SOS responds with care and respect to families in need by working in partnerships that result in economic, family, and residential stability. Their services include: short-term housing, crisis counseling, case management, distribution of emergency food and personal hygiene items, short-term shelter for homeless families, transitional and permanent housing for homeless families, parenting programs and play groups, and therapeutic day care for homeless children.  

The Junior League of Ann Arbor is in the midst of its second year collaborating and partnering with SOS Community Services.  JLAA Committee Members have been instumental in developing and implementing the following programs:

Playing, Learning, Growing (PLG) Program: 

Being homeless has a profound and negative impact on a child’s development and learning.  The PLG program provides parent education and family support (pregnancy until kindergarten) by helping parents learn how to observe their children and take advantage of everyday opportunities to promote literacy and lifelong learning through play.  The program is based on the nationally acclaimed Born to Learn curriculum of the Parents as Teachers program.  Junior League volunteers assist with the development and improvement of the curriculum as well as provide support staff for play groups. 
 
Needs Drives:

SOS Community Services has seen an increase of over 300% in the past two years at their food distribution site.  The Junior League of Ann Arbor has committed to conducting a comprehensive food drive in the fall to provide food stores for the SOS Food Pantry.  In the Winter, the Junior League conducts a personal needs/baby items drive.  These items are provided to key families in need and often make the difference between parents having to choose food over shelter and utilities.

Children’s Book/Activity Table at the Food Distribution Site:

This initiative is intended to engage children during the time that parents are waiting for Food Distribution. Often, the children that come with their parents to the Food Distribution are subject to long waiting periods.  JLAA volunteers get a hands-on opportunity to engage children in literacy based activities while their parents wait for Food Distribution.  This initiative allows parents to focus on intake counseling and obtaining much needed food without having to worry about their children.  Further, the volunteers lift the spirits of the children whose families are experiencing difficulty by reading and playing with the children.  Most importantly, the program promotes literacy in this group of at-risk children.

For more information on SOS Community Services, go to www.soscs.org.  To contact the SOS committee, please email Dania, Committee Chair at or Lisa, Committee Assistant Chair at sos@jlaa.org