This Is Us – Residential Services

August 2022 · Forward in Hope, Ministry News, Residential Care

People come to Saint Francis Residential treatment facilities for lots of reasons.

Young people come with a variety of behavioral and emotional challenges. Many have experienced complex traumas that can manifest in a variety of personal, familial, and even legal problems.

For adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, they receive the support they need to live independently and to maintain dignified employment.

Whatever the reason, our Residential programs offer people a path forward … to independence, recovery, and hope for a better future.

Salina West

Located near our home office, Salina West serves youth ages 6-18 with diagnoses that include trauma, stress, and bipolar disorders, along with other behavioral challenges. Anchored by our Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) and our two Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP), Salina West provides professional clinical care for youth with both short- and longer-term needs.

Our PRTF offers 42 beds and compassionate clinical care, while our two QRTP Cottages – Willow House and Cottonwood House – provide eight beds each for girls and boys needing a safe, home-like place to stay while they work on disruptive behaviors.

Every young person who comes into our care is unique, with their own story and needs. So, we tailor our treatment to meet those needs, using an array of evidence-based strategies like substance use treatment and counseling; individual, group, and family therapy; and social skills building.

No child deserves to be defined by a diagnosis. We humans are complicated beings, which means that lasting healing must involve all parts of the person. Salina West offers a variety of recreational, social, creative, and spiritual activities to support the clinical components and enhance well-being:

• On-site Education
• Equine Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Ropes Course
• Peace Garden
• Library (Reading and Reflection Room)
• Gymnasium
• Chapel

Bridgeway and Cheshire

We believe the right to self-determination is intimately tied to human dignity. Located in Picayune and Gulfport, our Bridgeway and Cheshire programs in Mississippi provide supervised living and supported employment services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they can determine the course of their own lives. Residents have their own apartments, access to recreational facilities, and opportunities to participate in social activities. They also receive support finding and maintaining dignified employment.

Our Adult Day Services program in Picayune also helps adults with IDD, expand their horizons through building relationships with others and learning new daily living skills.  Most importantly, our Residential programs ensure that persons with IDD are not alone, that they live connected to their community and that they feel integral to its success.

As Jason Kirkland, regional vice president for Mississippi programs says, “Community is a big part of this program and individual well-being is central.”

Texas Residential

Our most recent effort to provide quality residential care to young people is underway in Lubbock, Texas.

Saint Francis will bring the QRTP (see Salina West) model to Texas to create greater access to a higher level of care for youth with immediate mental and behavioral health needs. Our new facilities – Sagebrush House and Sunflower House – will provide 21 additional beds in the Texas Panhandle.

This matters because there are currently only 16 residential beds in Region 1, and none of them are QRTP beds.

Under the Family First Prevention Act, the QRTP model is designed to serve youth with serious emotional or behavioral disturbances and disorders through trauma-informed, evidence-based treatment, based on the results of a formal assessment of the child’s needs.

Such a residential center is necessary because, as Executive Director Kristina Brown says, “Right now, some families face a nine-hour drive to a residential treatment center in another part of the state. This can be an insurmountable challenge for families who may be asked to participate in weekly therapy sessions with their children, especially as transportation is already an issue for many in our predominately rural region. The challenges posed by having to send children out of the area to receive treatment can result in a significant increase in the time it takes to successfully reunify a family.”

The Texas program will provide many of the same treatment tools used by Salina West, including equine therapy – through a partnership with Texas Tech University. Others will be particular to Texas.

We’re currently in the process of remodeling buildings to ensure they meet licensing requirements and to provide a comfortable, attractive space where young people can heal.

Stay tuned, and we’ll let you know as the opening date nears.

We can’t do it alone

Want to help? Your gift can help provide tack and feed for equine therapy, paints and clay for art therapy, or harnesses and helmets for our ropes course. And that’s just Salina West. There are ways to support each of our residential programs.

Learn more about SFM Residential programs by visiting our Residential website page.  We also make it easy to give and to designate where you want your gift to go. Visit our donation page.

Every dollar helps. Every dollar offers a path forward for the adults and youth we serve.