Cary White, our new Chief Development and Communications Officer is a native of Florida but no stranger to the needs of underserved communities and families struggling to make ends meet in Texas, that is why for the past 25 years she has dedicated her life to enhancing life transforming services through programming, fundraising and local likeminded partnerships.
For the past 5 years, Cary spearheaded the development department at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Houston that served over 13,000 low-income families in the Denver Harbor and Airline area in Houston.
Before coming on board with Santa Maria, Cary worked at one of Houston’s most premier Federally Qualified Health Care Centers (FQHC) founded to fulfill the need for high quality affordable health care to medically underserved communities. In this role, Cary was responsible for securing multi-year funding sources that would expand and support over 13,000 families a year. All awhile building impactful collaborations with corporate partners, local foundations and successfully cultivating long lasting ambassadors to support and serve its’ mission.
Cary has two daughters that also work in local nonprofit agencies and when asked, she will tell the apple doesn’t fall far from tree, it’s in our families’ DNA “I love to see people reach new levels that were once, just a dream, it inspires me and gives me great joy to be able to serve in this capacity.”
Cary graduated from the University of Miami and has a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in marketing.
Our original award of 
As a professional responsible for coordinating logistics for people involved in legal cases,Tommy Austin has been serving the residents of Santa Maria for over 15 years. He works as a go-between for various agencies and individuals helping the legal process run smoothly. The goal of his services is to assist in family reunification. His overall objective is to increase communication and sharing of information between the resident, SMH and the court or Department of Family Services.
Since its inception in 1965, the 
If you were unable to attend our Rise virtual fundraiser, not to worry, there is still time for you to GIVE.
Easter is a major family holiday celebration, especially for children. Kids are excited to meet the Easter Bunny, go on an egg hunt with their friends and eat a few jellybeans. This year all of these traditions were made possible thanks to a generous group of volunteers: TEAM Maldonado and Low Masters Car Club. The joy that this Easter Bunny brought was almost unreal… kids and adults waved and said hello with such an excitement!
Here is Cindy Schoeller with Cindys Toy Box who brought 85 Easter baskets filled with Discovery Toys, candy and eggs for our children. Each basket was made with age-appropriate toys for learning and development. This is Cindy’s second year to bless our kids! Thanks to the loving spirit of Cindy and her customers whose donations and time make this happen! Baskets were distributed over the weekend to some lucky lads.
Mom ,Lisa Lyerly and daughter, Presley dropped off lots of items for our moms at Jacquelyn House to assemble Easter baskets for their children. Dozens of stuffed eggs, buckets, Easter grass and small toys made great choices for the project! Our thanks to the families at Archway Academy who pitched together to bring us these festive items. Lisa and Presley have been visiting Bonita House since before Presley was born! They make each holiday special with their thoughtful gifts.
Our friends from Christ United Methodist Church delivered Easter baskets for our kids at Bonita House and craft kits for spring! Pictured are Sandra Vautrain, women’s group coordinator and JoAnn Marshall, case manager at Santa Maria receiving this beautiful bounty of donations.
Recovery Day at the Capital is scheduled for Wednesday, March 31. The virtual session will begin by featuring an overview of current bills in committee and headed towards consideration in this session. Later in the day, virtual office visits with State Senators and House Representatives are scheduled. Registration is open to all who have interest through the Recovery Peoples’ website 
Bolder Advocacy is a program at Alliance for Justice. Our coach and counsel, Jen Powis, offices in Houston and specializes in working with non-profit leaders to acquire skills within the rules that govern non-profit advocacy for effective options that are open to them. She works with mission-driven organizations who seek sound public policy and support for the issues they represent.
Her father had always been frightening. He loomed large over her, in rages that would often end in severe and painful “punishment”. Trying to protect her two younger sisters, she would stand in his path and take the blows herself. When her mother tried to step in, he would turn his anger towards her and her mother would often be badly beaten.
#FightForUs is a Social Community Movement to raise our voices and combat sex trafficking.
Nine years ago, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) began the Healthy Kids Healthy Families program started as a three-year initiative designed to improve the health and wellness of at least one million children through community investments. The program was extended as BCBSTX’s ongoing commitment to the health and well-being of children and families in Texas. The program has impacted the lives of millions of Texas children and families through the more than $14 million in grants awarded by BCBSTX to community organizations statewide. BCBSTX — the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas — is the largest provider of health benefits in the state
Indeed, our CFT is one of the most transformative programs in our portfolio. CFT provides evidence-based support, education and tools to help vulnerable families improve their ability to appropriately care for, nourish and interact with their young children. At its’ foundation, CFT promotes healthy infant-child development through improving the home environment and caregiver competencies, attitudes, and behaviors. A crucial component of the work includes improving the mother’s mental and physical health so she is better able to bond with and care for her child. CFT helps mothers sustain long- term recovery from substance use, provides the entire family with education, skills and support to commit to and sustain positive behavioral changes and builds resiliency in children to mitigate trauma. It is a natural extension of our continuum of care and has been experiencing rapid growth since its inception in 2013.
Our staff tailors services to each mother-child dyad and family, providing services in individual or group format, at the home or a community based site, to best meet family needs. In addition, CFT works with partner healthcare and social services providers to improve their ability to serve vulnerable families impacted by substance use and/or trauma through the provision of education, training, technical assistance, and onsite support through co-location and integration of services. CFT services are currently provided for the residents of our treatment program as well as at 18 partner locations to improve care access. Due to COVID protocols, a number of our community services now are offered virtually and we are looking forward to the day when we can fully return to the field.
In today’s world, we can all benefit from some positivity. We’d like to encourage you to feel empowered and share kindness with our women residents, who are working hard on their recovery journey.