Luz Santiago Named New Director of Prevention for Wynona's House, Furthering the Mission of the CAC to "Bring the Change Children and Families Need to be Safe to Heal"
Wynona's House Child Advocacy Center is pleased to introduce its new Director of Prevention, Ms. Luz Santiago, LMSW. Santiago brings a wealth of experience to her role, possessing 25 years of child advocacy experience. She has enacted positive change in the communities she has served. Wynona’s House recently launched a new project called Prevention-By-Design, which Santiago will lead. This new community-based prevention program will improve outcomes for children and families in Essex County.
Newark, NJ, June 30, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Wynona's House Child Advocacy Center (CAC) is pleased to introduce its new Director of Prevention, Ms. Luz Santiago, LMSW. Santiago brings a wealth of experience to her role, possessing 25 years of child advocacy experience. She has enacted positive change in the communities she has served, "I received early education in Manhattan’s Lower East Side multicultural immigrant working community. My parents and I later relocated to Puerto Rico, where I completed middle and high school. I longed to return to the States and start college, because working in urban communities fires my passion and purpose,” shares Luz Santiago. She went on to earn her master’s in clinical/non-profit administration from Hunter College School of Social Work.
Wynona’s House recently launched a new project called Prevention-By-Design, which Santiago will lead. This new community-based prevention program will improve outcomes for children and families in Essex County by better utilizing protective factors, identifying and reducing risks to children, and increasing education. Community members are a central part of the program’s planning, development, implementation, and evaluation process. In July, Wynona’s House will select two Essex County communities in which to begin implementing the program.
“The whole point of prevention is empowerment, at every level, not only at the point of the adverse childhood experience (ACE), but also for families at risk or even when there is no risk, when the risk is very low,” Santiago reveals. “So education and empowerment, those buckets get filled in that order and it starts with the partnerships, renewing them and making them stronger.” In order to empower families, Santiago will work with the team at Wynona’s House to identify partnerships and community spaces such as schools, recreation centers, and places of worship to host orientation events and community forums. Topics will include healthy socialization skills, managing anxiety, and the importance of mental health. The team will also take into consideration the stigmas associated with revealing family issues, and use empowering language to help families address them. Santiago explains, “Isolation is very disempowering,” brushing things under the carpet and maintaining a facade will only exacerbate problems.
Santiago mentions one of the key takeaways is that, “Partnering within our community, within our systems, we can start trusting them again because we're involved with them and they’ll represent us better, it builds resilience, and it builds a sense of safety. So even if/when something bad does happen, the resilience and the partnership is already there. And I think that is going to create higher opportunities of healing and protection for the community at home.”
During Children’s Awareness Month, Wynona’s House is emphasizing the importance of nurturing all of the children it serves and also raising awareness of summer safety for children as hotter weather approaches. In doing so, Wynona’s House is celebrating the joys of childhood and empowering children to become the next generation of leaders.
Santiago remarked on the mission and vision of the CAC: “Upon a series of interviews at Wynona’s House Child Advocacy Center, I was impressed with the organization’s laser purpose to protect, bring support, and empower Essex County children and families. Our new program introduces an evidence-based methodology and strong partnership with a holistic team of community service organizations which together thrive to make a positive difference in the community. Wynona’s House Prevention-By-Design will pull together our top teams and bring the change children and families need to be safe to heal."
Senator Wynona Lipman, the namesake of Wynona's House, would have turned 100 in November 2023. In November, Wynona's House will be holding a special event to mark the launch and progress of the Prevention-By-Design project. Additional information to follow.
Contact Director of Prevention Luz Santiago at 973-753-1111 or via email at LSantiago@WynonasHouse.org.
About Wynona’s House Child Advocacy Center
Wynona’s House is an incorporated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization named in honor of its legislative champion, the late Senator Wynona Lipman, who helped develop the Center to promote justice, hope, and healing for child victims of abuse and neglect throughout Essex County by coordinating investigation, prosecution, treatment, prevention, and supportive services utilizing the “child-centered” multidisciplinary team approach. Located in Newark, Wynona’s House is the only co-located Child Advocacy Center in New Jersey, serving over 800,000 Essex County residents and providing direct services to more than 950 abused/neglected children each year. For more information about Wynona’s House visit wynonashouse.org.
Wynona’s House recently launched a new project called Prevention-By-Design, which Santiago will lead. This new community-based prevention program will improve outcomes for children and families in Essex County by better utilizing protective factors, identifying and reducing risks to children, and increasing education. Community members are a central part of the program’s planning, development, implementation, and evaluation process. In July, Wynona’s House will select two Essex County communities in which to begin implementing the program.
“The whole point of prevention is empowerment, at every level, not only at the point of the adverse childhood experience (ACE), but also for families at risk or even when there is no risk, when the risk is very low,” Santiago reveals. “So education and empowerment, those buckets get filled in that order and it starts with the partnerships, renewing them and making them stronger.” In order to empower families, Santiago will work with the team at Wynona’s House to identify partnerships and community spaces such as schools, recreation centers, and places of worship to host orientation events and community forums. Topics will include healthy socialization skills, managing anxiety, and the importance of mental health. The team will also take into consideration the stigmas associated with revealing family issues, and use empowering language to help families address them. Santiago explains, “Isolation is very disempowering,” brushing things under the carpet and maintaining a facade will only exacerbate problems.
Santiago mentions one of the key takeaways is that, “Partnering within our community, within our systems, we can start trusting them again because we're involved with them and they’ll represent us better, it builds resilience, and it builds a sense of safety. So even if/when something bad does happen, the resilience and the partnership is already there. And I think that is going to create higher opportunities of healing and protection for the community at home.”
During Children’s Awareness Month, Wynona’s House is emphasizing the importance of nurturing all of the children it serves and also raising awareness of summer safety for children as hotter weather approaches. In doing so, Wynona’s House is celebrating the joys of childhood and empowering children to become the next generation of leaders.
Santiago remarked on the mission and vision of the CAC: “Upon a series of interviews at Wynona’s House Child Advocacy Center, I was impressed with the organization’s laser purpose to protect, bring support, and empower Essex County children and families. Our new program introduces an evidence-based methodology and strong partnership with a holistic team of community service organizations which together thrive to make a positive difference in the community. Wynona’s House Prevention-By-Design will pull together our top teams and bring the change children and families need to be safe to heal."
Senator Wynona Lipman, the namesake of Wynona's House, would have turned 100 in November 2023. In November, Wynona's House will be holding a special event to mark the launch and progress of the Prevention-By-Design project. Additional information to follow.
Contact Director of Prevention Luz Santiago at 973-753-1111 or via email at LSantiago@WynonasHouse.org.
About Wynona’s House Child Advocacy Center
Wynona’s House is an incorporated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization named in honor of its legislative champion, the late Senator Wynona Lipman, who helped develop the Center to promote justice, hope, and healing for child victims of abuse and neglect throughout Essex County by coordinating investigation, prosecution, treatment, prevention, and supportive services utilizing the “child-centered” multidisciplinary team approach. Located in Newark, Wynona’s House is the only co-located Child Advocacy Center in New Jersey, serving over 800,000 Essex County residents and providing direct services to more than 950 abused/neglected children each year. For more information about Wynona’s House visit wynonashouse.org.
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Wynona's House Child Advocacy Center
LisaMarie Gaeta
973-753-1110
https://wynonashouse.org
LisaMarie Gaeta
973-753-1110
https://wynonashouse.org
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