Gimme Shelter

Last week, Gena VanOsselaer, executive director of the Austin Children’s Shelter.

The numbers are, for lack of a better work, depressing. When it comes to the abused and neglected in our state, there is not much that would merit hope in the situation. In 2006 there were 239,115 reported cases of child abuse or neglect on the state hot line; 67,737 of those reports were confirmed. 2,435 of those confirmed cases were in Travis County.

When a child is found to have been abused or neglected, the first step is to take them out of the dangerous situation. A case-worker for Child Protective Services is assigned to the child and he or she is taken from the abusive or neglectful parents or guardians. The child is then taken to a temporary shelter while the situation is assessed.

While homes filled with abuse and neglect are a traumatic and unhealthy place for children to be, the process of being removed from that place can be a virulent process as well. Children need a safe place to land; a place filled with love and compassion; a place where they can begin to forget about the storm behind them.

At last, hope.

Those that find themselves at Austin Children’s Shelter find just that. The staff at ACS have gone to great lengths to ensure that the children who find themselves in their care are taken care of completely. No need, however small or great, is overlooked.  This is includes health examinations, ensuring the children adjust to a healthy diet, and of course beginning the long road to normalcy.

There are simple things that Austin Children’s Shelter does that make all the difference.  Children eat meals together, for instance, something that many of them may not have the opportunity to do in the homes they have left.  ACS also begins instilling healthy reward cycles rather than simply punishing children when they do wrong.  It’s amazing to listen as Gena talks about the children in her organization’s care.  It’s true that their oftentimes destructive behavior is a product of a malevolent upbringing, but not everyone has the heart to continue working with these children against such great odds.  But the great people at ACS care deeply about the abused and neglected in the Austin area.  They love the children, and love is a great incentive to stay the course.

These days Austin Children’s Shelter is learning.  They are learning that in their current situation they cannot care for the kids in the way they desire to.  Because of space limitations they are forced to turn away almost half of the children that are referred to them.  Not only that, but some kids require much more intensive care than they currently can provide.  That is why ACS has recently broken ground on a new campus in East Austin.  The new HQ will be a great overhaul and a desperately needed face lift for them.  They will have a much greater capacity and be able to solve many of the problems caused by their current limited space (such as boys in girls in separate buildings!).  They will also be able to care for some of the kids they had to turn away before, something that the staff at ACS are very excited about.

The folks at Austin Children’s Shelter are well on their way to raising the money  they need for this great new facility, but they need a little more.  Giving is as easy as going to their website – www.austinchildrenshelter.org.  Like many wonderful organizations in the Austin-area, they also recently lost funding from the United Way, so this is a time when you could really help them out.