Armstrong has a Bachelors degree in psychology from Vanderbilt University, was one of 10 Peoria delegates selected for the President's Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia in 1997, and was among 35 women graduates of the Leadership Illinois program in 1999.
She and her husband have three grown children.
Tell about your background, schools attended, etc.
I grew up in Nashville, Tenn., adopted by a post-World War II couple ready to give me their undivided love and attention. I chose to stay in my hometown to attend Vanderbilt University because my father had the best restaurant in town, I knew I would find my future husband there, and the real reason-my parents wanted me to go there. I graduated with a degree in psychology and first worked for the Dean of Women at Vanderbilt on special projects.
I found Albert Armstrong my senior year at Vandy, and as they say, the rest is history. We married and moved to Peoria, where he began a career in the Sales Training division of Caterpillar Inc. My first Peoria job was as a caseworker for the Department of Public Aid-my first clue that I would be able to find a niche in social services. Into our second year of Peoria and married life, Al and I were asked to move overseas for a couple of assignments. It sort of sounded like the Foreign Service was calling, and it was.
Fifteen years later, we boarded trains, boats, and planes for many interesting places: Geneva, London, Nairobi, and Paris. Three children later, a large group of CAT friendships forged, a small collection of eclectic antiques, and a lifetime commitment to our family motto-"Bloom where you are planted"-we got the call to return to Peoria. I knew there was some blooming to do here as well.
You were with the Heartland Community Health Clinic previously. How did your experiences there help prepare you for your work at Crittenton?
Heartland Clinic will always have a special place in my heart. This was my first administrative job and my first real taste of earning a salary for something that was fun, rewarding, and fulfilling. There were more than 150 dedicated medical and clerical volunteers who supported the daily clinics. Our medical community really stepped up to the plate when they supported Heartland. They gave our patients great medical attention with true heart and soul, and they gave me support and confidence that, together, we could offer hope to our community's uninsured, working population. Our small paid staff maintained a happy, organized work environment for our volunteers. Staff and volunteers blended their talents, knowing they were helping and healing many of the underserved population.
I learned about fundraising, which definitely isn't something you can take a crash course in. Luckily for me, the community was very aware of Heartland's mission and the need; we just needed to keep our donors informed of that need. Once again, the volunteers were the best advocates Heartland could have. Their voices in the community brought in continued donor dollars. The clinic didn't receive government funding at this time-only a few foundation grants and the rest in private contributions.
The hardest part of the job was not being able to serve everyone who qualified for the services; so many deserving people were on the borderline of government support. They earned too much to qualify for a medical card and too little to purchase health coverage. There were more than 11,000 uninsured in the tri-county area in 2000.
I learned to pick up the phone and talk with our district legislators. Every one of them was approachable and willing to help in some way.
Tell about your current position at Crittenton Centers.
Today, I serve as the executive director of Crittenton Centers, a not-for-profit, 501c3, multi-disciplinary human service organization serving a diverse population of children, single moms, and young families. I report to a board of directors and oversee a staff of 42, including program directors, case managers, childcare workers, and teachers.
How has the focus of Crittenton changed from its original purpose?
Originally, the "Home of Blessing" was founded in 1892 to take young "wayward" girls off the streets of Peoria and give them a new home and services to prepare them for motherhood. First located on the corner of Richmond Avenue and North Street, the home later affiliated with the "Florence Crittenton" movement in the early 1900s. Continuing with a mission to serve unwed mothers and their babies, the home changed its name to the "Florence Crittenton Peoria Home" and built a new facility on Heading Avenue. It was tucked back on a side street of West Peoria for the simple reason of privacy for the mothers-to-be. Many babies were born there; some left the home with their birth mothers, and many babies were adopted through the home. In the late 1990s, the home's government funding stream for residential care shifted focus, forcing the agency to close the unwed mother residential program and provide similar services in an outreach component. In the meantime, we were focusing more and more on at-risk children and delivering services to support fragile families trying to learn how to parent and become self-sufficient.
Do you still receive inquiries from those seeking knowledge of their birth mothers?
Yes. There have been approximately 15 birth mother/ family/adoptee requests in 2004. Our role is to verify basic information to begin the search process. We then direct the client to a service certified by the State of Illinois to conduct the search.
Happy reunions have taken place at the Heading building-visits by the birth mother or adoptee, meetings with the birth mother and her child, and walks around the Heading building to reflect on such a significant life experience for both. Often, there are letters mailed to be filed with the adoptee's records in case he or she ever seeks a reunion with birth family members. Some records still contain locks of baby hair, a memory of someone's first few days of life.
Adoptions and any mother or adopted child information is a very personal affair. Each inquiry is handled solely by one staff member to maintain strict confidentiality.
Crittenton recently moved into a new facility. How was it funded? How are Crittenton's programs funded?
We recently built a beautiful facility at 442 West John Gwynn Jr. Avenue and moved in April. Some might say this project was a leap of faith for an agency trying to reinvent itself after being a home for unwed mothers for more than 100 years. One clear sign this move was the right thing to do was the timely sale of the Heading property in June.
We're lucky to have had exceptionally good stewardship of Crittenton funds over the years-a real credit to past and current boards of directors and a conservatively spending staff. We were able to pay for more than half of the building project of $2.2 million from agency savings and several major leadership donations provided by Joan and Jay Janssen and from Caterpillar Inc. The remaining building loan will be aggressively paid off by a low-key building campaign and future fundraising events.
Current programs are funded by state government contracts from the Department of Human Service, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the City of Peoria CDBG funds. The Heart of Illinois United Way also awards funding for our major programs, and we receive funding from several foundations. Of course, the heartbeat of the agency is our constituency of donors.
Crisis Nursery Services are very important to the community. Who can use the services of the Crisis Nursery?
Crisis Nursery is a round-the-clock emergency childcare service for any family with a crisis situation. Infants up to six years old are served on a temporary basis free of charge. There are no income requirements-just an immediate need.
We might keep a child for a few hours or a few days, depending on the situation. The important guideline at Crisis Nursery is the protection of the child. If we can give a parent a break for a few hours to help them sort out a problem or just to relieve some stress, we're definitely protecting the child and helping to nurture the family.
How does Crittenton work cooperatively with other agencies?
Crittenton has a long, productive history of collaboration with a number of organizations and inter-agency networking groups. Each partner is crucial to the success of individual projects and has its own areas of expertise to contribute. Currently, we're collaborating on several major prevention projects involving teen pregnancy, child abuse, and violence prevention. While the majority of these efforts are locally administered, Crittenton also participates on the statewide Crisis Nursery Coalition. All of these collaborative initiatives are proceeding well and are highly regarded by the various funding agents.
What's unique about the service offerings of Crittenton compared to other agencies such as Center for Prevention of Abuse or the YWCA?
Unique to the tri-county area is the Crisis Nursery program. In fact, Crittenton Centers was the first Crisis Nursery in the state when it was established in 1980. Since then, our program has been replicated not only in Illinois, but also as a national program model. Where some Crisis Nurseries are stand-alone agencies, ours has blended well with Crittenton's variety of family services programs and child development center. Parents might partake of our parent education classes while children are cared for in the nursery, or staff social workers may provide direct case management to stabilize the family. Eventually, we see parents holding down secure jobs and enrolling their child in our day care.
We also have "night care" during the second shift time block in the child development center. This is the only second shift childcare offered in the downtown area. We've had a waiting list for this classroom since we opened in April. This service more than likely will be an expansion area for Crittenton Centers.
Does Crittenton see a rise in need at a particular season of the year?
Help for fragile families is needed year round, but the stress of the holidays definitely plays a role in the demand for services. The hunt to find and keep jobs, the rising cost of living, the lack of health care coverage-these are all indirect factors in why a parent may find the holiday period even more distressing than usual. New hires can't miss day after day of work; there's always some part of family life that's going to suffer. Likewise, the anticipation of providing holiday extras like presents under the tree and a good meal can put undue pressure on a parent.
Some of the real reasons a family comes apart, though, are totally related to what goes on inside the four walls of their home. It could be a relative who needs to come live with them, an older child having school and behavior problems, or an illness of a family member.
How are volunteers used at Crittenton? Discuss some of them.
It's a great source of pride to talk about the more than 400 community volunteers who work as "personal shoppers" every year at our annual children's only holiday store, The Stocking Stuffer Store. There are obviously too many to name, but they look forward to coming back each year to shop and wrap gifts with the children shoppers. We're fortunate to have stores in donated space at Northwoods Mall and the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.
At the facility, we rely on volunteers to assist staff in Crisis Nursery with the children. Since we're open around the clock, 365 days a year, there's never a time of day or night when a volunteer isn't needed to rock babies, read a book, and help with meals or bed time. One volunteer signs up to come twice a week to play with the children; others come monthly. With volunteers available, this frees up staff to do a more thorough job of the intake process and phone calls.
In your opinion, what are the critical issues facing the families you serve?
Basics. Finishing school, finding a job, keeping a job, health care coverage, safety in their neighborhoods, safety in their own homes, fear of not knowing how to be a good parent and provider, getting along with their partner, domestic violence, not having a positive role model-the list goes on. In our support group settings, parents share ideas and give each other inner strength.
There's no such thing as a perfect parent, but there are many good parents striving to be great parents. We'll have done our job at Crittenton if we help them along the way.
Is it difficult to separate yourself emotionally at the end of the day from the families you help?
At the end of my day, I routinely visit the child development center and Crisis Nursery. This is my fix. I hold a baby or play with a child for a few minutes and touch base with our great staff. Then, I can leave the building where the lights never go out and remember all the good things accomplished during the day:
- We've provided a quality childcare program serving 90 children during first and second shifts.
- Our Crisis Nursery is providing emergency childcare for as many as 18 children per shift, 24 hours a day.
- Our case managers are problem solving with, and advocating for, single parent moms and dads.
How can the community better support Crittenton?
Volunteer. We're always looking for help with our children and special events.
Be an advocate for children and families of our community. That means looking out for warning signs of stress with a family member or a neighbor. Most child abuse occurs within the home involving a person the child knows. So look around you-your neighbors, friends, family-stress and anger can make a person do regrettable things. Offer a time out to a young neighbor or family member, and refer them to our Crisis Nursery for a parenting break.
Join Crittenton Centers and other child welfare agencies during the month of April as we raise awareness of child abuse. Wear a blue ribbon to demonstrate awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month and the Month of the Young Child. These will be distributed by several local child welfare agencies including Crittenton Centers.
Have you identified any other needs that should and could be met through Crittenton with proper staffing and funding?
We have a grant research committee whose task is to identify critical needs for the agency, as well as a "wish list" of services for clients if there were funding. As mentioned before, we feel one of our core competencies is childcare. We'd like to expand these services by offering more round-the-clock childcare services. Additionally, training for our teachers is continuous and imperative as we strive to get our pre-school children school ready.
Our state Crisis Nursery coalition collects outcome data to collaboratively appeal for state funding for this program. We'd like to hire a family enhancement worker who would provide family stabilization services including home visits, parental education, and prevention services.
National studies are showing positive results in reducing the number of teen pregnancies. We want to be a vital part in educating our teen population about a variety of life skills. Taking the curriculum right into the schools might be the best way to connect with the at-risk teens. Our abstinence classes are in demand in the schools; labeling a class "The Naked Truth about Sex" might have helped with the enrollment.
Do you run into any misperceptions the community has regarding Crittenton?
Since the beginning of the 1900s, the "Florence Crittenton" movement has been a recognized program for unwed mothers throughout the United States. Our agency was a part of that movement for more than 100 years. In fact, there's still an active group of "Crittenton homes" who meet annually to discuss best practices and the needs of young mothers and their babies. Many in our community still think we're a home for unwed mothers. We're still providing needed services for single parents, at-risk families, and children-just without the residential piece.
What are Crittenton's future plans?
Next door to our new facility is a three-acre piece of property we just purchased for future expansion. This may be an opportunity for another agency in town to collaborate with us for program expansion, but for the near term, Crittenton Centers has been selected as a Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership School project. Our charge to the CLS project team will be to find a short-term usage for this parcel of land that will benefit the community.
We also have a one-of-a-kind special event that will happen next year in the summer, so stay tuned for details. It'll be the event of the year for our community. TPW