News and Events

ATL would like to introduce our wonderful Volunteer, Esther Kimball. Esther has been volunteering for several months now and is a tremendous help in our Administration Office. She assists the Executive Director and the Administrative Manager with many of their projects. Esther also volunteers for the City of Santa Cruz painting out graffiti.

Esther is a native Californian and long time resident of Santa Cruz. She grew up in the Bakersfield area where her family still lives. Esther is retired from the Insurance Industry after over 30 years where she worked her way up to an executive position.

Betty, Esther's Jack Russell Terrier runs the house and any one else she can. Esther spends a lot of time with Betty and also enjoys biking, hiking and travels to Europe and Mexico. She enjoys traveling to Mexico in a small RV that she owns. Other loves are music (Country and Classical) and cooking and entertaining her visitors from all over who come to see beautiful Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County Agreement

Above the Line, a community based not-for-profit serving at-risk teens and children since 1976, has entered into a milestone agreement with Santa Cruz County Probation, Human Resource Agency, and Health Services Agency. This first of its kind agreement provides the County and ATL with a set of goals and objectives designed to better serve the needs of Santa Cruz County's at-risk teenage girls.

Office Angel Program

The newest addition to our job-readiness program is the beginning of the Office Angels Internship. Residents that are in good standing and approved by program staff are eligible for a three-month tenure as an Office Angel. Paid a small wage and daily points, the internship provides hands-on practical experience in an administrative office. Angels assist with a variety of tasks including mailings, filing, and maintenance tasks. The importance of this program is that it gives a working knowledge of office machinery such as copy/fax machine, computers and fax machines but a taste of daily working life such as promptness, communication and employee peer relationships.

Above the Line is proud to announce that two of our own residents, Jessica (aka Momo) and Chloe, graduated from our on-site De Witt Anderson Alternative Education High School, on Monday June 9th, 2008.

The big day was preceded by a garden luncheon during one of the last days of school and then a big dinner party on graduation day at the Group Home with all the ATL girls, staff, family and friends. Chloe and Jessica will both be leaving ATL this summer and plan to attend a Community College to further their education.

.............Chloe gets her iPod

We will all miss them very much but we are proud to see how much they have grown since coming to ATL. With a lot of hard work, love and trust they have each succeeded to find their own path in life and we all wish them much success and happiness.

Moola for Momo..........

And we all had cake!

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20th Anniversary

On February 1st, we celebrated our Program Director Jean Haebe’s 20th Employment Anniversary. The dedicated staff and endeared former employees of Above the Line gathered to celebrate Jean at Severino’s Grill in Seacliff Inn.

Long time friend and Seacliff Inn General Manager, Debbie Parsons, decorated the grill especially for the celebration and worked with Social Worker Deborah Arnold for a surprise celebration.

Above the Line Executive Director, Bruce Christopher described Jean as using her wisdom and experience to guide our organization. He said “We are truly lucky to have Jean in our organization. She is an honest, dependable, thorough employee who is a fun and warm hearted person to work with.”

Former Executive Director, Suzanne Stone, former Interim Executive Director, Anita Harten-Kroeber, former Social Worker, Celia Goeckermann, former Social Worker, John Roth and 22-year Above the Line veteran Dr. Robert Matlow attended Jean’s 20th anniversary.

Jean joined the agency in 1985 as a Night Awake Counselor and was quickly promoted to Counselor/House Parent. In 1987 Jean became a 50% time Social Worker and 50% time Program Supervisor. In 1988, Jean became a full-time Program Director, and has held that position for seventeen years.

Jean said of the evening, “Everyone here deserves this kind of celebration. Suzanne, Anita, Celia, Bob, Deb, Jennifer…they all have had so many years with the agency and everyone that works here should have something like this.”