DANVILLE — Linnette Garcia has been working as a bilingual case manager for Sheltering Wings for more than a year now — and she loves it.

“It’s been very interesting to work with the Latino ladies,” Garcia said. “I am able to do my case management in Spanish, which takes less time for us.”

Sheltering Wings provides emergency housing for women and their dependent children suffering from any form of domestic abuse. Each woman or child is provided immediate needs assessments, support groups, life skills classes, on-site therapy, and connections with community resources.

Garcia, who is a native of Puerto Rico, moved to the Indianapolis area to work with a Latino church plant being fostered by the Grace Community Church in Noblesville.

Sheltering Wings is a United Way of Hendricks County agency.

She serves on the church staff as an associate pastor but needed a full-time job to be able to stay in Indiana.

“I just love Indiana,” she said. “I cannot explain just how much I love it here.”

Garcia was a biologist by education but had been working as a teacher for about a year and a half at a Christian school in Puerto Rico. She had also done some case management for the government using her bilingual skills.

She said she did a search on the Internet for non-profit and bilingual — that’s when she learned about Sheltering Wings.

At that point, she began researching Sheltering Wings and felt compelled to apply for the position as soon as possible. She said her first year at the shelter has been rewarding and that God led her to the position.

“I have found the Latino ladies have different needs,” she said. “Especially when it comes to dealing with immigration issues.”

She said she hasn’t keep a count, but has worked with at lease 50 women since she came to Sheltering Wings in 2008.

“It’s not easy work,” Garcia said. “But there were so many limitations when I did case management for the government. Now when I work on a case I can encourage the ladies and have the flexibility to pick up the Bible and pray when we need to. I can share with them about the Word.”

As a case manager, Garcia works with a new client as soon as she enters the shelter.

“Within the first 72 hours I must do an assessment where we ask questions and find out what they need,” she said. “We fill out a matrix which is an assessment tool so we can track their progress.”

She said once the client is settled she works with her to find employment, a vehicle, or any other basic necessity.

“I also help with a lot of paperwork,” Garcia said. “And get them set up with any appointments they may need.”

And Garcia does not just work with the Latino clients at Sheltering Wings. She has also worked with families from the Middle East and Asia.

“This has been an international year for us,” she said. “We’ve had ladies from many different countries.”

Garcia works closely with other staff members such as Diane Romel, one of the shelter’s mentors, and Andrea Crozier, the children’s services coordinator.

Romel has been a mentor for nearly three years at Sheltering Wings.

“We help the ladies with résumés or go to court with them,” she said. “We meet one-on-one with the ladies on a weekly basis.”

Romel said she applied for a job at the shelter after former CEO April Bordeau visited her church.

“I was not happy in my job,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing how the ladies grow while they are here.”

Crozier is involved with any of the women who have children also staying in the shelter.

“When they come in we sit down and decide what resources each child may need,” she said. “We will work with the children as a group and if they allow me I work with the child to do an assessment.”

She moved to Central Indiana from Minneapolis.

“I knew I wanted to work with teens,” she said. “I had transferred to a Starbucks here from one in Minnesota.”

Crozier found out her Starbucks donated pastries to Sheltering Wings, then saw a news item on television about the shelter.

“The very next day April (Bordeau) was in Starbucks,” she said. “My husband encouraged me to talk to her. She told me to send my résumé in.”

She said during her three years at the shelter she has learned that she loves to work with younger children.

“I thought I just wanted to work with teens,” Crozier said. “Now I love working with younger kids.”

The services offered by Sheltering Wings would not be possible without the support of the United Way of Hendricks County. The agency is struggling to make its goal for this year.

For more information on United Way of Hendricks County, visit the website at www.uwci.org.

If anyone needs assistance in Central Indiana, Connect2Help offers free and confidential telephone assistance to help those in need get information about food, housing, health care, shelter, support groups, and more. Dial 211 or 926-4357 seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

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Online:

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www.uwci.org

susie.friend@uwci.org

By phone: 745-0310



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