CHS Blog
Is Your Estate Plan ready for the next Hurricane or Emergency? It’s Never too Early! Make important plans for those you care about during National Estate Planning Awareness Week, October 17-23. Who: Everyone 18 years or older needs a plan, not just the elderly or wealthy. What: Important documents include a Will, Power of Attorney […]
Although the holiday season brings tremendous joy and togetherness, it can also bring stress and enormous pressure triggering significant mental health challenges. Prioritizing self-care is an effective way to reduce stress, improve well-being and help find peace in challenging situations. Putting mental wellness on the backburner may cause irritability, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, extreme […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six of the nine deadliest U.S. mass shootings since 2018 were committed by people 21 or younger, which according to researchers is a shift from trends in the earlier decades. The shooting in North Carolina Thursday night resulted in the deaths of five people including an off-duty police officer is just the latest in a […]
In the weeks since Hurricane Ian made landfall, our communities in Southwest Florida are still reeling from the impact. The devastation in Fort Myers was at a level that no one anticipated or expected. Parts of the city still don’t have power and essential resources like water and diapers are still hard to find. Many […]
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Nonprofit Healthy Families Seminole at the Children’s Home Society (CHS) of Florida, which works to keep families together and children out of foster care, has seen a 100% success rate this year. Terry and Vedrana Conklin and their 15-month-old son, Lincoln, are living proof. Vedrana lost her job right after COVID […]
It is officially hurricane season! It is extremely important to stay prepared and informed during this time of year. Our Children’s Home Society of Florida Hurricane Preparedness webpage has key information available to you at all times. Below you will find some key reminders for you and your family. Identify important contacts and keep them […]
The Florida Department of Health reports 400,000 children suffer from emotional, behavioral and developmental challenges, but only about half are able to access the treatment they need. As we’ve seen too often, this can lead to tragic circumstances … situations that may have been avoidable had youth received the intervention they so desperately needed. While […]
The homeless youth in our community can be hard to spot. “You typically don’t see them on the side of the road holding a sign,” said Leah Harrison, Children’s Home Society of Florida senior director of development and advancement. Harrison said many young people without homes will perpetually couch surf, drifting between different residences. Harrison […]
Sometimes it’s the statistics that drive me, the numbers I can’t seem to shake. For instance, did you know that one out of every seven children struggle with a developmental delay? Yet only 15% of those one in seven receive early intervention services. It’s heartbreaking to think that families in our community may not know […]
Joyce and Kaitlyn became mentor and mentee about a year ago when they joined the MODEL mentoring program. Now, they consider each other family. The mentoring program connects kids with mentors. During their mentoring relationship, positive adult role models help youth build self-esteem, teach the importance of respecting authority and empower them to achieve educational […]
[ext-video type=”youtube” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stWed3z-xKw”] VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Allison Merritt and her husband Clay Merritt have two grown children, so for the last decade, they have been welcoming foster children into their Palm Coast home. “Try to provide them some normalcy, a family atmosphere and stuff like that,” Clay Merritt said. Right now, the couple is […]
When you’re a new parent, it can be overwhelming, confusing and, sometimes a bit scary. Catherine related to these feelings because she was an expecting mother dealing with a lot of life changes all at once. “My husband and I found out we were pregnant weeks after leaving the military. We came to a quick […]
Are you a high school student looking to volunteer? Do you need community service hours? Children’s Home Society of Florida has opportunities for you! Whether you have an hour a week or a few hours each month, here are five volunteer opportunities for you. Create Positive Affirmation Jars for Kids 💌 Negative thinking patterns can […]
The Escambia County School District’s navigator program has proven to be so successful that Superintendent Tim Smith believes the district will try to keep a scaled-down version of the program going, even after the federal funding that pays for it runs out. This past school year, 32 “navigators” from the Children’s Home Society were placed […]
For National Reunification Month, we want to shed light on the work and commitment parents put into getting their children back home. When children enter the child welfare system, the goal for CHS is to help families overcome challenges so they may bring their children home safely. Reunification is possible once a home is deemed […]
