Category: Featured Posts

GCS Moms League: The Great Gala

Krista Rice, President of GCS Moms League, was recently inside one of the houses in Christ’s Haven’s neighborhood of homes and shared about the partnership between the two organizations, including the April 6 fundraiser, The Great Gala.

Cassie McQuitty, Christ’s Haven CEO, also shared about how the funds raised will make an impact providing Normalcy, Dignity, & Hope in the lives of displaced youth.

Thank you again to GCS Moms League for selecting Christ’s Haven as your beneficiary and for the year-round partnership supporting our mission.
For more information on how you can support Christ’s Haven while enjoying a night filled with dazzling performances, delectable cuisine, and captivating company, visit: https://www.gcsmomsleague.org/the-great-gala

Christ’s Haven: Advanced Screening Volunteering

Learn about volunteering at christ's haven

Christ’s Haven recently hosted an online Info Session about advanced screening volunteer opportunities.

You can watch the video recording about our trauma-informed model of care and how you can help care directly for youth at Christ’s Haven with our advanced screening volunteering:

  • Mentors
  • House Sponsors
  • Babysitters
  • Back-Up Caregivers

You can also download a PDF of an overview of the advanced screening volunteer opportunities HERE.

Family Resource Center: 2023 Christmas Gift Giving Event

'Tis the season for giving

What a day! Thanks to incredible donors and volunteers, 70+ local families from Christ’s Haven’s Family Resource Center were able to select Christmas gifts for 200+ kids earlier this week.🎁

The purpose of our FRC is to stand in the gap and help keep families together. It was such a great day of generosity and Christmas joy at Christ’s Haven. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen.🎄✨ #ChristsHavenChristmas #StandInTheGap #NormalcyDignityHope

What is Relational Permanency & Why Does it Matter?

By Cassie McQuitty, Christ’s Haven CEO

At Christ’s Haven, we care for the whole child. Our approach includes more than just food & shelter but also making sure a child’s physical, emotional, academic, and spiritual needs are met. Part of that includes surrounding each child with a network of support both at Christ’s Haven and in our community.

Relational permanency, rather than just legal permanency, is gaining traction in foster care after the results of a study of long-term outcomes for youth who transition out of the state foster care system. The Texas Youth Permanency Study (TYPS), published by the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing at the University of Texas at Austin, recommendations were, “The foster care system must redefine success around child wellbeing, specifically three interdependent factors: strong relationships with adults, a sense of normalcy and crucial life skills.”

This study underscores the importance of Christ’s Haven’s core values of Normalcy, Dignity and Hope. Ensuring that the children and families we serve have trusted adults in their lives through houseparents, mentors, and community volunteers is critical to every aspect of our program.

“Who would you call if you needed to borrow $100? Who would you turn to for a second set of eyes on your resume, or to help you navigate buying your first car?” These examples from the TYPS report get to the heart of relational permanency or the presence of supportive relationships with caring adults.

As part of our regular check-ins with teens & young adults at Christ’s Haven using the Casey Life Skills Assessment, we asked “Do you have a trusted adult you can call in crisis?” Of the young adults in the Supervised Independent Living Program at Christ’s Haven, 90% answered yes, and 10% answered mostly yes. We believe that is a critical aspect to relational permanency.

When it came to participants’ emotional wellbeing, TYPS found that relational permanency mattered far more than legal permanency. It didn’t matter where they landed, legally speaking, so long as they had trusted adults by their side. At Christ’s Haven, we are committed to relational permanency for all of the youth we serve. We believe in surrounding them with strong and stable relationships that will follow them beyond their time at Christ’s Haven.

If you are interested in learning more about mentorship at Christ’s Haven, email Dan@Christshaven.org

Christ’s Haven: Normalcy, Dignity, Hope

Learn more about Christ's Haven

Christ’s Haven For Children is a nonprofit organization centered around the core values of normalcy, dignity, and hope. We provide a trauma-informed, family model of care for displaced children, teens, and young adults.

As a voluntary placement organization, we are an option outside of traditional foster care, often when a caregiver has exhausted all efforts to care for a child. Whether a child is with us for six months or sixteen years, we utilize that time loving them as our own and instilling normalcy, dignity, and hope into their lives.

North Texas Giving Day 2023

 

Thank you to everyone who donated today and supported Christ’s Haven showing that you believe in Normalcy, Dignity, & Hope for all children. We exceeded our goal and raised an incredible $46,765.23!

 

Thank you for your support and generosity helping provide Christ’s Haven’s trauma-informed, family model of care for children, teens, and young adults now and for years to come. 

Back-to-School Tips for Parents & Caregivers of Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma

It’s back to school time for many families in the DFW area.

Did you know that 1 in 7 children in the United States have experienced child abuse or neglect just in the past year?

Christ’s Haven’s Director of Therapy, Jason Brown, has some helpful tips for caregivers of youth who have experienced trauma as they prepare for the new school year.

For most educators in our area, the school year has started and it’s time to establish classroom routines.

Christ’s Haven’s Director of Therapy, Jason Brown, has practical tips for educators and caregivers on ways they can support students who have experienced trauma.

Christ’s Haven Youth Enjoy Pine Cove Summer Camps

Summer Camp.

Is there anything else like it? Several youth living at Christ’s Haven had the opportunity to attend Pine Cove camp this summer. It was an incredible week of fun activities, spiritual renewal, new friendships, and lifelong memories. 

There are so many important ways youth can grow emotionally and spiritually by going away to camp for the week. Providing this experience is another example of what we mean when we talk about our core value of instilling normalcy in the lives of displaced youth. 

We are grateful to Pine Cove Camps and all of the volunteers at Restoration Church who helped make this happen. From decorated trunks full of everything you could need at camp to helping with transportation to raising funds for registration, your support gave youth so many lifelong memories. 

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Christ’s Haven Alumni Reflects on Impact and Gives Back

Throughout Karina Nascimiento’s childhood, she lived in a lot of places with a lot of different people. From her native Brazil to Texas, many years included abuse and neglect. It was when she came to Christ’s Haven in 1989 that she finally felt safe.

She was in survival mode, many of her early years filled with fear and anxiety. So when she came to Christ’s Haven, the immediate sense of family and acceptance was life changing.

Karina lived at Christ’s Haven for three years until she was 17 years old. As she navigated the teen years, her houseparents, Judy & Ron Parish, helped create opportunities for her by encouraging her to try out for cheerleader, run on the track team, and find a part-time job she enjoyed. That would later prove to be a turning point in her life.

“They gave me stability, security, and love,” Karina said.

At her part-time job at the local YMCA, her supervisor said she could use the exercise room to work out if she wanted. Exercising became a refuge for Karina. She knows now that exercise played a significant role in helping her body deal with trauma, depression, and anxiety.

“Judy would take me to the gym and wait in the parking lot for me to do my workout. The gym became a big part of my life. It gave me a sense of security and power that I never had before,” Karina said.

That initial introduction to exercise would take her down a path of lifelong fitness and wellness. And even more unique and impressive, a path of competitive bodybuilding where she would go on to win numerous prestigious awards and titles from the International Fitness and Body Federation.

In 2022 she was married, retired, living in Florida, mom to three teenagers of her own, and approaching her 50th birthday. She wanted to celebrate how far she had come in her life and do something big. She brought her friends and family together to celebrate and raise funds for Christ’s Haven. 47 friends collectively raised $10,390.

“I know Christ’s Haven gave me something special. What I took with me all of those years ago when I left Christ’s Haven was that I was loved. I was worthy. I’m so glad I can give back in some way to the children living there now.”