Children of Hope
The "Children of Hope" wellness center affords access for our children who are in need of access to mental health services . We will be providing screening, identification, evaluation, treatment, supportive services, and referrals for mental health support amongst collaborative and supportive agencies. They will help them understand the appropriate use of mental health services and help take the stigma of seeking further mental health support. Recalling its helpful nature and taking the fear of the unknown away.
Many of our children have suffered due to the choices of their parents. The wellness center will support both the efforts of the parents trying to move forward from unhealthy life choices and the children's understanding of the harm of unhealthy choices. Access to mental and behavioral health services will continue to be a priority when assessing our children as we seek to help them get the care they need while in the emergency shelter, at school, and when they finally graduate with their parents from our program.
Strategies
Families that have gone through their initial intake with our program director upon entrance into our shelter are asked to sit with our LMFT for a mental health assessment. At this time we will be speaking to our expectations for the families mental health needs. We will encourage cooperation with the suggestion of having all pre-teens and teens sit with a therapist as well as letting the families know that the younger children will be observed at all times in our program for any behavioral and mental health concerns. Once children start their time in the wellness center, they will be assessed for any behavioral or mental health issues that are identified by our interns or LMFT. Parents will be notified if any concerns arise and a suggested on site treatment plan will be discussed and implemented at the parents approval. Referrals will be made to those parents that wish off-site therapeutic support. We will continue to observe overall wellness as a strategy for healthier behaviors and mental health outcomes for the duration of their time in our shelter and beyond
Children of Hope Wellness Center
We are thrilled to share that our Children of Hope Wellness Center is open and operational. This allows us to service as many as 20 children per week, allowing access, observation, referral, assessment, and treatment of children ranging in age from 2 to 18 years old. These efforts delivered to children in need, will help them understand the appropriate use of mental health services and help take the stigma of seeking such services away. This will help them in the future when they might be considering seeking further mental health support, recalling its helpful nature, and taking the fear of the unknown away. Many of our children have suffered due to the choices of their parents and the wellness center will support both the efforts of the parent trying to move forward from unhealthy life choices and the children’s understanding of the harm of unhealthy choices. Access to mental and behavioral health services will continue to be a priority when assessing our children as we seek to help them get the care they need while in the emergency shelter, at school and when they finally graduate with their parents from our program.
We are so blessed that we get to provide this care as we know it is a critical resource for our children suffering from the crisis of becoming homeless. The frustration of knowing where to expect the funding to come from for this critical piece of the ministry is a personal faith challenge for the leadership of this ministry but we have learned that this is the Lords ministry, not ours, and He is the provider that will fund the work that He knows needs to be done This work is valuable beyond all measure, and we welcome any support that our community can provide as we all serve these precious and vulnerable children together, carrying out His ministry work!
