Community Conversations: A Podcast by ACH Child and Family Services

Control, mental, verbal, psychological abuse. It was all there before it became physical in Amanda’s experience as domestic violence survivor. Brave and resilient, Amanda shares the story of rebuilding a life for her and her son with ACH’s Families Together Program. Families Together provides residential services (12-18 months) for mothers and children experiencing homelessness due to intimate partner domestic violence. achservices.org/programs/Families-together

Why doesn’t the victim just leave? Believe it or not, leaving a life you’ve built in exchange for safety from an abusive partner—especially with kids—is a complex and difficult issue no mother should ever have to experience. Join us as we demystify common misconceptions about intimate partner domestic violence. Statistics and facts compiled from stjudehouse.org/domestic-violence-facts, Safe Haven of Tarrant County, and NBC News.

Heartache, stress, violence, abuse, and trauma. These are not easy words to hear, but they are words our staff hear all the time in the stories of our clients. ACH’s Transitions Program Manager Nick Little shares a few common experiences of domestic violence survivors—before these women ever enter our care, they have already gone through so much. Families Together provides residential services (12-18 months) for mothers and children experiencing homelessness due to intimate partner domestic violence.

Establishing the feeling of safety for children who have experienced abuse and neglect is a difficult feat. It takes a village of knowledgeable, patient, and caring adults to care for them. Learn more about the importance of Felt Safety in this episode. Applied at ACH, Felt Safety is a strategy from TCU’s Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®), a therapeutic model that trains caregivers to provide effective support and treatment for at-risk children.

What is Felt Safety? ACH’s Nick Little shares how this idea cultivates trust with the youth we serve who have experienced trauma from abuse and neglect. Applied at ACH, Felt Safety is a strategy from TCU’s Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®), a therapeutic model that trains caregivers to provide effective support and treatment for at-risk children.

From sleeping on park benches to entering foster care, Mohammed’s journey continues at the Morris Program, ACH's transitional living program (TLP). Follow the story of a resilient teen, wise beyond his years, thriving after receiving help from ACH. Every gift can help our community’s homeless and foster youth feel safety, love, and hope: https://achservices.org/donate-now/

A group of panelists from all corners of ACH candidly discuss how we care for LGBTQ+ youth in and around Fort Worth. LGBTQ+ youth are a vulnerable population, often susceptible to self-harming behaviors, homelessness, family and societal rejection, and other harmful situations. Our agency believes supportive and caring adults can create positive outcomes for all youth experiencing abuse, neglect, and residual trauma. We'll also discuss the importance of accepting foster parents. Our team is here to help walk you through becoming a foster parent: https://achservices.org/foster-care-adoption/foster-care/

From sleeping on park benches to entering foster care, we follow the story of Mohammed—a resilient teen, wise beyond his years, thriving after receiving help from ACH’s Youth Emergency Shelter. Every gift can help our community’s homeless and foster youth feel safety, love, and hope: https://achservices.org/donate-now/

Become a Hands-on Hero to our kids and families by giving monthly. Providing a gift they can count on can change the lives of those struggling in our community during this pandemic. Learn more about the impact your donation can make as monthly-giver: https://achservices.org/monthly-giving/ ACH COVID-19 Resources: https://achservices.org/covid-19-resources/

To kick-off Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, we welcome child abuse prevention advocate and long-time ACH supporter, Barbara Clark-Galupi. With 5,536 reported cases of child abuse and neglect last year in Tarrant County alone—and with COVID-19 impacting the nonprofit community—learn how you can help by visiting https://bit.ly/silenceendshere

Staff tell personal stories of trafficked, homeless, and runaway youth they’ve helped through Safe Place, a national program that ACH locally administers in Tarrant County. Learn how our programs work hand and hand, along with Fort Worth police, to care for youth in our community. Advocate for the youth we serve through social media.  Like, share, and comment! Facebook and Instagram: @ACHchildandfamily Twitter: @ACHchildfamily

Are you passionate about creating a world where all youth are safe? Safe Place Ambassador are volunteers committed to increasing awareness and education of the Safe Place program. Questions? Contact Safe Place Coordinator TJ Wright at Timothy.Wright@ACHservices.org. Apply to become a Safe Place Ambassador here: https://achservices.org/safe-place-locator/

What do Quick Trips, public libraries, and ACH have in common? They’re all Safe Place sites! ACH’s TJ Wright explains how this national program provides immediate help and safety for Tarrant County’s youth. We'll have more from the rest of our team next week!

Supervised Independent Living programs like the LIFE Project at ACH, are often a safety net for young adults (ages 18-21) in extended foster care. ACH’s Nick Little expands on how programs like these prepare them for the “real world.”

Meet Justin, a resilient young man navigating his way through life as an adult while in extended foster care. Hear about his journey and what ACH is doing to support the over-looked population of young adults aging out of foster care.