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2021 Impact
Through your support in 2021:
Over 300 youth from crisis received critical supports.
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35 youth and their 11 children received safe and supportive transitional housing.
1,385 nutritious meals were provided through the OC Youth Center.
More than 250 life skills classes were provided to young adults learning how to live on their own.
Over 50 mentorship events, ranging from youth and mentor connection nights or retreats to mentor support meetings, were held throughout the year.
14 teens and their foster and adoptive families were provided coaching, training, and a community of support through LifeBASE Teen.
Letter from Founder & Executive Director
It’s an honor to partner with you to see youth from crisis experience breakthrough, healing, and transformation. Looking back on 2021, I can only marvel at the individual and organizational breakthroughs that your support made possible. As you absorb the pages that follow, I hope you’ll be encouraged to learn how your support made it possible for Sacharra to get her phlebotomy certification, Steve to move into his own apartment, and Regina to graduate and begin working at Immerse. These stories represent more than 300 young people who found support at Immerse last year as they took brave steps toward healing. We celebrate each of these steps, no matter the size! Your generosity also fueled two major milestones that will provide support for youth from crisis in Arkansas for years to come. With your help, we re-opened The OC providing a beautiful center to serve youth from crisis in the heart of Little Rock. We also launched LifeBASE Teen, a new program designed to help teens under the age of 18 who are still in foster care or have been adopted. Both of these milestones represent the culmination of years of planning, learning, and the generosity of many. While it’s been an incredible year, we’re by no means content to ease up on the pursuit of seeing more youth from crisis experience transformation. We’ve set our sights on building an expansive pathway to healing available to every youth from crisis. It’s an (holy) ambitious goal, but it's worth it, and if it's achieved, will pay dividends for generations to come. Whether you just joined the effort, or if you’ve been in the trenches since the first day, thank you. I especially want to thank our staff who work tirelessly on behalf of those we serve, and a board that invests sacrificially. Most importantly, I thank God for his kindness to the hurting, and his kindness toward these efforts we all share. Let’s keep going, and may many more youth from crisis find the path to flourishing through our partnership and with the help of a loving Father. Toward an expansive pathway,
Eric Gilmore
2021 IMPACT
The Problem: Trauma in Arkansas
Immerse uses the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire to assess for trauma in our youth. The ACEs identify ten key adverse childhood experiences including:
☐ PHYSICAL, SEXUAL, OR EMOTIONAL ABUSE
☐ WITNESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
☐ POVERTY
☐ LIVING WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS DRUG OR ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
☐ VICTIM OR WITNESS OF NEIGHBORHOOD VIOLENCE ☐ PARENTAL DIVORCE OR SEPARATION
☐ LIVING WITH SOMEONE WHO IS MENTALLY ILL, SUICIDAL, OR SEVERELY DEPRESSED
☐ HAVING A PARENT IN JAIL
☐ TREATED OR JUDGED UNFAIRLY DUE TO RACE OR ETHNICITY
☐ THE DEATH OF A PARENT
The higher a child’s ACEs score, the more trauma they have faced, and the higher likelihood for mental, emotional, and physical impacts of the trauma.
Immerse served over 100 youth in need of immediate shelter.
Youth trauma in 2021
Nearly 1 in 4 children ages 17 and under in Arkansas have experienced 3 or more ACEs, ranking Arkansas as the 3rd highest rate in the nation.1
Youth at Immerse reported having experienced an average of 5.5 ACES during their childhood.2
56%
of youth served in our LifeBASE transitional program were in foster care or had been adopted.
44%
were experiencing homelessness, abuse, and other forms of crisis.
The Solution: Our Theory of Change
When we surround youth from crisis with unconditional relationships, a vision for their restored future, and tools that anticipate their needs and dreams, we create a climate for healing, growth, and transformation.
Continuum of Support
Immerse has developed a continuum of support to protect, inspire, equip, and empower youth in their journey towards healing and healthy adulthood.
Alumni
LifeBASE Transitional Program
The OC Youth Center
Youth Shelter (in development) Empower graduates to give back to youth coming behind them
Equip youth through a transitional program in houses, apartments, or families
Inspire youth to achieve big goals, connect them with tools, and a community of support
Protect youth experiencing homelessness through a low-barrier, safe place to sleep and get help
1. National Survey of Children's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), 2019-2020. 2. Youth participating in our LifeBASE program in 2021.
Top Moments of 2021
Reopened the OC Youth Center
We celebrated the reopening of our newly renovated youth center, The OC, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Special guests included youth alumni, City of Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins, Department of Human Services Secretary Cindy Gillespie, and remarks from Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Our new OC space offers expanded supports for youth from crisis: including onsite showers, an expanded laundry space, a fully-equipped commercial teaching kitchen, life skills classroom, art space, counseling rooms, and other resources.
Since reopening the OC, we are now serving more than twice the number of youth each month. We look forward to impacting even more youth throughout 2022 and beyond!
In 2021, we expanded supports for youth aging out of foster care in partnership with the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services. Immerse was one of 7 agencies in Arkansas to receive a state grant to provide new Extended Foster Care options for youth ages 18-21 who choose to remain in care. Our LifeBASE program equips youth for healthy adulthood through supportive housing, coaching, life skills training, mentorship, and other resources.
Launched LifeBASE Teen
Our newest track of LifeBASE, LifeBASE Teen, was in full swing in 2021, impacting 14 teens and their foster and adoptive families. LifeBASE Teen offers these youth and families coaching, training, and community-building activities to equip both teens and their families with the tools they need for healing and preparing the teen for adulthood.
Began Raising Support for Arkansas’s First Shelter for Youth Ages 18-24
Over the past 10 years of caring for youth from crisis, we have heard a resounding request for safe, immediate housing. In 2020, we purchased property for this shelter less than a quarter mile from The OC, and in 2021 we raised over 60% of the funds necessary to build Arkansas’s first shelter for youth ages 18-24. Our goal is to raise the remaining funds in 2022 with construction to begin in late 2022. The shelter will provide a welcoming, youth-friendly space where youth who have experienced trauma can find shelter from sleeping on the streets or in other unsafe conditions and can get connected to our continuum of programs designed just for youth.
