The old saying "It takes a village to raise a child" continues again and again to prove itself true. A child needs a community to help become fully developed mentally, emotionally and socially. So how does this affect our approach to treatment? In a word, collaboration.

In a recent article, NBC reported that veterans are twice as likely as civilians to commit suicide. This was based on the most recent report by the Department of Veterans Affairs. That's an alarming statistic that translates to about 20 veterans dying by suicide every single day. Victor Community Support Services has been an engaged county partner in training and suicide prevention events for years. In collaboration with other support services in our communities we do our best to support veterans in need of help. Too often however, we don't get to meet them until they've reached a point of crisis. 

Wraparound services helps families heal from trauma. In many cases those people have been in abusive situations for so long, that it has become normalized. It's a huge challenge to help them identify what's acceptable and what's not, to define their rules and boundaries. Parents need lot's of support through this process. Being a parent is a challenge on it's own, but recovering from abuse while raising children who have also suffered is extremely difficult.

After multiple deployments to Iraq, a Soldier was coming home for good, but after living in a war zone that's easier said than done. Every time he returned  home from deployment in the past, he felt like a piece of him was missing. This time was no different. He didn't feel like the same Soldier, the same Man he once was.  Emotionally he didn't feel the same, and physically he was different as well. 

Family reunification is a long and difficult process however, when we can achieve it for our clients it is one of the most emotional and rewarding experiences imaginable. For a parent who has lost touch with their own child, there is no greater joy than being reunited and having the opportunity to establish a meaningful family bond.

At Victor, we work hard to find solutions that keep children from staying in the foster system for longer than they need to. For the over 400,000 children in foster care nationwide, the average time spent in the system is between 12 and 20 months. That's a long time for a child to be away from their parents, so we focus on providing structure and counseling right from the start. Our goal is to build a good foundation underneath kids that may feel brushed aside.

This particular story comes from our site in Stockton, CA. where the mother had struggled with addiction, mental health problems, and other medical issues. Through Victor's Katie-A program this parent worked closely with her daughter's treatment team to establish healthy boundaries and reconnect with her daughter.

Some may describe a 13-year-old boy as awkward. Moody. Hormonal. Their newly discovered desire to be independent means they’d rather hang out with their friends than be in any near proximity to their parental units. They’ve discovered girls instead of the latest video game hacks and consider Snapchat to be an actual conversation with a human being. Possibly their biggest worries are puberty and pimples, braces and bad hair, big feet and even bigger egos.

School is a necessary evil, a land of fellow teenage peers who want to be “individuals” by fitting in. Most days, their biggest concern is they forgot to study for a test, lost last week’s football game to their rivals, didn’t get the seat in class next to their crush, or the cafeteria ran out of pizza before they got to the front of the line. Sure, being a 13-year-old boy is hard. Being a 13-year-old boy with anxiety is even harder. And for someone like 13-year-old Colin*, going to school at all is a real, daily struggle.