Many folks may hear the words Children’s Home Society (CHS) and immediately think of adoption and foster services.

But the organization is so much more.

From infancy to young adulthood, CHS works to “build bridges to success,” said Leah Harrison, charitable giving director for Children’s Home Society of Florida’s western division.

“We serve 5,100 children in our four-county area from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties,” Harrison said. “We’re always looking at what the need is and how we can meet it.”

Early history

The Children’s Home Society of Florida was established in 1902 in Jacksonville as a result of the state’s growing population of orphaned children. At the time there were no public welfare programs or laws to protect children. In its first year of existence, CHS had just a staff of two, but the organization managed to find homes for 21 children. The program then expanded across the state.

CHS continues to provide adoption and foster support — but there’s also about a dozen more programs.

Over time, the nonprofit has developed programs to fit the needs of today. CHS offers support services to pregnant and/or homeless teens, children who have suffered abuse or neglect, and youth who are considering dropping out of school.

“We want to remove barriers and help these children and teens reach self-sufficiency,” said Lindsey Cannon, director of program operations. “We’re always adding programs whenever there’s a need.”

Services include teaching parenting skills to pregnant teens, helping homeless or at-risk youth find housing and employment, and mentoring children who have dropped out of school or are considering it. One of the newest programs is the CHS Community Learning School, a free academic after-school program. The first one was launched inside C.A. Weis Elementary in Pensacola and serves 120 kids. Harrison laughed when asked how long it would be for the next learning center to be launched.

“We get asked that all the time,” she said. “We saw C.A. Weis go from an F to C school in a year. We want to continue to do well there before we expand.”

The most popular service is counseling, which is provided on a sliding scale fee system.

“Counselors are embedded in the school system,” Cannon said. “All of our counselors are trauma trained, which means they can work with children who have been abused or neglected.”

These programs are not only free to eligible clients, but they work. The Healthy Families program, for instance, has a 95 percent success rate, Harrison said.

“The Healthy Families program, which is offered in Santa Rosa County, works with mothers and their children from infancy to 5 years old,” she added. “We do regular visits and provide education and parental support. We also follow-up for a year after the program ends and 95 percent of the families we serve have no report of abuse or neglect.”

Since 1982, CHS has continually earned national accreditation from Council on Accreditation (COA), a nonprofit which seeks to improve delivery outcomes by recognizing organizations that demonstrate best practice standards in the field of human services. That tradition continued again last month.

“It sets forth standards and best practices,” Cannon said. “It lets everyone know we are committed and that they can trust our organization.”

Doing the work

Behind the organization is a staff of about 95 and dozens of volunteers committed to helping the thousands of kids served by CHS. Staff and volunteers may be outnumbered, but that doesn’t make them any less impactful.

“Our staff is highly dedicated,” Cannon said. “They don’t give up. We also have strong relationships with partnering organizations like AmeriCorps to help meet the needs.”

During the holidays, it’s “all hands on deck,” Harrison noted, as staff and volunteers scramble to prepare for holiday events such as the Thanksgiving dinner and wrapping Christmas presents for all of the kids who are served by CHS.

It’s the kids who continue to be the drive for CHS staff and volunteers. Last month, when Cannon was going to the annual Sunday’s Child meeting in hopes of winning grant money, she took one of the CHS clients to share his story.

“Lavonta is an amazing young man with an amazing story,” Cannon said. “When he came to us, he was living in his car. Within 48 hours of coming to CHS, we were able to help him find housing. Now he’s building up a savings account and pursuing a degree at Pensacola State College.”

Pamela Schutzmann is the board chairwoman for CHS. She started volunteering with the organization about eight years ago. Schutzmann loves to help organize fundraisers or advocate for children in Tallahassee, but the work that touches her most is the regular lunches she has with a young woman she met at a CHS event.

“We were doing the Thanksgiving dinner and an adorable young mother and her boy walk in,” Schutzmann recalled. “I remember it was really cold that year and she was wearing flip-flops. Her boy was dressed appropriately, but she just had a T-shirt on.”

Schutzmann got to know the 19-year-old mom. About a week after the dinner, she took her out shopping for new clothes. The young woman’s mom had died when she was little and she was raised by her grandfather. For the past five years, Schutzmann has made it an annual event to pick her up and take her shopping. The young lady eventually went to school and found support from the YouthWorks program.

“She’s past the program now, but she still calls me up,” Schutzmann said. “She’s never had a mother figure. She just wants to talk, to have someone listen. It wouldn’t be as rewarding if we didn’t get to spend time with these young adults. They’re all really special.”

If anyone wants to make a difference in the community, Schutzmann said the Children’s Home Society is a “great place to start.”

“We want to make our community a better place for everyone,” she said. “This is a great group of people to work with — that make everyone who walks through the doors feel special.

“Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?”

WANT MORE INFO?

Children’s Home Society has a broad range of services for children from infancy to 18 years of age. For more information about the nonprofit, visit chsfl.org.

Originally posted by The Northwest Daily News