Maura Baker Jarboe – Children’s Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator at Saint Martha’s
Our featured CONTACT partner this month is Maura Baker Jarboe, children’s advocate and volunteer coordinator at Saint Martha’s, a nonprofit agency under the umbrella of Catholic Charities of St. Louis. Saint Martha’s is a nonprofit organization that serves women and children impacted by domestic violence through three programs. The residential shelter program accommodates as many as nine women and 15 children, who stay, on average, for 12 weeks. Saint Martha’s drop-in center offers resources, referrals, and other forms of assistance to women experiencing domestic violence. The drop-in center, located at Assumption Church in south St. Louis County, is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Finally, Saint Martha’s offers community education within schools and community organizations throughout the St. Louis region. Ms. Baker Jarboe explains that Saint Martha’s educational programming is the vehicle through which the agency staff work to promote social justice. While the content and format of the community education varies based on audience needs, the core message, one at the heart of all Saint Martha’s programming, is the same. As Ms. Baker Jarboe puts it: “Every person has the right to a safe and respectful home.”
In her role as a children’s advocate, Ms. Baker Jarboe works to help children living at the shelter learn coping skills, develop personal safety plans, and express and manage their feelings. She finds that many of them would benefit from trauma-focused mental health treatment, making a partnership with Project CONTACT a perfect fit. “Project CONTACT is filling a need in the St. Louis region. After the COVID pandemic, mental health is at an all-time low. Project CONTACT fills a need for folks who need support. They don’t have to sit on a waitlist.”
Ms. Baker Jarboe describes her collaboration with Project CONTACT as positive and successful. She says, “I’ve had wonderful experiences. We are all on the same team working to support families. Saint Martha’s mission and CONTACT’s mission are aligned.” Ms. Baker Jarboe reports that she especially appreciates the focus on engagement by Project CONTACT staff. She explains, “Families come in feeling cautious about working with professionals and systems. Based on their prior experiences, there can be a lot of mistrust. Project CONTACT does a great job building trust and developing relationships with the families we serve.”
On a related note, Ms. Baker Jarboe has feedback for new CONTACT partners or those working with clients who might feel nervous or uncertain about initiating mental health care for their children. “If I sense there is trepidation [on a client’s part], I will make the first contact with them. I tell [clients] they don’t have to sign up just yet. It can be an exploratory conversation where they get their questions answered. And I’ll make the call with them.”
**Women experiencing domestic violence are encouraged to call the Saint Martha’s crisis line (staffed 24/7!) at 314-533-1313.**
