INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Children’s Home Society of Florida, Treasure Coast Division, recently received a $35,000 grant from the Eckerd Family Foundation to support mental health services and educational scholarships for young adults enrolled in the Transitional Living Program.
In fiscal year 2011, the Transitional Living Program, which is facilitated at the Youth Transition Center located on the Vero Beach campus, provided 84 young adults, ages 18-23, with a continuum of care after they aged out of the foster care system. Services include mental health counseling, financial assistance, job training and mentoring to prevent homelessness and break the cycle of abuse and neglect that have been part of their lives.
Funds from the grant are designated to help cover the costs for uninsured clients so they can receive much needed mental health services including mental health assessment, treatment and psychiatric services, and for individualized educational and vocational scholarship opportunities to cover tuition for a broad range of certified programs and for driving school.
“Adequate mental health services and education will empower former foster children to become independent and fulfill their life plan goals,” explained Jan Swink-Huffert, Executive Director of Children’s Home Society of Florida, Treasure Coast Division. “This grant from the Eckerd Family Foundation will make a tremendous impact on the depth of services that we can provide to assist these clients in reaching their full potential.”
The Eckerd Family Foundation’s mission provides leadership and support for innovative educational, preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitative programs for children, youth and their families. The Foundation seeks to support the most promising and innovative ideas that provide vulnerable youth with not merely transitional services, but rather transformational opportunities helping them to reconnect with their futures. Just as importantly, all of the Foundation’s investments are evaluated against clear goals and measured by results and performance outcomes.
The Children’s Home Society of Florida is the sixth largest of more than 1,200 private organizations currently accredited and/or in process of accreditation in North America (US and Canada). The Treasure Coast Division, which is one of 15 divisions in Florida, served 11,607 children and their families in fiscal year 2011 in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties. CHS programs are developed to break the cycle of child abuse and provide children and young adults with the opportunity to be safe, healthy and prepared for life.
For more information visit chsfl.org or call 772-344-4020.