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Kids in Crisis - Newsletter Issue 27
Newsletter Issue 27 - March 2004

The Memory Wall
Teens Leave Their Legacy

TEENS COME to Kids in Crisis at the most difficult times of their lives. Sometimes a respite when the family cannot get along. Sometimes abuse beyond our comprehension. Some of the teens are here only a short time, until the family conflict is abated and communications have improved. Some stay way too long – four, five or six months – before an alternative living arrangement can be established to keep them safe. While they are here, every teen gets a complete medical and educational evaluation and therapeutic support as needed. They receive daily individual and group counseling. And they engage in recreational activities like pottery, yoga, and cooking that cement their relationships and shed a bit of light into their darkness.

However long they stay and for whatever reasons, we remember each and every one of them as precious young people who needed a safe haven for a time. And they leave their personal legacy forever with their handprints and a message painted on the Memory Wall at the Teen House. Sometimes it’s a simple good-bye. Thank you for all you did for me to keep me happy.

Sometimes words of solidarity. It’s okay to be in struggles cause you can always get out of them. Don’t forget to stay strong and don’t let anyone put you down.

They seek to teach those who come some of the lessons they’ve learned. The things you learn at KIC are life lessons that some people never learn. Behave. Follow the rules. Also don’t get in trouble so you can get out of here.

Many speak their thanks directly to the counselors who have guided their way. Thank you for everything you have done for me, especially staff. I really appreciate it. Hopefully I never come back here again and I live successfully. 

In one very special note to staff members, a sixteen year old boy made it clear what mattered most to him while he was here. I will miss your smile. I will miss your wisdom. I will miss the way you kept me out of trouble. I will miss the way you wash my clothes. They leave behind thoughts of enlightenment. Everyone who comes here should take advantage of what you have. Be yourself, don’t be anything for anyone else. Some of their words are the words of an aching heart. Definition (Brave) to face your fears. While facing your fears you can be scared.
It is what it is.

The memory wall is much more than the sum of its parts. It is more than a reflection. The words of these young people are an exhortation to us to remember them. To inscribe their existence into our collective thoughts and hearts. And their words are an expression of hope, for themselves and for their future. This place believe it or not has made an impact on my life so greatly, it’s hard to express it in words. I appreciate all the help you have given me throughout the time I was here. I thank the staff mostly for all the advice they have given me.

Occasionally an existential point of view is poignantly expressed. Don’t take things for granted, nothing lasts forever.

For a personal tour of Kids in Crisis and the Memory Wall, Call Andrea Vakos at 203.327.KIDS. Bring a tissue.

Share the Love
For Kids in Crisis
ON SATURDAY, February 7th, 170 residents of New Canaan gathered together for an evening of fun, cocktails and fanciful feasting to benefit Kids in Crisis. This marked the first Share the Love event, a Valentine’s fundraiser that is planned to become a regular event for residents. Our gracious hosts, Randy and Clair Salvatore, opened their home and their hearts for a lovely evening to support our efforts to keep kids safe.

New Canaan resident and Board member Denis LaPolice spoke movingly of one of our younger shelter residents whose story brought tears to the eyes of more than a few listeners, and Executive Director Shari Shapiro thanked the enthusiastic crowd, which included First Selectwoman Judy Neville, for coming out on an icy winter night to share their love for children.

We have had a long and productive relationship with the Town of New Canaan, where our TeenTalk are in place at both the High School and Saxe Middle School. This student outreach counseling, piloted in Westport, provides teens with a confidential professional resource at school to address personal pressures and family conflict. The program has been made possible through a partnership with the Board of Education and funding by the New Canaan Youth Commission and New Canaan Newcomers Club, and special gifts. We hope to continue this important program and our outreach effort into the schools to help keep kids safe.

Many thanks to the Salvatores for inviting us into their beautiful home for this elegant evening. We would also like to thank the committee who worked enthusiastically to put this evening together: Claire Salvatore, Kristen Cloud, Chris Crawford, Serena Crowley, Cindy Hagopian and Kim Richbourg. And to those who donated gifts for the evening, many thanks: The Delamar Greenwich Hotel and L'escale Restaurant, Absolute Vodka, Aetheria Relaxation Spa, Bon Fluer, Get About Shuttle Service, Isabel Eland Shops, Lang's Pharmacy, Village Wine & Spirits, Stewart's Spirits.

Holiday Central
NEVER TOO LATE to thank, once again, our many friends who gave to our Annual Campaign this season – donors gave so generously to help fund our programs, friends who gave holiday gifts for the children, corporate groups and families who came to Holiday Central to sort and wrap and deliver gifts to families throughout the area, and those who prepared meals and helped make the holiday special for the children and teens in our shelters. The children will never know your name, but they know you care.

Our heartfelt gratitude to Paul Kuehner of Building and Land Technology, who so kindly donated space in Norwalk for Holiday Central headquarters, making it possible to spread the joy of the season throughout Fairfield County to 1400 children and their families in need. And to Kim Hallas, our tireless volunteer coordinator, who provided the back-office support for Ed Milton and Jamie Dorman, our Community Team, to make Holiday Central a success once again. 

THANK YOU ALL - WE CANNOT DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT YOU.

Breaking News 
THERE’S STILL time to place an ad in the 25th Anniversary Commemorative Journal , which will be distributed at our 2004 events Hoedown Goes Disco on May 8th and the Conference to Keep Kids Safe in October. Total distribution will be roughly 1,000, a great way to show your support and to send your message to potential customers and clients throughout Fairfield County. Artwork is due April 1st. To book your space in this prestigious journal, call Kim Hallas at 203.327.KIDS.

The Conference to Keep Kids Safe is now scheduled for October 20th at UCONN, Stamford. The harsh winter made it difficult to schedule students for another day out of school, so we’ve moved the event to the fall. We want to thank our early sponsors – Fleet, GE Consumer Finance, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Starwood Capital Group, Brinsights, Sempra Energy Trading, Webster Bank and Hyperion Solutions.

If you would like to sponsor this groundbreaking event, contact Alon Marom, amarom@kidsincrisis.org.


Fond Farewell  
WE MOURN the loss of Monica Way, an over-night counselor at our Teen House, who passed away suddenly in January. Monica was the friendly face who bid the teens good night, she provided comfort in the midst of a nightmare, and nudged them awake for school. For some of our teens she was a surrogate mother. For the staff, she was an enthusiastic colleague. Monica loved working with teenagers, and that’s something you can’t teach. It came from her heart. Our counseling staff and the teens in residence attended the funeral in Bridgeport that celebrated her young life. We will remember Monica for many things, most of all her smile, and her heartfelt desire to help kids.



The Crisis Nursery
10 Years Old

AS WE COMMEMORATE our 25th anniversary, we also mark ten years since the Crisis Nursery opened to protect abused and neglected infants and younger children. This one-of-a-kind program provides all essential crisis intervention and shelter services, and also houses our Health Center. The historic home on Salem Street, which many people still remember being moved from its original site near the high school, was generously donated to us by Walter and Lucienne Driskil, and renovated last year. Since that first day in 1993, we have provided shelter care to nearly 2,000 young children who might otherwise have nowhere else to turn.

Special thanks to Lucienne Driskill, whose foundation’s continued support helps to keep children safe and sound.


Video Flash
WE HAVE A BRAND NEW Flash video about Kids in Crisis, made possible by a special gift from The Citigroup Private Bank. Flash, a still-photographic montage with narration, is available in CD Rom and DVD formats, and much less expensive and complex to produce than a video. Created with loving care by OnedayLive in Santa Monica, California, the production is a brief but powerful look at all we do to keep kids safe. We will be showing the Flash at events and meetings throughout the year, and it will soon be available for viewing on our website. Special thanks, once again, to Craig Cutler for his wonderful photographs.


Sound Mind in a Sound Body
April 5th at Peak Physique

THAT OLD adage, a sound mind in a sound body, has never been more meaningful in our couch potato worlds, and it is never too soon for kids to take better care of their physical health. Not only do they feel better, but they feel better about themselves when they have the positive energy that comes from physical fitness.

Bring your kids to Peak Physique on April 5th for a special day to spark health awareness for kids - babies and toddlers for a morning session and kids ages 5-12 after school for special events and healthy snacks. In addition Peak Physique, located on Holly Hill in Greenwich, will donate $50 for every new member until July.

Peak Physique, established in 1993, is a One-on-One Fitness Center providing Weight Training, Resistance, Cardio, Pilates, Yoga, Weight Loss, Gyrotonic, Sport Specific Training, Stretching, Nutrition, and Massage. Owners Dominic and Dana Novak not only want to help patrons to stay fit, they want to help kids develop a greater awareness of fitness.

For further Information, call Peak Physique at 625.9595.

Fondly Remembered: DeWitt Romig
With his crooked little smile and impish personality, no one would ever forget DeWitt Romig. If those characteristics didn’t catch your attention, the twinkle in his eyes would surely get you. Dark eyes was the description used by his family, according to his mother, Mary Stacy. “They surely were the portals of an amazing boy who found magic in the simplest of God’s creations.”

William DeWitt Romig would have been 25 years old this year, the same age as Kids in Crisis. Unfortunately his life was cut short in December 2000 when he was killed in a fire at his home in Greenwich. “He had just begun a new chapter in his life” Ms. Stacy said. “He moved into his own apartment, spreading his wings to taste the freedom of adulthood. It was not to be.”

There was a time in DeWitt’s young life when he needed the kind of comfort found at Kids in Crisis. It is for this reason that his uncle has established a Memorial Fund in his name. The Fund will help to endow programs like SafeTalk, teaching young children how to stay safe, strong and free. SafeTalk is based on the curriculum of the National Center on Assault Prevention and Kids in Crisis is the agency designated in Connecticut to implement the program. Last year, over 5,000 children grades K-6 participated in 214 SafeTalk workshops in New Canaan, Norwalk and Stamford. SafeTalk is sponsored by the Finish Line Youth Foundation, First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, and the Perrin Family Foundation.

Every time we help a child to stay safe, we will remember DeWitt, who will forever live through the lives of the children who will be protected in his name.

In Loving Memory
Richard Aidinis William DeWitt Romig Jeanne M. Kurtzberg
Ella Ambrogio James Dilworth Lynn Laitman
Anna Bono Evelyn Gordon Russell Mechaley
Charles Bono Michael Jon Greenberg Brian Minchin
Esther Boritz Bruce Hagan Brenda O’Sullivan
Chet Broccoli Kathy Hagan Mildred Raynor
Ernest H.(Tony) Brown Charles M. Hartig Edward D. Roberts
Joe Calarco Natalie Haynes Judith Sheridan
Barbara Casey Ellen Hoffman Rosemary Tracy
Dominic J. Ceci, Jr. Carolyn Kennedy Virginia Uihlein
Achilles Cerbini Albert G. Kirk Mark (Babe)
Josie Conte Dorothy Konspore  Vozzella



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