The Farmington Transition

In the middle of 2019, PCHAS closed its residential treatment program in St. Francois County, Missouri, and opened the Farmington Service Center. Its goal was to address community needs such as under-employment, a high dropout rate and family instability. Seven evidence-based programs would strengthen families and cultivate self-sufficiency. 

While it was clearly ambitious then, it is also clearly a success now. Employees, clients and members of the community use words like amazing, miraculous and phenomenal to describe the changes PCHAS has made in people’s lives.

“When I first heard that there would be changes in our program, my heart sank a little,” says Joanne Kinzinger, lead therapeutic mentor. “Now a year later I can’t believe how proud I am of the way this organization has evolved, how much more we are doing for the families as a whole and how blessed I am to be a part of it.” In the first quarter of 2020 Therapeutic Mentoring served 30 children in Farmington; in the second quarter enrollment was up to 51, even with social distancing required.

Sue Baird, client support specialist, describes the success there as “nothing short of miraculous! I see Christ working through us to help shoulder the load and provide real help for people going through life's struggles. It makes me proud and humbled to be carrying out this mission.”

One sign of success is the interest in PCHAS’ Child & Family Program, which stabilizes families during a crisis such as poverty, abuse or homelessness. While some clients are referred by Family Treatment Court, many others – 44 families in the Farmington area so far – have sought help on their own. After weeks of intervention, an 11-year-old boy told his specialist, “My family is getting along better and we don’t argue as much.”

Another indication that PCHAS is meeting social needs is the demand for our Community Counseling Program. It began meeting with individuals, families and groups in the summer of 2019. Clinical Director Susan Metzger says that the program established partnerships with many other agencies and was soon inundated with referrals. Since January of 2020, she and her staff have already served 151 clients. She recently hired an additional therapist to keep up with the demand.

The Single Parent Family Program started with a dad, a disabled veteran, who had just left a homeless shelter with his nine-year-old daughter. “We have seen them prosper and grow into themselves,” writes Coordinator Destinee Harris. Ten families have participated. One was a single mom who cried when she learned that each of her three children would have their own bed: They had been sharing an inflatable mattress in a living room. Their new stability allows the mom to hold down a job and maintain her sobriety.

Regional Director Caren Mell has other successes to share from the clients in Transitional Living, Level 3 Residential and Youth Outreach programs. She calls the last year “a whirlwind.” After directing the Residential Treatment Center for more than 10 years, working with traumatized youth, how does she describe being able prevent families from breaking apart? “Amazing.”