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Thank Mayor Newsom for Saving Edgewood's Residential Program
Thank Gavin Newsom for including funding for San Francisco children in Edgewood's residential treatment program. Please personalize the subject and body of the email below.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , I am writing to thank you for including funding for children in Edgewood's residential treatment program and applaud your commitment to meeting the needs of abused, neglected and traumatized children in San Francisco.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
Edgewood's Residential Program Saved
June 24, 2008
Edgewood Center for Children and Families (Edgewood) today announced that its short-term residential program serving severely abused, neglected, and mentally ill children will remain open to San Francisco kids thanks to the City of San Francisco and a heroic response by the community.
Faced with a severe deficit in its residential program, Edgewood's Board announced the historic agency would be forced to discharge and stop admission of children from San Francisco County on June 30 unless the City approved an additional $661,000 in funding to cover the actual costs of providing intensive psychiatric treatment.
Media coverage of the funding crisis generated a groundswell of grassroots support for Edgewood. Hundreds of Bay Area citizens contacted the Mayor and their Supervisor to urge officials to save the program. In response, the City approved roughly $330,000 in additional funds for the program and suspended additional cuts.
Individuals and organizations in the community also came through with additional support to keep Edgewood's residential treatment cottages open to San Francisco children. Edgewood immediately received $60,000 in donations from individuals through the mail and Edgewood.org. Local community based dance institution ODC came up with an innovative solution to close the funding gap for Edgewood's residential program: create a special performance of its holiday show, The Velveteen Rabbit, benefiting Edgewood. The special performance of The Velveteen Rabbit has the potential to raise up to $100,000.
"The Mayor faced very difficult decisions about where to cut in this year's budget," said Nancy Rubin, President and CEO of Edgewood. "That is why we are so appreciative of Mayor Newsom, Supervisor Maxwell, and Supervisors Chu, Peskin, Dufty, Ammiano, and Alioto-Pier for their efforts on Edgewood's behalf and their commitment to the children we serve in our residential treatment program. We are also incredibly moved by the support we received from private individuals and ODC whose added support made it possible to keep the program running."
"I'm thrilled we were able to find a funding solution for children in San Francisco who so desperately need the services organizations like Edgewood provide," said District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. "This is a perfect example of how when government and the community work together to solve problems, good things happen."
In addition to funding secured for its residential treatment program, Edgewood's budget calls on the agency to raise $3.25 million in private donations next year. Edgewood historically depends on significant private funding to operate a broad range of exceptional services helping children and families in Bay Area neighborhoods and schools.
