A few of our many programs...

Shelter

Hope House Hope House, a multi-purpose children's shelter, provides a safe haven for children without a home or in crisis.  Over 600 children are sheltered each year.

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Community Services

Community At-Risk Services A class action lawsuit filed against the State of Oklahoma in 1978, called for community-based services to be provided to delinquent children at imminent risk of removal from their home or who may be returning to the community from an out-of-home placement. Community At-Risk Services (CARS) include counseling, mentoring and other services to deter juvenile offenders from a life of crime. Clients are referred by the local Office of Juvenile Affairs, Juvenile Services Units. Youth & Family's CARS workers, implement a service plan crafted to the individual needs of each juvenile offender and includes family support and involvement.

Don't Give Up For over 30 years, Don't Give Up! or DGU is a  summer day camp is designed to benefit some of Pottawatomie County’s most deserving 10-14 year old kids combines personal and character development for 8 weeks of fun.  Each child's success is defined against his or her performance.  DGU kids make music videos, visit museums, learn about other cultures. The camp uses a points-based system for behavior. Children must keep points up through good behavior and care of the environment. Points lead to attending Friday Field Trips, such as the Sam Noble Museum, Jasmine Moran Children's Museum and a cold dip in Travertine Creek in the Chickasaw National Park.

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Advocacy

Unzner Advocacy Centre The Unzner Advocacy Centre brings together numerous community agencies and professionals to create a child-focused approach to ensure that a child is not traumatized by the very system designed to protect them, but rather that the system's response to a child's trauma is beneficial, therapeutic and healing. The Unzner Centre provides a comprehensive, culturally competent, multidisciplinary team response to allegations of child abuse in a dedicated, child-friendly setting.

Supervised Visitation & Access Exchange A time for parents to visit children under structured supervised settings or to exchange children for regular access when emotions are unsure.

Court Appointed Special Advocate - CASA The Court Appointed Special Advocate project recruits, screens and trains volunteers for assignment by the court to speak up for an abused or neglected child. Currently, there are 18 CASA volunteers serving 34 children. Those CASAs donate over 2,000 hours of service each year.

Children of Divorce Divorce is a time of crisis. A time when everything is uncertain. A parent's greatest concerns is how the divorce will affect his or her children. Children of Divorce is a seminar for divorcing parents with minor children. Parents learn how divorce affects their children the major adjustment tasks faced by children and how to make positive changes in their own lives to help children adjust. Parents receive information to help their children deal with this painful time in their life. The program is delivered in ways that fit the challenging lives of divorcing families. The 4-hour session explores the grief process experienced by divorcing persons and children from divorcing families.

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  Volunteers & Community Support!!!

Volunteerism  Volunteerism is alive and well at Youth & Family. The most committed volunteers are the Board of Directors. The Board meets monthly and members are always available for consultation and support. Thanks, ya'll!  Volunteers are recruited, screened, and trained to help with kids staying in Hope House. Volunteers take children on outings, to local events and movies, have holiday parties or just have fun with Hope House residents. Volunteers receive training prior to service and must attend weekly in-service training meetings to stay active.  Roughly 35 Oklahoma Baptist University students serve as a core of dedicated Hope House volunteers.

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