PROGRAM SPOTLIGH
Sometimes it takes a village t
Childhelp Residential Treatment
Facilities (Childhelp Villages) provide
a safe and loving home for child abuse
survivors from diverse backgrounds.
NOTE FROM
THE CDO
by Michael Medoro
Chief Development Officer
It’s been nearly 40 years since
Childhelp Merv Griffin Village
opened its doors. Today, this
facility remains a crucial resource
for abused and neglected children
who have nowhere else to turn.
It also is a testament to the power
of giving.
The children who come to Childhelp
Villages have been deemed crisis
cases. On average, they’ve been
through 20 to 30 other placements
that failed. If they don’t succeed
with us, their next stop is likely to
be a facility where they could be
medicated, put in restraints, and
classified as a threat to themselves
and/or society.
In so many ways, Childhelp is their
last best hope.
Because of people like you,
Childhelp Merv Griffin Village and
Childhelp Alice C. Tyler Village
provide residential treatment
that changes lives. They aren’t
“institutions.” They’re homes ,
sanctuaries, educational gems and
places of healing for
traumatized children.
Our Childhelp Villages exist
because supporters like you have
made — and continue to make —
giving to this organization
a priority. Thank you!
On behalf of our staff, volunteers,
fellow donors, and the children we
serve every day, thank you for your
investment. -MM
Childhelp Villages host a variety of
enriching therapeutic activities and
services like animal-assisted therapy,
speech therapy, art and music therapy,
and more. The children also get access
to education, recreation activities, and
pastoral care during their stay.
We’ve designed everything at these
facilities to give children the message
that they are safe and surrounded by
people who care. Around-the-clock
care is provided by our staff of
therapists, childcare workers,
teachers, social workers, and medical
professionals, who all work together
to cultivate a nurturing environment
in which trust, self-esteem, and
healing can take root and grow.
Q&A WITH DIANA CORREA: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Why is residential treatment so important?
People often don’t think about the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) in children. When a soldier experiences PTSD, it’s a struggle for
them to return to the life they knew before the battle. These children
didn’t have a life before their battle — they were born into battle.
They need qualified, around-the-clock care to help them stabilize before
they can even begin to heal. We recently served an 8 year old who had been
in 40 different homes before she came to us — forty homes! Why were
all those placementsunsuccessful? Because the trauma she’d experienced
hadn’t been treated. Residential care is the only answer for these children.
How long do children stay at the Merv Griffin Village?
First, no matter how long children stay with us, every child is treated like
they are the most important person in their case ... because they are.
With new legislation that limits the amount of time children are allowed to
receive residential services, the average stay here has decreased from 12-18
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