Christ’s Haven Sees Increase in Demand

Photo
by Melissa Zihlman
Photography

While visiting Christ’s Haven’s 58 acres in
the middle of the north Fort Worth/Keller area, it looks similar to many of
the residential neighborhoods nearby. Kids are outside playing basketball,
riding bikes, skateboarding, and swinging on the playground. The difference
is that this neighborhood of homes is actually a children’s
home.

“I love watching someone when they come to
Christ’s Haven for the first time. Their face lights up realizing it’s
nothing like they expected,” Cassie McQuitty, Christ’s Haven CEO,
said.

Christ’s Haven has been around for decades
providing care to displaced youth who have experienced abuse or neglect. As
McQuitty enters her fifth year as CEO, notably the organization’s first
female CEO, she has worked with staff to hone in on the services and core
values that make Christ’s Haven unique. Christ’s Haven
programs:

Residential program for infants through age
18
College
and career readiness for young adults ages
18-24
Family
Resource Center supporting local families

The Christ’s Haven trauma-informed, family
model is not state-contracted foster care, but they are an option outside of
traditional foster care by providing voluntary placement.

“When I first started, I was worried I would
have a hard time understanding how a parent could decide to place their child
at a children’s home,” McQuitty said. “Very quickly, I realized the family
members who make that decision are making the bravest, most important
decision for their children.”

There is no time frame on how long a child can
live at Christ’s Haven. It can be a few months or several years, depending on
what that family needs. While at Christ’s Haven, they live in one of seven
houses with a married couple as their temporary guardians.

One of the unique aspects of Christ’s Haven
is that they can keep sibling groups together. In traditional foster care, it
is common that siblings are separated from each other and placed in different
homes. At Christ’s Haven, McQuitty said that keeping siblings together is a
top priority. “We know the research shows that keeping siblings together
helps their mental health and school performance. It makes such a difference
to have a sibling nearby when a child’s life has been uprooted from all they
know.”

With the current foster care capacity crisis
in Texas, Christ’s Haven has been another option for CPS caseworkers and
families in crisis. They have seen a significant increase and demand for
their services:

30%
increase in youth served in last five years in residential
program
140%
increase in young adults served in last five years in college and career
readiness program

“What I love the most about what we do is
that it’s not just a bed and roof over a child’s head,” McQuitty said.
“Thanks to donors and volunteers who support our mission, we are able to
provide normalcy, dignity, and hope in each child’s life for as long as they
need us.”