Welcome to the Daily Dose!
Today’s word of hope comes from our own Nikki Byers, Interim Minister for Missions.
The sign on Reynolda Road states, “There are 12,000 foster children in North Carolina.” These are children who for many reasons have no permanent place to call home. The mission of Crossnore School and Children’s Home is to grow healthy futures for children and families by providing a Christian sanctuary of hope and healing which means they provide support to help these 12,000 children who are in crisis in our communities.
Crossnore School and Children’s Home through the Foster Care and Adoption Program trains individuals who want to become foster parents by providing them with the skills, knowledge and licensure to equip them for the foster parent role. Qualified staff are able to make the matches for between children and families who want to give children a permanent home through adoption.
While not everyone can be a foster parent, one might become part of a Fostering Community. A Fostering Community surrounds and supports the foster families and the children who have often been victims of abuse and neglect. Crossnore will educate, guide, and support local churches in becoming a fostering community, which can be considered a local mission project. The children and the foster parents need this ongoing nurturing support from a loving community.
The school provides private placements for children who are currently living with a parent and/or legal custodian and are in need of possible out-of-home placement because of abuse or neglect. These children live on site in cottages with cottage parents who help provide a loving, stable environment.
An array of clinical services are offered to the children on site and also to other outpatients and school-based clients. Services include Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Individual and Family Counseling, Group Therapies, and Psychiatry Services. Cottage parents, legal guardians, social workers, case managers and others work together as a team to support families and children who are receiving these services.
Other services include Youth in Transition, a program designed to support youth who have experienced foster care during their critical transition into young adulthood. Experiential programming on the campus farm includes educational opportunities with gardening, animals, team building and adventure-based ropes courses.
Holly Solomon, our church member, works at Crossnore School and Children’s Home in communications and she can fill us in on the ways we at First Baptist on Fifth can help support this wonderful agency.