Fostering In Faith
This loving ministry provides a means through which congregations, religious communities, and individuals can pray for children in need of adoptive families. We send you the materials and simply ask that you pray for a child. Once a month, we highlight one child in need of a forever family. Your support spreads the word about children in need of adoptive homes.
Art Therapy
One of our most popular programs, art therapy at our Salina West residential campus helps children and youth recover from trauma. In art therapy, we first assess each child to determine their developmental level, their degree of trauma, and their openness to talking about it. We work in small groups to build trust and to encourage children to feel safe opening up.
Foster Care / Adoption
The primary goal of foster care is always to return children to their birth families. Until that happens, we need committed, caring foster parents to take care of them. That means recruiting families to provide safe, loving homes for children in need of out-of-home placement, either through foster care or adoption. Local offices throughout our service area provide dedicated, professional teams, on call round the clock to provide support to children and the foster families who care for them.
Independent Living
About 25,000 children nationwide age out of foster care without the benefit of a family or permanent home each year. That puts them at tremendous risk for homelessness, joblessness, illness, incarceration, welfare dependency, early childbearing, and victimization. Our Independent Living program provides them with the skills and resources they need to transition to successful adulthood.
Family Services
Keeping families healthy and strong benefits everyone – from the child in the home to the community at large. We work to effect positive, lasting change with troubled, at-risk families. Our programs help strengthen parenting skills, improve coping strategies, and develop structure when it’s missing. We serve people who have experienced trauma, pregnant women who abuse substances, fathers seeking parenting skills, families struggling with myriad stressors, and more.
Residential Treatment
When kids need extra support, we provide residential treatment at our state-of-the art facility at Salina West. The treatment center delivers highly targeted programs and services designed for youths ages 6 to 18 who have a mental-health diagnosis and chronic behavior issues. It also treats trauma and problems of sexual abuse and substance use. We are also in the process of opening an additional residential treatment center in Lubbock, Texas, scheduled to open in early 2023.
Equestrian Therapy
Horses have been part of Saint Francis’ treatment toolbox for decades. The equestrian therapy at our Salina West residential facility helps traumatized children build coping skills through the care and riding of horses. Participating youth feed, groom, and exercise our eight horses by riding together in groups several times a week. Your gift helps provide for the care and maintenance of the horses and ensures that any child at Salina West who wants to participate can.
Christmas for Kids
For many children in foster care, Christmas is a time of anxiety and homesickness. Some have never experienced the kind of holiday the rest of us take for granted. Your donation ensures that every child in our foster care program receives a gift under the tree at Christmas. You can support Christmas for Kids by making a donation, by working with one of our local offices to provide for a child, or as a community service project for your business or organization.
Bridgeway & Cheshire
Our Mississippi programs help adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead more fulfilling, independent lives. We do this through supervised-living, supportive employment, adult day services, and job-discovery services for men and women 18 years and older. Residents at our Bridgeway and Cheshire apartment facilities have a place to live and to work, as well as opportunities to socialize and contribute to their communities.
KidzKamp
Our free summer camp for kids in foster care delivers more than just three days packed with fun. Yes, it offers swimming, outdoor activities, crafts, and field trips, but equally important, KidzKamp lets kids ages 8-12 meet new friends and share experiences unique to foster care. The camp provides a safe place where kids can laugh and learn, creating memories and building skills they can tap into year-round. Simply put, it lets them be kids.