Category: Residential Treatment

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Donor Generosity Foster Care Residential Treatment

Sunrise Children’s Services and Paul Mitchell The School find a “Way” to help serve Kentucky’s foster children

It all began with a conversation between Reuben Watson, regional advancement director at Sunrise Children’s Services, and Jeremy Teall, director and owner of Paul Mitchell The School in Lexington and Louisville. The two started talking a year ago about what it would be like for their organizations to form a partnership and together help serve the children of Sunrise by providing free haircuts and styles. By the time their conversation ended, Teall and Watson decided that they should help not just Sunrise kids, but any child from any foster care organization in the state of Kentucky. And that is how the WayMaker Project was formed.

A year later, more than 200 kids have been served in the Lexington and Louisville communities through the partnership of Sunrise Children’s Services and Paul Mitchell the School. Organizations which include Kentucky United Methodist, All God’s Children, Home of the Innocents, Boys and Girls Haven, St. Josephs Children’s Home, Strengthening Transformations, LEX Project Prom, and others have all benefited from this program.

“The WayMaker Project has given our kiddos at St. Joseph Children’s Home the opportunity to be pampered while improving their self-worth,” stated Mary Horton, residential supervisor at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Louisville. “The stylists are so personable and patient with our kiddos as well!”

“This is how it works: An agency will request tickets and a Sunrise care worker will deliver the tickets to the requesting agency,” explained Watson. “We are all in this together.”

Earlier this year, a foster parent from All God’s Children (AGC) was extremely grateful to hear about the WayMaker Project. “Having one child to get school-ready as a single mom is a challenge.  Imagine having four!” she said.  “A week before school started, a sibling set of three joined my family.  When I received an email from AGC that we could get hair cut vouchers, I responded immediately.  Making the appointment through Paul Mitchell’s website was super easy.  The ladies who cut my boys’ hair took their time and made sure the boys walked away with smiles on their faces.  Thank you AGC for taking care of my kiddos!”

Strengthening Transformations, Inc. has partnered with Paul Mitchell over the past five years with events such as the Father/Daughter dance held at the Woodford County Detention Center where they provided hair, makeup, and manicures for the daughters; and the Friendship Fest in 2019. “We were so ecstatic that stylists from the Paul Mitchell School gave of their time to do free quick styles for the girls in attendance at Friendship Fest and last year provided us with vouchers for free haircuts,” said a representative from Strengthening Transformations. “Through their partnership with our organization, we have been able to make young girls recognize their beauty both inside and out.”

The Paul Mitchell organization believes a haircut can be the catalyst for children to understand how special they truly are. “It has been an honor and pleasure for Paul Mitchell The School to partner with Sunrise Children’s Services.  Fundraising and supporting the local community has been the foundation and cornerstone of Paul Mitchell Schools since their inception,” said Teall.  “Partnering with Sunrise Children’s Services has given Paul Mitchell The School the opportunity to reach the most needed, and in many cases most well-deserving people, in our community.  It always has been and will continue to be the mission of Paul Mitchell The School to serve our local community, and the creation of the WayMaker Project will continue to help us achieve that mission.  Thank you to the many people at Sunrise who have aided us in our mission to serve.”

LEX Project Prom is another agency who has benefitted from Paul Mitchell The School and the WayMaker Project. “LEX Project Prom is a non-profit organization that serves under-resourced students to attend their senior prom with no financial obligation. With partners like Paul Mitchell, our students are able to complete their full Prom look,” stated Asona McMullen, executive director at LEX Project Prom. The staff (at paul Mitchell The School) is always welcoming and attentive to our students’ needs. Without them, we would not be able to provide a full service for our attending students. They have been a joy to work with, and we are honored to have them support our mission and work alongside us.”

And of course, the kids at Sunrise Children’s Services have also benefitted from the WayMaker Project. Last month, 15 girls who live at Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center in Elizabethtown were given free haircuts and styles by Paul Mitchell the Louisville School. The night did not end there. Paul Mitchell The School purchased pizza and had a pizza party for the Sunrise kids while investing in the young ladies’ lives. “The Sunrise girls felt so good about their new looks and themselves. They couldn’t stop smiling, which is sadly rare for some of these girls,” said Jake Pelfrey, development director at Sunrise.   “Paul Mitchell The School is the type of entity that understands that it takes a village to care for these kids.”

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Donor Generosity Our Agency Residential Treatment

Donor’s ministry to Sunrise began with a two-dollar bill!

Wanda Sullivan, former Administrative Assistant at the New Hope Pregnancy Center, had heard of Sunrise Children’s Services but hadn’t yet made any real connection with its ministry. That changed in 2018 when she retired from her job. “The Lord just kind of put a burden on my heart for Sunrise,” Sullivan said. “So, I told my pastor, Brother Robbie Fairley at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, that I would be reaching out to Sunrise.”

Sullivan did just that. And then she waited. And prayed. Her specific prayer was: “Lord, I’m putting out the fleece. If our church or myself were supposed to connect to Sunrise, just have the person that I talk to contact Brother Robbie and say this is the place.” God answered. But not exactly in the way she asked.

Shortly after her talk with her pastor, and while she was eating out with some of her friends, Brother Robbie Fairley called her. And missed her. Sullivan called back. But he missed her call. Finally, they connected. “You know that fleece you put out about Sunrise?” Fairley told her over the phone. “Well, the person that you wanted to contact me didn’t, but Stewart stopped by here and wanted to know what you all are going to do.” (Stewart Haag is the activities and volunteer coordinator at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington). “I think you got your answer,” Fairley concluded.
That began four years ago. From the very start, Sullivan wanted to find a mission at Spring Meadows that no one else was fulfilling. Stewart Haag suggested coming once a month to celebrate birthdays because a lot of the boys had never had a birthday party. Sullivan loved the idea. “The first Sunday of every month, regardless if there’s a birthday or not, we come over and have cake,” Sullivan shared. “It’s a birthday cake if there are birthdays; if not, we just do some kind of cake.” Since then, Sullivan and her church have added Christmas. But for Sullivan, the birthday celebrations will always be her called mission. “Our birthdays are our thing,” she explained.

Along with a cake, Sullivan and a small group of three other church members lead a one-hour party with all the boys and leave behind a gift for the birthday boy. Four years ago, the birthday gift was actually a two-dollar bill. “The two-dollar bill got started with our first group,” said Sullivan. “They enjoyed getting the two-dollar bills. They got it, and they were like, ‘I got a two-dollar bill!’” Today, Sullivan and her group give the birthday boys at Spring Meadows gift cards or other items, adapting to the new boys in the program and to their interests.

But what Sullivan hopes most to give to the boys is something long lasting and even life changing. “We share the gospel with them; that’s our main goal,” she said. One young man from Spring Meadows accepted Jesus as his savior and was baptized in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church the first year of the birthday parties. “I want (the boys) to take away that there are people in the world that care about them, and there is a church in Bullitt County that has been faithful to them,” Sullivan continued. “These boys have been let down by the very people that should love them the most. And they get forgotten . . . . Our main thing is that somebody out there cares about them.”

Sullivan understands that there are many misconceptions about the boys who live at Spring Meadows Center. “Yes, there are some here because of bad choices that they made, but there are groups here that have different needs; they are the victims,” she said. “So, it doesn’t matter why they’re here; this is our opportunity. You know, either be a part of the solution, or you’re a part of the problem.”

It is clear that Sullivan is passionate about her ministry to the Spring Meadows boys. “Those boys have stolen my heart.” she stated. “It just makes my heart happy to be around them. They lift me up. I enjoy they’re company; I enjoy they’re honesty. And, I don’t know, I just love being around them.”

One of the many boys at Spring Meadows who captured Sullivan’s heart is Josh.* “He wanted to be a chef – a chef!” Wanda exclaimed. “And this kid, every month we would go, it would be like, ‘Miss Wanda, I have a new recipe for you.’ We were talking about hot chocolate. ‘Put some peppermint in that hot chocolate.’ And every time I do that now, I think about (Josh).”
For Sullivan, these monthly birthday parties are truly a mission given to her by God alone. “My prayer is that whatever God wants to do with Pleasant Grove in this ministry – if it’s to do the birthday party once a month until He calls us home, or in another way – then I want Him to lead this ministry,” she explained. “I thank Him for giving it to me, but I don’t own it.”

And all of us at Sunrise thank you, Wanda Sullivan, along with your church group and everyone at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville for consistently and genuinely caring for the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. You are helping our kids know they are valued, much more than a two-dollar bill.

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Foster Care Foster to Adopt Our Agency Residential Treatment Solid Rock Childrens Ranch

Sunrise Adoption Partnership T-Shirt

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Residential Treatment

Andy Discovers a Bright Future at Cumberland Adventure Program

On August 4, 2020 Andy* was placed at Sunrise’s Cumberland Adventure Program (CAP) in Bronston for beyond-control behavior that made it impossible for his mother to keep him safe. From the day he arrived until just a few months before he left, he literally shook from head to toe with anxiety, daily.

The staff at CAP dealt with the usual beginning issues: Andy was angry that he was not at home; he resented being away from family and friends; and he was having issues adjusting to the program. With time, he began to acclimate to the program and build relationships with peers and staff. Thus, his transformation began.

Andy worked very hard in individual and family therapy to build a more positive relationship with his mother and brother and replace negative thoughts and behaviors with positive, more appropriate responses.

On June 8 of this year, a young man with a very different mindset discharged and went back home to his mother and brother. “Yes sir,” and, “No, ma’am,” were now his normal responses when asked to do something. He had learned consideration for what was best for the other boys living in the Sunrise cabin as a whole rather than just what was best for him personally. Andy now has a stronger belief in himself that will help him when others try to control his thinking and actions. These positive thoughts and behaviors have become second nature to him.

Susan Hicks, Andy’s therapist at CAP, received a call from Andy’s mom a few weeks ago. She cried as she thanked Hicks and the other staff members for returning the son she once knew back to her. Hicks thanked her but explained that all the hard work and positive choices were done by her son, and Sunrise only provided him with skills that Andy chose to utilize to bring about those positive changes. Some days in the cabin are hard, but this particular day went a little bit easier for the staff at CAP because they knew our program had helped this young man return to the home and bright future he so rightly deserves.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.

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Foster Care Residential Treatment

First-Time Mom Finding Success in Independent Living Program

After completing her second year of Sunrise’s independent living program and continuing her education at Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) – Danville Campus, Sara* has completed three housing applications for programs to assist with living upon her transition from independent living later this year. She has developed an online crafting business to aid in her income throughout the pandemic when she was working reduced hours at her place of employment.

Sara has actively participated in Kentucky’s Health Access Nurturing Developing Services, also known as HANDS, and Haven Care Pregnancy Resource Center since giving birth in 2019. She plans on continuing her education at BCTC in the summer of 2021 and graduating with an Associate’s degree. Sara successfully navigates being a first-time mom to a healthy 18-month-old girl, while going to school and working as a young mother.

Sara is on her own path to success after overcoming obstacles during her first years of independent living and previous years in foster care.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.

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Foster Care Foster to Adopt Residential Treatment

Madison Finds her Forever Family Through Sunrise

At the age of five, Madison* and her three sisters were living with a mother who deeply loved them, but was not able, because of her own drug and mental health issues, to take care of the children.

So social services stepped in and removed all four children, placing them in foster care. After Madison had turned six years old, she was placed back with her mother, along with her sisters. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the movement from home to home.

When Madison was 10 years old, she was placed in a loving Sunrise foster home for a time due to the poor living conditions in her mother’s home, coupled with Madison’s continued deterioration of performance and behavior in school. Back and forth she moved from foster care, to mom, to foster care – but now it was with the same Sunrise home each time.

Even when Madison went home, her foster parents befriended her mother, helping to buy clothes and shoes and food. But by the time Madison was 12, she came to live with her foster parents and would never go home to live with her mother again.

Four years later, Madison is approaching her 16th birthday. Her foster parents have recently become her adopted parents, and Madison is doing better than ever. Her grades have improved at school. Her behavior is also improving at home and school with each passing month, and Madison is in the process of expanding her skill set by getting a job in her local community.

While Madison misses her mother and sisters, she is very grateful that her new parents have loved her unconditionally for the last six years, and will be her forever family for the rest of her life. Madison is truly blessed, and so are her parents! Another Sunrise adoption. Another life changed!

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.

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Foster Care Foster to Adopt Our Agency Residential Treatment

Commitment to Kentucky’s Children Remains Sunrise’s Priority

Sunrise values the partnership we have had with the Commonwealth of Kentucky for more than 40 years. Our goal is to ensure that Kentucky’s most vulnerable children receive the vital services and care they need, whether through Sunrise or through other agencies. We are still committed to working with the current administration in changing the lives of kids for the better.

 

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Foster Care Our Agency Residential Treatment

Changing Lives in a Changing World

The year 2020 was not at all what any of us thought it would be. But the uncertainty, heartache, and fear that many of us experienced during the past year are frankly what our Sunrise boys and girls have been facing most of their lives. Thanks be to God, and because of your generosity, not even COVID-19 could stop us from helping families mend their brokenness and find a path to hope and healing.
We took care of children every day. Some of our children developed COVID-19. For them we never stopped providing care, and they all pulled through. We are still here, doing the important work.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, Sunrise had much to be thankful for in 2020. During the year, we celebrated 59 adoptions. Since the beginning of our foster-to-adopt program in 2006, our total adoptions are now 582! Thank you for your part in bringing families together.

Your generous giving has also helped our kids find their eternal homes. During our last fiscal year, our ministry reported 3 rededications, 19 baptisms, and 27 professions of faith. God is doing miraculous things in the lives of our kids, in the hearts of our families, and through your faithful giving.

Have you ever thought that the children we are serving here at Sunrise are not here by coincidence? Could it be that the children we serve everyday have been placed here by God to be part of a more positive world? Let’s empower all of them to grow up to embrace that world we are handing over to them. Let’s empower them to be more confident, to be successful, to embrace the challenge of the day.
Through your support and prayers, we can be the ministry that prepares them to be change agents for a better society, to become good moms and dads, to become involved in their communities and to understand something bigger than them is driving this big ole ship. That something is a God that truly loves them.

Let’s inspire them all to heights they never could have imagined. So please pray for our country and leaders, and pray that Sunrise might have the wisdom to lead children in a way that enables them to embrace all that we hand over to them.

None of us know what 2021 will bring, but we believe that He has blessed this ministry in the past, He will continue to do so through 2021. Yes, the pandemic has brought countless challenges, but we have found a way, through God’s leading and your help, to continue providing care to our most vulnerable. Thank you for joining us on this incredible journey!

Because of you, the love of Christ has been shared with the broken hearted, and children and families have been given a fresh start. Your compassion is greatly appreciated this year and always. Your prayers and support will help us continue to change the lives of children and families in a constantly changing world.

With great hope,

Dale Suttles
President

 

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Residential Treatment

Family First Prevention Services Act Brings Changes to Sunrise Children’s Services’ Residential Programs

Elizabethtown, KY – On Friday, February 12, boys living at Crossroads Treatment Center in Elizabethtown were moved to the Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. Both facilities are therapeutic residential programs owned by Sunrise Children’s Services.

“The federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) has brought about a great many changes in the world of child welfare,” explained Sunrise President Dale Suttles. “One of those changes is fewer children are placed in congregate care, and as a result, the Kentucky Cabinet for health and family services has instructed providers to reduce the number of beds they make available.”

Because of this, Sunrise made the decision to close its boys’ residential treatment facility in Elizabethtown and move the boys to its newer and more functional Spring Meadows facility. Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center, a residential program for girls in Elizabethtown, will remain open.

“The Crossroads program has often had a waiting list of children in need of its service.  However, the facility itself could only house up to 14 children,” said Suttles. “With the move to Spring Meadows, Sunrise will be able to accept more referrals for this much-needed service for hurting boys.”

A new use for the Crossroads facility will be evaluated in the months to come.

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Residential Treatment

Former Staffer and Client Find One Another at Woodlawn Center

Sunrise’s Woodlawn Center in Danville is our only Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) in our continuum of specialized care. Therapy and treatment are provided to up to 27 boys, ages six to 18, in three cottages on campus. Many unique and wonderful things occur here every day. Braeden* is just one example.

What brought Braeden to Woodlawn Center PRTF was an incident with his father’s parents. “I overreacted and did some property damage,” said Braeden. “Then I was sent to a psychiatric facility, and then I was sent here.”

When Braeden first walked through the doors of Woodlawn Center, he entered feeling awkward and lacking confidence. “When I first came in, I was an introvert, like, really an introvert. I really didn’t like people. I had no trust with anyone. And I didn’t have confidence in myself,” said Braeden. “But now, I’m able to trust people, and I build relationships with people. And I’m confident that I can do the right thing.”

Braeden remained at Woodlawn Center almost eight months before finishing the program in August, 2020. Just days before leaving Woodlawn, Braeden wanted to express his appreciation to one special person. “I want to thank Ms. Rebecca, my therapist, because she’s always been here for me,” Braeden said. “She cares about me. And she only wants the best for me. And she’s been pushing me to do the right thing since the beginning.”

On that same day, Braeden was eager to share his feelings about completing the Sunrise program at Woodlawn: “I’m ready now, because I know I can do the right thing. I’ve learned the skills to do the right thing. I want to do the right thing. I want to go to college and make money and have a good life.”

His specific plan is to attend Sullivan University in Louisville and study culinary arts. In fact, he shared his culinary skills with Sunrise team members before leaving. “I cooked today, actually,” stated Braeden. “I made enchiladas for all of the staff; so, it’s like a going-away present.”

But the story doesn’t end here. Along came Steven. Steven is a single parent, currently fostering, and just happens to have worked at Sunrise’s Woodlawn Center about five years ago. Sunrise Treatment Director Rebecca Goines (who is also Braeden’s therapist) shared: “When I found out from Braeden’s social worker that he was going into foster placement, I knew that Steven was a foster parent, and he was fostering teenage boys; and he just told me that he was opening another room in his house. And so, it all kind of just fit together. I felt like Steven knew this level of care, and knew these types of kids, and this would probably work! And of course, he said yes!”

Steven had an instant rapport with Braeden. “Braeden reminds me a lot of myself at a younger age, so, we had a pretty good connection,” said Steven. “I just pray that he takes one day at a time, becomes the man he wants to be, and focuses on the goals he has. He seems to be straight on with what he wants to do; so, I’m just hoping that he can keep that going.”

“Braeden reminds me a lot of myself at a younger age, so, we had a pretty good connection,”

Steven is also confident in the quality of care already provided to Braeden by Woodlawn Center. “They have excellent staff that have worked with the kids a long time and love working with the kids and interacting,” said Steven. “A lot of kids come in here, and they’re not happy with who they are. Braeden said he came in like that, and he’s doing much better, and it looks like he’s ready. And I think that’s what (Woodlawn) provides. It prepares them for the world.”

It looks like Woodlawn has indeed prepared Braeden for the world. And for both Steven and Braeden, it is quite evident that Sunrise’s Woodlawn Center has fully prepared them for each other.

*Name has been changed to protect the identity of the individual.