2015 Annual Report The Mission of Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Family Services is to share Christ’s healing love with children, youth & families in crisis.
Focusing on the unique challenges for youth exiting foster care Reggie, 17, was the first person admitted to Vera Lloyd in 2015. He was taken from his south Arkansas home because of domestic violence. He came to Vera Lloyd with his Arkansas Department of Human Services’ caseworker. It was almost midnight and he needed a safe place to spend the night. He lived in the Trimble Home for boys for six days before he was reunited with a family member. Over the course of the year, 148 other scared and vulnerable boys and girls, ages six to 21, found safety, security and love at Vera Lloyd. This past year has seen an increased focus on the crisis of the foster care system in Arkansas. Every year, close to 7,000 boys and girls in Arkansas are removed from their homes and placed in foster or children’s homes. Another 700 boys and girls are in juvenile detention centers every year. Vera Lloyd has provided a safe place for youth in need for almost 100 years. In the past year, we’ve focused on what happens next: after a boy or girl ages out of foster care. Tragically, many young adults who age out of foster care often face obstacles like homelessness, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, human trafficking and incarceration. We are working on a model that creates opportunity, support and success. We’re now using the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) model of care, pioneered by the Texas Christian University Institute on Child Development. TBRI incorporates the latest in neuroscience research to enable youth to overcome and heal from trauma experienced early in life. We evolved our transition program from a small residential program to Transition Services designed Youth participate in nurture groups where they play games, practice to expose all youth in our care to choices for education relaxation techniques and learn how to discuss their emotions. beyond high school and future careers. We moved the Laurence E. Schmidt Counseling Center from Little Rock to Monticello with the goal of maintaining our mission of serving ministers in need, providing services to the community of southeast Arkansas and meeting the needs of youth in our care. Activities this year have set the stage for more alumni to echo these words from Mary: “I was placed in the home when I was 16. I was a troubled child going in the wrong direction in life. You helped me put God back in my life, finish my education and prepare for my future. It’s been 10 years, and I’m a proud mother of two children and have a wonderful husband! Without your care, who knows where I would be. . .probably wouldn’t have my freedom or I might be in a grave. I thank you for taking me under your wing and helping mold me into the woman I’ve Boys and girls learn to play guitar thanks to a gift from the become.” Chinn Guitar Project.
Our Vision:
Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Family Services will be the recognized model for transforming & empowering children, youth & families. For more information on the programs of Vera Lloyd, visit our website at www.veralloyd.org or follow us on Facebook.