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Advocacy, Hi-Lites, Ministry News

Guardian Ad Litem: A Child’s Advocate in Court

October 2021 · Advocacy, Hi-Lites, Ministry News

When children are removed from their homes, it is usually through no fault of their own. They may be awakened in the middle of the night, wrapped in blankets, and driven to another house to spend the night with strangers. Most of their toys and clothes are often left behind.    Whether a toddler or a teenager, they have little control over what happens to them.    But one part of the court process is designed to give children a way to know that their perspective is heard as they enter into a complex system. This representative is the guardian ad litem, or GAL.  

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Hi-Lites 2021: Fall e-zine

September 2021 · Hi-Lites, Newsletters

Check out the second edition of our Hi-Lites e-zine. Read about our 25 years of providing therapeutic foster care, guardians ad litem, our foster and kinship families of the year, a generous young donor, and a whole bunch more.

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Understanding Long-Term Effects: Trauma Treatment Evolves

May 2021 · Hi-Lites, Ministry News

Trauma can result from a single incident, such as the death of a parent or child. Or it can manifest as what child welfare workers call “complex trauma,” exposure to multiple traumatic events over time, often of an invasive, personal nature and resulting in challenges with shame, trust, self-esteem, identity and emotion regulation. Saint Francis has recognized the need to understand trauma and its impact on emotional development since the mid-1970s, said Chief Clinical Officer Cheryl Rathbun.

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Equine Therapy: Healing Through Horses

April 2021 · Hi-Lites, Ministry News

Raised a Baptist, Robert Price didn’t quite get the whole saint thing. So, when he and his wife, Angela, came across a statue of St. Francis at their local lawn and garden center in March 2020, he knew little about the Saint from Assisi. Yet, the statue intrigued him – even more so after Angela shared what she knew about Francis and why he seemed to matter to so many people.

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Saint Francis’ Own Pulls Double Duty in the Army Reserves

April 2021 · Hi-Lites, Ministry News

Around this time last year, COVID-19 was mostly an ominous-sounding word hinting at a danger that the world was just beginning to discover. As the numbers climbed, healthcare workers watched anxiously and prepared, while scientists scrambled to learn more about this disease. In March 2020, none of us were sure what the virus was capable of. Into this risky and uncertain situation moved the 1908th Medical Detachment of the U.S. Army Reserve, based at Topeka, Kansas. Mobilized as part of the Urban Augmented Medical Task Force, they spent nearly four months in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts providing behavioral mental health support to civilian patients and front-line healthcare workers in local hospitals. One of those soldiers was Sgt. Donald Holliday, a behavioral health social worker and an employee of Saint Francis Ministries.

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HiLites 2021: Spring e-zine

April 2021 · Hi-Lites, Newsletters

Welcome to the first edition of our redesigned Hi-Lites electronic magazine, or e-zine! You'll find 40+ pages of compelling stories, thought-provoking articles and highlight of people who are making a difference.

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