Text Box: Just prior to Thanksgiving of 1994, during a particularly challenging week at Charlottesville DSS, a letter crossed my desk that changed the direction of my professional journey. The letter was an announcement to the community from Bob Snodgrass and Brad Bryant, Directors in the Staunton office of People Places, Inc., outlining plans to open a site in Charlottesville. While struggling to juggle the demands of a heavy caseload - which included CPS investigations, Foster Care cases, and a few adoptions - I turned to my equally tired co-workers, said that it was time for a change, and wondered how soon People Places would begin to hire! They rolled their eyes, offered commiseration, and we all moved on to the next crisis. Several months later, I was involved in a heartrending CPS situa

Text Box: tion that required an emergency placement of a severely neglected and abused 2-year-old girl with extremely primitive behaviors. After being turned down by numerous families, I contacted People Places out of desperation, assuming such a young child would not be considered. My initial phone call to the Admissions Director was met with welcoming responsiveness. The Teaching Parents who quickly took this child into their home were loving and patient. The Family Consultant offered professional care and commitment beyond anything I had experienced from other agencies. I was so overwhelmed with the level of compassion and concern, that

Text Box: my fate was sealed. When I spotted an ad run in the paper, I applied, and after 19 years with CDSS, was hired as the first Family Consultant in the new Charlottesville office. Our first child was placed in August of 1995. Like any organization, we have had our share of bumps in the road, balanced with our successes and accomplishments. The Charlottesville office was opened with encouragement from the local community in an attempt to respond to the growing demands of the foster care system. The goal was to provide the same quality of services to seriously emotionally disturbed children and their families in the Charlottesville area as we had in the Shenandoah Valley since 1973. I hope that we have provided to you, our colleagues and customers, a similar element of humanness coupled with quality service that I experienced when I was on the receiving end. Ten years later, I am still very proud and humbled to be part of People Places, Inc., working side-by-side with some of the most dedicated staff and foster families that I could hope to know.

Linda Gitz Currence, MPA, Assistant Director PPC & Doris Moore MSW, Director PPC.

(Reflections from Linda Gitz Currence, Assistant Director, PPC)

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