CHS Blog
In a matter of minutes, Maria and her 7 children were catapulted into crises. A devastating fire destroyed their home and nearly everything they owned. “We were left with nothing – we lost our home, we had nowhere to live.” The family of 8 was now facing homelessness and Maria – a single mom who […]
Maddie had no idea that she was fighting a potentially life-threatening ear infection when she was holding a water bottle against her ear during a test to soothe the pain. But it caught her high school teacher’s attention enough to contact the community partnership school team. Within minutes, the Nurse Practitioner saw something was severely […]
After several years without health insurance, Brianna developed major dental issues, including severe tooth decay on 7 permanent teeth. Brianna lived with her grandmother and had very little resources to cover additional expenses or pay for healthcare. The pain and embarrassment Brianna was experiencing became so significant, she refused to speak at school. It impacted […]
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 […]
Now Streaming from the Florida Institute of Child Welfare Children’s Home Society of Florida’s (CHS) Morgan Ryan and Brianna Kobayashi talk with Dr. Jessica Pryce about CaseAIM, CHS’ revolutionary technology changing the way child welfare works. Together, with our technology partner Stabilify, we are leading the way in case management innovation. https://soundcloud.com/user-667304189/s5-e1-theres-an-app-for-that-caseaim-technology
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 […]
Barbara Hayes loves seeing the changes in her young health ambassadors. An example was a young girl named Faith, who rarely spoke to anyone but was always listening and attentive. She finally came out of her shell during a family night event at C.A. Weis Elementary School. “We got really busy doing vital signs and Faith all of a […]
With back-to-school time just a few days away, the Tallahassee area was the scene of many events to help students get ready the weekend before the start of classes. The largest of these was the “Jumpstart 2 Success” happening at Lively Technical College Saturday morning. There were dozens of booths and exhibits, all offering free […]
Sabal Palm Elementary, A Community Partnership School has joined the elite ranks of UCF-Certified Community Partnership Schools. Earning the title of UCF-Certified Community Partnership confirms Sabal Palm Elementary’s intentional, dedicated collaboration to align necessary resources to advance student success and well-being. The school successfully satisfied 12 rigorous standards and specific indicators to secure UCF-certification status […]
[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 […]
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Two children, aged 14 and 12, walk away from a youth group home, head down the street and almost immediately, there is trouble. This is the incident that is changing everything. The 14-year-old female is Nicole Jackson. She is well-known to law enforcement in Flagler and Volusia counties for petty crimes, […]
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 […]
