Social Services available for adults, children

'The Prince William County Department of Social Services, a public agency, offers children and adult services, foster care, benefits, employment and child care.

The county operates two Social Service offices: one at 7987 Ashton Ave., Suite 200, Manassas, (703) 792-7500; and another at the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Drive, Woodbridge, (703) 792-7500.

For more information and directions to each office, visit co.princewilliam.va.us/dss. Both offices maintain hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Services
• Food Stamps: Assistance to purchase food for low-income families and individuals.

• Medicaid Assistance: Medical coverage for income-eligible persons including programs for the elderly, disabled, and families with children.

• Family Access Medical Insurance Security Plan: Health insurance for low-income children over the poverty level who are ineligible for Medicaid.

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families: Financial assistance to families or persons caring for related children who need support because of death, disability or absence of a parent.

• Employment Services: Helps public assistance applicants and recipients to become self-supporting.

• Child Care: Payments for childcare for income-eligible families who are employed.

• Fuel Assistance: Payments to defray heating costs of income-eligible persons.

• Homeless Intervention Program: Provides short-term rental and mortgage assistance to eligible individuals facing eviction or foreclosure.

For more information or to be screened for eligibility for programs, contact the Call Center at (703) 792-7500 or visit the self-screening tool at dss.virginia.gov.

Family Services
• Protective Services and Family Assessment: Investigates reports of child abuse or neglect. Helps families provide better care for children through counseling, childcare, teaching parenting, budgeting and homemaking skills.

To report child neglect or abuse, call (703) 792-4200. After 5 p.m. and on weekends, call the Prince William County Police directly at (703) 792-6500 or the state Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at (800) 552-7096.

• Foster Care: Provision of full-time substitute care for children committed by the court or entrusted by the parents to the Department.

• Adoption: Foster children who become legally free are placed for adoption with approved adoptive parents.

• Adult Protective Services: Investigates reports of abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults, and helps arrange for adequate care for those who cannot fully care for themselves.

• The Community Services Board: Mental health and substance abuse hotline: Help is available 24 hours a day. In Manassas, call (703) 792-7800. In eastern Prince William, call (703) 792-4900; western Prince William, call (703) 792-7800.

City Services
The cities of Manassas and Manassas Park provide similar services to residents.

However, Manassas has discontinued its career center after losing funding and changed its name to the Department of Family Services.

Programs include food stamps, housing, adoption services and child health insurance, Medicaid, funding assistance, investigation of child abuse/neglect of children under 18, investigation of adult abuse neglect/exploitation, including seniors over 60 and the disabled over age 18, daycare assistance, employment services, career center services for Manassas are residents, foster care. The agency also approves people to be adoptive parents or families, as well as, foster parents or families and approval to be a daycare provider.

They also provide referral services for high-risk youngsters.

Both departments are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for holidays.

The Manassas office is at 8955 Center St. Call (703) 361-8277.

The Manassas Park office is at 1 Park Center Court. The phone number is (703) 335-8880.

Manassas Park social workers can be reached after hours for crisis counseling by calling the Manassas Park police, (703) 361-1136, and asking for social services.

Programs for Homeless
• The Hilda Barg Homeless Prevention Center is at 14945 Jefferson Davis Highway, Woodbridge. Call (703) 680-5403. A 24-hour, 30-bed facility for singles and families is funded by Prince William County and operated by Volunteers of America.

• After Share -- a program comprised of former residents who volunteer at the center--provides free clothing, food and household items at the same address beginning at 11:30 a.m. every Sunday and continuing while supplies last.

After Share's Web site is aftershare.org.

During the week, the center holds an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, a Narcotics Anonymous meeting and a Cocaine Anonymous meeting. Call program director Gayle Sanders for more information at (703) 680-5403.

ACTS
Action in Community Through Service offers a variety of community services. The main office is at 3900 ACTS Lane in Dumfries, (703) 441-8606.

ACTS Programs include:

• Emergency Assistance: provides emergency food, clothing and financial aid to avoid evictions and utility cut-offs. Periodic food drives, including Operation Turkey, which provides free Thanksgiving dinners to needy families in Eastern Prince William County. Phone (703) 221-3186.

• Homeless Shelter: provides temporary emergency shelter 24/7 for families who are homeless. Phone (703) 221-3188.

• Child Care Center offers high-quality, affordable childcare for low-income working families. Tuition assistance is available using an income-based sliding scale. Phone (703) 670-8808.

• Helpline is a 24-hour telephone crisis hotline certified for suicide intervention and prevention that can be reached at (703) 368-4141. A Spanish-language hotline (Ayuda Con Ternura) operates Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. at (703) 368-6544. Teleteen and Phone-A-Friend are hotlines manned by teenagers Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m.

• Turning Points is a domestic violence intervention program serving Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park. Services include: two battered women's shelters, individual counseling, support groups for women and children, alternative to violence classes for batterers, court advocacy and accompaniment, parenting classes, healthy relationship education for youth, training for allied professionals and community awareness presentations and outreach. 24-hour crisis line: (703) 221-4951.

• Transitional Housing is an intensive two-year case management and temporary housing program for homeless families. A contractual agreement is designed to assist families in moving from homelessness to self-sufficiency through counseling and developing vocational skills.

Two ACTS thrift stores offer used clothing, furniture, appliances and household items. The Woodbridge store can be reached at (703) 490-9697 and the Dumfries store is at (703) 221-3298. Stores are open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Donations are accepted at both stores from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pickups of large items, such as furniture, can be arranged by calling the Woodbridge store.

SERVE
Securing Emergency Resources through Volunteer Efforts Inc., 10056 Dean Drive, Manassas, helps needy residents in Manassas, Manassas City, Manassas Park, Bristow, Catharpin, Gainesville, Haymarket and Nokesville. SERVE's 60-bed Family Care Shelter, (703) 368-3612, is open 24 hours a day at the same address, while the Emergency Assistance Office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9:30 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3:15 p.m. On Wednesdays, Emergency Assistance is open 5 to 7:45 p.m. for food only.

SERVE programs include:

On-site Life Skills classes, computer classes, job search assistance and computer lab.

GED/ESOL tutoring is offered on Fridays at 10 a.m. through B.E.A.C.O.N. Transitional Housing program for families.

The SERVE Donations Center, at 10043 Nokesville Road in Manassas. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed on Sundays.

Also available: food closet, financial assistance for rent eviction notices, utility shutoff notices, emergency dental and prescriptions. Call (703) 368-2979, Ext. 1121, for these needs.

For more information, call the SERVE office at 703-368-2979, send fax to 703-368-2004 or visit serveinc.org.

Red Cross
The American Red Cross Prince William Chapter is at 9317 West St., Manassas, (703) 368-4511.

Emergency services for disaster victims are available around the clock. The agency aids residents in disaster relief and preparedness, casework assistance for servicemen, veterans and their families, and teaches health and safety measures like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training, HIV/AIDS education, water safety, lifeguarding, first aid and pet first aid. It also offers baby-sitting classes for teens.

The Red Cross also recruits blood donors and helps with other community services.

Other Red Cross Services include:

• Walking programs: daily walking for health at Potomac Mills and Manassas Mall every day of the year except holidays. Daily registration at a table near the food courts at 8:30 a.m.

• International tracing service through a center, allowing individuals to trace loved ones who have been lost.

• Blood pressure screening is provided free of charge.

• International or national disaster relief is provided when needed.

Visit pwarc.org or pwcruzrojaamericana.org.

SAVAS
The Sexual Assault Victims Advocacy Service (SAVAS) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help sexual assault and sexual abuse victims in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park. SAVAS services include a 24-hour crisis line, information and referral, individual crisis counseling, and companion services to accompany victims to legal and medical facilities. All services are free and confidential.

SAVAS offers support groups for survivors of rape, adults molested as children (separate groups for males/females), female teens age 12-17, non-offending parents, and a partners group for family members of victims. SAVAS also offers self-defense classes for children age 3-11, and females age 12 through adult. Training is also available to local allied professionals, as well as awareness and prevention education presentations to children and adult community members. SAVAS is supported through federal, state, and local funds, and donations from community members.

The Woodbridge office number is (703) 497-1192, and the Manassas office number is (703) 361-2634. For 24-hour service, the Helpline number is (703) 368-4141. Ask for a SAVAS advocate