based preventive services, mandated preventive services, child care and emergency respite care, advocacy and linkage, and community education. No fees are charged for these services. The Agency also has a full service day care center, Raggedy Ann & Andy Comprehensive Child Care Center, licensed for 124 children.

Through our services, we work to stop the intergenerational cycle of violence, as statistics show that approximately 95% of parents who abuse/neglect their children were maltreated as children. As a nonprofit agency, we are dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect in all of its forms - physical, emotional, and sexual. We offer immediate assistance - with no application procedures, no eligibility requirements, and no waiting period. Perceived by families as being safe and non-threatening, the Agency is highly effective in engaging families resistant to traditional services.

History:
The Joan A. Male Family Support Center was founded in 1973 in response to overwhelming community need for a resource to help abused children and their families. The Agency began as a parenting hotline in Joan Male's home, and has grown to its current size as an organization with a paid staff of approximately 90 and a pool of over 300 trained volunteers who are dedicated to the prevention and interruption of child abuse and neglect in all of its forms.

Contact people:

Holly Hahn-Baker, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Joanie Boersma, Operations Manager, (phone), (email) Deborah A. Merrifield, Executive Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (716) 822-5098

Address:

60 Dingens St. Buffalo, NY 14206 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.joanamale.org

Directions:

We are located on Dingens St. between Ogden and Bailey near Exit 53 of the Thruway (Route 90) and near Exit 1 of Route 190.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: None   Nearest Bus Stop: Dingens/Bailey or Dingens/Weiss, 5 or less minute walk

Last updated on November 17, 2009