FROM THE DESK OF NICKAILA SANDATE, EmberHope Youthville President and CEO
Blessings from Newton, Kansas! I am writing this letter after Father’s Day and would like to take a moment to express my thankfulness and gratitude for all the fathers who positively impact the life of a child and family. We have such awesome fathers who foster, volunteer, serve on our board, donate, and work for our agency. Their work is an important part of our mission.
I wanted to share a brief update on some of our key programs.
Foster Care in Kansas and Texas
A system of caregiving for children who cannot safely live with their biological parents.
- Kansas has recruited and retained 90.4% of foster parents from July 2022 through the end of May 2022.
- As an agency, EmberHope Youthville has recruited and retained 88.6% of those foster parents we sponsor during this same period.
- Our Kansas Foster Care team has been busy recruiting and licensing more homes in Kansas.
- Our Texas Foster Care team will launch a recruitment campaign in the San Antonio area this summer.
Will you pray with us for additional foster families in Kansas and Texas to answer the call?
Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility
Provides short-term, intense, focused treatment to children or teens who are experiencing psychiatric symptoms which may cause danger to themselves or others.
Our program has been open since Fall 2021 and has had four children return home in April-May 2022.
This mission-focused work is being provided by the dedicated treatment team on-campus in Newton.
We would love to share a few messages from the children and teens being served through this program.
“I have learned so much since I have been here. I know I can be more successful than I have been. I am definitely in a better place personally than when I came.”
“Before, I know I avoided taking responsibility for myself. The future can be different. It will be different.”
“Being in a stable environment helped so much. I really found the cottage to be a safe place.”
“Getting my meds right was important. I don’t feel anything like I did before.”
“I am excited to leave but also I am a little sad. I will miss it.”
“When staff put together something special to reward us. It makes us feel like what we have been doing is good and it makes us feel special and celebrated.”
Qualified Residential Treatment Program
Provides a trauma-informed model of care to serve out-of-home placements for children or teens who are experiencing clinical, emotional, and behavioral disorders or disturbances and are in the state’s custody.
There have been a number of landmark moments from participants in this program in the last few months:
- Two teens residing on our campus have obtained jobs in Newton.
- One of our teens has passed her Driver’s Education class with a 98% and has been performing well during supervised drive time.
- Another teen who attends the special needs classroom at Newton High School competed in a special education youth basketball tournament recently. It is especially exciting to share her parents came from the Kansas City area and attended every game! She did fabulously and had a great time.
We are encouraged to see lives changed and families positively impacted. What a joy it is to celebrate with these children and teens the success of engaging in and completing their treatment programs.
You can be part of stories like these as you keep your hearts open to those we serve. There are many ways to give and support our work. Together, we can continue to make a difference, inspiring positive change in the lives of children and teens.
I will leave you with a heartfelt “thank you” for your continued generosity and support. I look forward to sharing more ways we impact children and families and how you make a difference.
Join in this life-changing work.
