Children's Clinical Services
Children are the youngest victims of homelessness. They are at risk of additional traumatic experiences. They often experience anxiety, depression or withdrawal. One in three has a major mental health disorder. These are the children who accompany their mothers to Sheffield Place.
At Sheffield Place, we want to empower every child to heal from their trauma. The Children’s Clinical Services program provides children with an opportunity for growth and development through education, self-discovery, and family support.
Program activities are therapeutic and developmentally-based. Our Child Therapist identifies risk factors and then prepares and implements action plans for both children and mothers. Structured psycho-educational group activities take place three evenings each week. We also provide developmental support, individual, family and group counseling, and family activities. The introduction of music therapy, art therapy and Brain Gym has expanded our multi-disciplinary approach to family treatment and recovery from trauma.
Sheffield Place is recognized as a national best practice for our work with traumatized, homeless children in the publication America’s Youngest Outcasts: A State Report Card on Child Homelessness. (2009)
Sheffield Place became the first homeless shelter in the nation providing the top three evidence-based therapeutic interventions for traumatized children. (2007)