Established in 1983 as a temporary shelter, the Dixon Center is located in Dixon, KY (Webster County). The facility is a ranch-style home that provides residential care for up to 12 girls from ages 12-18. The girls attend Webster County Public Schools, which offers alternative school instruction.
The center provides long-term residential treatment and has particular success working with pregnant or parenting teens and helping these girls regain school credits and reach their educational goals. The program also involves the girls in various service projects, such as helping at a community food ministry, coordinating a recycling project, volunteering at a local nursing home, croqueting baby blankets for various organization and other efforts. The length of stay for the girls ranges from four to 12 months. For girls who do not reunite with their family, Sunrise Children's Services continuum of care allows staff to refer clients to settings appropriate to their needs, which may include Sunrise's Family Foster Care Program or other residential programs.
In 2010, The Dixon Center served 25 girls and provided 6115 days of care.
We invite you to take a tour of our Dixon Center.
The girls at the Dixon Center have a variety of recreational, educational and entertainment opportunities that many of them might not have had before. The facility has membership with a local YMCA and girls visit weekly. There are day trips scheduled each year to natural attractions like Mammoth Cave and Land Between the Lakes, as well as the Louisville Zoo. The girls have frequent opportunities to go to the movies and ice skating and occasionally the center will take girls to a minor league baseball game or a trip to an amusement park like Holiday World or Venture River Waterpark. There are also a wide range of activities done on-site.
Therapeutic services for the girls include treatment for anxiety, mood, personality and eating disorders as well as ADHD, gang involvement, runaway behavior, borderline intellectual functioning, substance abuse, fire-setting, self-abuse and sexual abuse.
The staff uses a combination of approaches for individual and group therapies. Each girl is given an individualized treatment and case plan upon arrival. The girls work through a phased advancement program that recognizes emotional and behavioral progress.
Many of these girls come from a background that includes alcohol and other substance abuse. For those youth, therapists use a program called the Seven Challenges to help the young women make a commitment to minimize the impact of drug and alcohol on their lives.
ADDRESS:
86 Burnt Mill Road
Dixon, Kentucky 42409
TELEPHONE
(270) 639-5457
PLACEMENT INFORMATION:
(888) 584-5922
FAX (502) 538-1159
*After hours placements please contact the program directly
Girls learn about other cultures
In early August, the Dixon girls had a Culture Fair. They were put into three groups and each group chose a country or culture different from their own. They spent time at the library doing research and took a trip to the local Goodwill store to put together costumes representative of their chosen culture. On August 8th, they presented their country or culture to the other girls and staff, and were judged on originality, knowledge and creativity. The cultures represented were Hawaii, Italy and Ireland. Each group did a great job, but the chosen winner was Hawaii.