The past 10 years, Berks County Children and Youth Services staff has nominated and recognized providers and community partners that assist in the difficult task of combating child abuse and neglect. 2013 recipients included JusticeWork’s own Rebecca Torbik, Tara Flowers, Noelle Hartzman, and Trish Beltz. They were recognized by Berks County Children and Youth for exemplary work supporting the children and families of the county.
Below is the letter of recommendations submitted by Children and Youth Staff regarding our team members.
Tara Flowers
On one particular case, Tara has consistency gone above and beyond. She helped a mother and her 14 year old daughter get enrolled in outpatient mental health counseling. On the surface, this might seem like a normal thing, but the daughter has a past history of making suicidal threats, primarily due to being sexually assaulted by an older man. Tara was able to establish rapport with the family, who is not always receptive to services and can be uncooperative at times. Tara was able to convince the mother and daughter the importance of counseling and how it can help. Along with that, Tara had to work hands on with the mother who was having many difficulties with her insurance through DPW. Tara would frequently make phone calls for her to help locate a counseling center that was covered by her insurance. However, once found, the counseling center was very difficult to deal with in terms of setting up an intake. Tara was persistent and continued to work with the family to get the daughter in counseling. Tara would also drive the family to the intake appointments and sessions. But perhaps her biggest contribution was her willingness to work with this family to begin with, mainly due to the face that the family lives on top of a mountain in Boyertown. The road to their cabin must be walked, and it is a steep 1/2 mile climb up a dirt road through the forest, often muddy and dangerous when it rains. Tara did not let this obstacle get in the way of providing services to a family that is not the easiest to deal with and is not often grateful for what she is doing for them. Without her intervention over the past few months, this family, and more notably the daughter, would not be able to cope with the crisis issues that caused the case to be open in the first place.
Noelle Hartzman
Noelle went above and beyond, to the point that her own safety could have been jeopardized, in order to help ensure the safety and well-being of the children and the mother in a family that was threatened by significant domestic violence. She, on more than one occasion, rearranged her schedule (professional and personal) to meet with the family last second or later/longer than expected to work things out or create a plan to alleviate emergency situations- one of which involved contacting the police after the father assaulted the mother. Noelle later supported the mother throughout the court proceedings- criminal and PFA- as she had a very limited support system. Noelle has helped the mother achieve independence through helping her open an individual bank account and assisted the family with relocating away from the dangerous situation. Noelle made arrangements with JusticeWorks to store some of the family’s belongings in the JusticeWorks’ office and assisted with a quick move from the home when it became necessary and feasible without the father knowing about it. Noelle was also able to locate an abundance of clothing for the family’s numerous children as they had very little that fit and/or was in good shape.
Trish Beltz
Trish is being nominated for her hard work and professionalism with a very difficult case. Trish spent months advocating for a mother and in rebuilding a mother/daughter relationship that was constantly sabotaged by the grandparents. Trish remained professional with the family during the most difficult of times. Trish maintained her composer when false allegations were made against her. Trish also remained calmed and focused when she was assaulted by the teenage girl as well as when the teenage girl was being destructive to her vehicle. Though working with the family was emotionally exhausting, Trish remained professional, positive, and continued to maintain her sense of humor. Trish was also able to keep her personal feelings regarding the grandparents aside and worked with the child and grandparents in forming a positive relationship. And though the child was never able to trust any professional due to her mental limitations, she was able to form a positive relationship with Trish even after she assaulted Trish. It is for these reasons why Trish Beltz deserves a Blue Ribbon Award.
Rebecca Torbik
On a snowy Christmas Day this past December, Rebecca Torbik, Assistant Director of JusticeWorks YouthCare, left her own family to assure safety of children that were placed with a caregiver on Christmas Eve. It was such a pleasure to have such a compassionate agency work so quickly and diligently with our agency to ensure safety of children despite it being Christmas day. It goes to show their commitment to providing services 24 hours a day seven days a week as we continue to work together to assure that the children of Berks County are kept safe free from abuse and neglect.
We are proud of Rebecca, Tara, Noelle, and Trish and appreciate their “Whatever it takes” approach in helping others. Congrats Team!