The 26th Annual Strawberry Festival at Shadyside Presbyterian Church took place in early June and was a sweet and tasty way to spend a beautiful early summer evening. The proceeds from this event provide valuable support of day-to-day essentials for the women in the treatment program. Sojourner House has been adopted as the beneficiary of this annual summer celebration for many years. Volunteer and creator of the festival, Ann Brooks first experienced strawberry socials in England, as a teaching and exchange student. She knew that other local churches had festivals and thought it would be a perfect way for the Shadyside Presbyterian Church community to have some fellowship, enjoy their beautiful lawn and give back to the community. The first year, Ann made some … [Read more...] about Ann Brooks Created a Legacy of Volunteerism
Volunteers
Liz Wasel is Sojourner House’s Childcare Development Specialist and Volunteer Coordinator. When she came to the organization nearly 11 years ago, her first project was to bring structured programming like story and circle time to the children’s services. She soon added “Volunteer Coordinator” to her job duties. In these positions, she witnesses changes in people every day. She marvels at the changes that she sees in families during their time in the program. “Over 6 months, there is a huge change in the child’s growth, personality, cognitive abilities and even their size! But even more impressive is the change in their mothers. You see a mother leave after 6 months with self-esteem and pride.” She not only sees changes in the families she works with, but also the … [Read more...] about Liz Wasel has a front row seat to changes in families and volunteers
After nearly 12 years as the Executive Director of Sojourner House, Joann Cyganovich is retiring and moving onto the next adventure. But during her time with the organization, she has helped to usher in some dramatic changes and major steps forward for the organization and their goals of helping mothers struggling with addiction to get the help that they need without having to worry about losing their kids. All of this experience has given tremendous perspective to Cyganovich, and we asked her to share some words of wisdom, both from her time at Sojourner House, and looking forward to the future of the organization. What makes our organization so important both today and for the future of our city and region? “There is no such thing as recovery housing or halfway housing for … [Read more...] about Parting Words of Wisdom from Outgoing Executive Director Joann Cyganovich
2019 marks the 15th annual Victorian Tea, an annual fundraiser event geared toward raising funds and awareness for Sojourner House. The annual high tea brings hundreds of mothers, daughters, fathers and sons to come enjoy tea and pastries and enjoyable entertainment and programming, and most importantly to help contribute money towards Sojourner House and their mission of providing rehabilitation, treatment, and housing for mothers and their children. Given the impacts of the opioid crisis on Western Pennsylvania, the organization is more important than ever. This year, our honorary co-chairs of the Victorian Tea bring a unique perspective because of first-hand experience working with Sojourner House. Harris Ferris has served as the executive director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre … [Read more...] about Annual Victorian Tea Fundraiser Honorary Co-Chairs Janet and Harris Ferris are Strong Believers in the Importance of Sojourner House
The Pennsylvania Treatment Alliance is a recently formed collaboration between three organizations focused on combating the opioid epidemic in Western Pennsylvania, with a specific emphasis on treatment for women and families. The Alliance is a combined effort between Sojourner House, which provides compassionate, faith-based addiction recovery services to women and their children; Family Links, an organization committed to building healthy communities by strengthening individuals and families through provision of comprehensive, quality services in matters including addiction; and POWER, whose mission is to help women reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction and to reduce the incidence of addiction in future generations. The trio of organizations has been working together for … [Read more...] about Sojourner House, Family Links and POWER Join Forces to form Pennsylvania Treatment Alliance, Combating The Opioid Epidemic
Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania and the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh hosted a community forum on Nov. 19 called “Hopeful Responses to Addiction,” geared toward addressing issues related to addiction in the Pittsburgh region. The event took place at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. Approximately 50 guests listened to speakers representing a mixture of faith leaders from various local religious organizations, community experts on issues related to addiction, and first-person experts on the subject matter. The forum consisted of three main segments: defining addiction; the impact of addiction; and how to respond as a community. Two of the event’s speakers were people with connections to … [Read more...] about Sojourner House Among Proud Participants of “Hopeful Responses to Addiction” Community Forum