Local social services organization making a difference
In a year apart, Pressley Ridge keeps families close at heart
Noah Rocker was often picked last when teams were choosing sides in gym class. Little things like that made it difficult for Noah, who is now 11, to connect with kids in his school. Some of them made fun of him because of his quirky personality.
When the pandemic hit, his social struggles were exacerbated, and focusing on virtual classes was a challenge. Being home, surrounded by his toys, made it hard for him to shift into a school-focused mindset.
In the fall, Noah was diagnosed with autism. Westmoreland County Casemanagement and Supports Inc. pointed his mom, Denise, toward different resources she and Noah could use, leading her to sign him up for a weekly social group at Pressley Ridge, a Pittsburgh-based social services organization.
Now, he’s not the last kid picked. He sometimes is even the last one standing during dodgeball games.
“His first day, when he was done, he told me that was the best two hours of his life,” Ms. Rocker said. “I almost cried with joy because it was the first time he was accepted by his peers.”
Amid a year of turmoil, Pressley Ridge’s services — which include assistance for kids with autism, foster care, adoption and education — have been a bright spot for Ms. Rocker and the many other people who rely on the organization.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has upended so many of life’s daily
rhythms, life itself did not stop. Kids are still being adopted, graduating from school and, like Noah, finding new friends while staying at a social distance.
Pressley Ridge CEO Susanne Cole said when the virus first hit, one of the questions she asked was, “How are we going to make sure people are taken care of?”
“We didn’t stop things just because we had this huge, unknown challenge of what a pandemic brings,” Ms. Cole said. “So I’m just incredibly proud. It sounds so simple, but it’s not when you think about the challenges that people face.”
Such challenges as when Sara Glover and her family were exposed to COVID-19 in early December, and she had to self-quarantine. She knew Pressley Ridge would be there for whatever she needed, such as picking up groceries, checking in on the family and facilitating Zoom meetings between her foster son and his birth mother.
These acts were a given: The organization had already been providing these services to its associated families throughout the pandemic. As the virus spread, visits between foster families and biological parents became less frequent. Courts were closed, and social services became harder to acquire, throwing a wrench into the already complex machinery of foster care.
But through it all, Ms. Glover and her husband were still able to adopt their son, Dos (pronounced like the Spanish number two), after fostering him for three years. Along with taking care of their two other children and Dos, they continue to foster another 1-year-old boy.
She began foster care after a colleague at the Urban Impact Foundation on Pittsburgh’s North Side challenged her and her husband to take on the bittersweet responsibility of helping to raise a child for only a brief chapter in their lives. Along the way, there has been guidance from Pressley Ridge.
“I could call five to seven times a week, and they appreciate it because what we’re talking about is really significant,” Ms. Glover said. “They don’t lose sight of that, and I think it’s easy when you do that all day, every day, it’s easy to become calloused or desensitized. And I never sense that from any of the case planners I work with.”
While so much of family life has been strained by the pandemic, Pressley Ridge has kicked into gear to give families what they need to navigate it. For many, it provided relief. For others, it brought new happiness in a year of so much stress.
Pressley Ridge participates in the Pittsburgh PostGazette’s Goodfellows fund, which helps Toys for Tots provide toys to families in need during the holiday season.
“We are really close with families, so we call ourselves the central hub,” said Pressley Ridge service coordinator Ashley Kostrub, who is the point person there for Goodfellows and Toys for Tots.
In a normal year, she said, the organization would be actively participating more with families in person, so now it is extra important that people are able to get what they need during difficult times.
To donate, send your tax deductible donation to PostGazette Goodfellows, Box 590, Pittsburgh, PA 15230 or donate online at www.postgazette.com/goodfellows. By tradition, the Post-Gazette acknowledges every contribution, no matter the size, in the newspaper.