Music Program at Devereux Colorado

With 2012 well on its way, Devereux Colorado remains dedicated to keeping its music program going for clients. Working with Youth of Record, a division of Flobots.org, we have been able to provide an artistic outlet that continues to have an overwhelmingly positive impact on our kids.

Who is Youth on Record?

Youth on Record is a Colorado-based non-profit organization that operates music programs in residential treatment facilities. They use computers, music software, instruments, and music theory to teach adolescents important technical and life skills. Program participants develop computer literacy, learn to manage their own creative process, and use peer reviews and feedback to promote positive social interaction and self-confidence. Their staff will consistently provide residents with the attention and inspiration to step into their own as artists. In summary, their programs have accomplished the following:

• Taught over 170 classes in residential treatment centers in Colorado since February of 2010.
• Reached over 85 residential treatment students and 150 youth in the community.
• Traveled over 4,384 miles to reach their students and committed over 612 instructor hours to the classroom.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with such an amazing program and look forward to continuing to work with Youth on Record in the future. Thanks for all you do!

Devereux introduces staff resource program

In our effort to better support our staff and ultimately improve the quality of treatment for our clients, Devereux Colorado has created Connections. Connections provides staff at Devereux Colorado with extensive access to our psychologist, Dr. Lisa Gaudia to help reduce the rates of vicarious trauma and improve the working environments for staff often exposed to demanding working conditions. With this program we are showing our dedication to understanding staff needs, being available when needed, listening, sharing in problems and ensuring people know how and where to find outside services. Connections will help staff not only provide the best therapeutic environment for Devereux Colorado clients, but allow them to feel empowered and supported by their peers.

Additional benefits:

• Puts in place the mechanisms to help and support staff experiencing unwanted stress.
• Proves to not only be useful in proactively dealing with potentially stressful situations, but also provides staff with the resources to effectively handle difficult situations after they have already occurred.
• Genuine care encourages those in all levels of responsibility to feel empowered.
• A collection of safety nets where staff can feel held, regarded and valued.
• Staff are getting support, guidance and resources that are critical for their success in this often challenging field
• An extensive system of tools that create an environment of care where individuals are enabled to both receive and provide care.

Santa finds Devereux Colorado!

The holiday season tends to be a difficult time for many of our clients. However, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the community around us, our kids were ripping open presents and smiling on Christmas morning. We can’t even begin to express how thankful we are!

Special thanks going out to Avaya, Faction Media, Accenture and Spirit of Christ Church. We really appreciate your support. You guys rock!

Winter hits Colorado

Last week 60 degree weather kept the Devereux Colorado campus in happy fall mode- winter seemed far away.

This morning the campus awoke to at least 6 inches on the ground and the fat flakes keep falling. While the warm weather is nice, the snow seems to be putting everyone in the holiday spirit. We are looking forward to wrapping all the generously donated gifts and getting ready for holiday fun around campus!

Interested in helping?
As the winter in Colorado is definitely long and cold, Devereux Colorado is always looking for gently used clothes, boots and winter accessories to help keep our kiddos warm. Many of our kids come ill prepared for the climate and we try to keep our student-run clothing store stocked for kids to choose from a wide variety of free goods. If you would like to give to our program, please email me at AHarden2@devereux.org. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

Happy Cyber Monday!

Have you finished all your holiday shopping? If not, check out GoodShop.com. Shopping through GoodShop.com allows you to find the most up-to-date coupons and deals at over 2,400 popular online retailers and have a percentage of every purchase go to Devereux Colorado, Cleo Wallace Center. Forget buyer’s remorse- get all your holiday shopping done AND give to a great cause!

Thanksgiving at Devereux Colorado

Two days until Thanksgiving! Where did November go? For most people, Thanksgiving is a short work week, but not for Devereux Colorado. Thanks to all the employees who come into work so our kiddos can have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Last weekend was our last trip to The Horse Protection League in Arvada, Colorado. With wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour, the trip was a chilly one; however, thanks to the awesome volunteers, we were able to celebrate our great month with pizza and cookies! Now begins the countdown to our spring session…

The holiday season is almost here…

With the holiday season quickly approaching, Devereux Colorado is not only gearing up for the winter weather, but making sure all the necessary steps are in place to make sure our kids have a wonderful holiday season. I met with Avaya on Friday to officially hand over all the Christmas lists. This December will mark the 18^th year that Avaya has provided our kids with gifts over the holiday season. Their unwavering support and generosity have helped the kids of Devereux Colorado not only feel more at home, but for some kids they get to experience their first holiday receiving much needed gifts. We can’t thank Avaya enough for everything they do for our center and the morale of our kids. Thank you, Avaya- you’re the best!

Updates in Education

Below are some of the changes that have been taking place around Devereux Colorado, The Cleo Wallace Center. We are looking forward to a great school year full of changes and improvements.

• We have added 8 quality teachers and 6 PARAs to our solid veteran school staff during this first term of our 2011 school year.
• We continue to integrate our classroom technology into daily instruction and education research using the Smartboards in our rooms.
• Our Discovery Streaming provides us with a diverse, online supply of education related topics and resources to watch and learn about in school.
• We have a variety of educational periodicals used in classrooms to reinforce relevant current events around our world to keep clients informed, involved and interested.
• The Devereux Colorado, Cleo Wallace Center (DCW) Student Council is winding up and we are all excited to work together with our classroom representatives in an effort to make this a productive school, meet our client learning needs and provide a forum for student voices and ideas. We have experienced a positive collaboration through our meetings and discussions. It is a great opportunity to work together with our clients and see the leadership that our student representatives exhibit.
• We are pleased that our students now have access to GED testing on site here at DCW. This is a positive opportunity for our students to remain on campus to complete their exams.
• Look out for scary Halloween happenings around campus and school this week!

Special congratulations to our 10 students that graduated from high school yesterday and to our other DCW students for making the honor roll this term! Go Cougars!

Horse Protection League

A group of kids from Devereux Colorado were able to visit The Horse Protection League on October 2^nd and will continue visiting the horses every Saturday for the next month. During their first visit, the kids were given a tour of the ranch and introduced to their diverse and welcoming mix of adoptable horses and ponies. During the coming weeks, the kids will learn basic horse safety and how to care for their chosen animals given the horses specific needs and backgrounds. Finally, a huge thank you to The Horse Protection League and their many friendly and dedicated volunteers for making this wonderful experience possible!

The Horse Protection League, located in Arvada, Colorado is dedicated to the welfare of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in the greater Rocky Mountain Region. Their mission is to help prevent horses going to slaughter and remove them from living conditions that are unsuitable and often life threatening. For more information on The Horse Protection League, please visit their website at www.COHPL.org.