Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard congratulated the Downey Unified School Board on the success of its True Lasting Connections' (TLC) Family Resource Center at a luncheon at the Rio Hondo Country Club in Downey. The combination resource center and clinic is located on the school grounds of Lewis Elementary School on Bellflower Blvd in Downey. The program serves more than 300 children a year in need of assistance from Downey and the surrounding communities, including Bell Gardens, Bellflower and Southgate. The TLC's Family Resource Center provides a connection between families and the school district to ensure healthy and successful futures for children. TLC has more than 50 collaborative agencies dedicated to providing effective supportive services at the center. The resource center includes a user-friendly, school-based medical clinic staffed by volunteer pediatricians, a full-service eye clinic staffed by volunteer optometrists, and staff who assist eligible families to enroll in the state's low-cost health insurance programs. An advocate/caseworker at the center becomes the connection between families and the services, which include crisis intervention, medical services, vision care, dental care, parental education, food and clothing, substance-abuse counseling, enrollment in low-cost health insurance, mental health counseling, academic support after school, support groups, and job search assistance.
 

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