ONE HOPE UNITED OFFERS CRUCIAL CHILD SERVICES
For Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, this series will feature organizations who directly and positively impact the health and wellbeing of young people in our community.
Assisting numerous families and youths throughout the region, One Hope United provides crucial services that promote bright futures.
The nonprofit child welfare agency currently employs a crew of 70, offering various lines of service to youths; from community-based programs, counseling services, crisis services, early learning and childhood development, and residential treatment to youth referred from the Department of Child and Family Services [DCFS].
“At our Centralia complex, youth are referred into our program to address their long, complex trauma history,” said Emily Owen, director of programs for the Centralia residential campus. “They have a therapist on-site that is a Masters-level clinician. They also have a case manager on-site that provides them linkages to the services they need, whether that be substance abuse treatment, setting up family visits, or finding placement opportunities.”
Owen said the youths placed at One Hope United receive frequent, long-lasting treatment for the entirety of their stay.
“One unique part about residential treatment is we get the pleasure of working with a child 24-hours a day for a long period of time. Ideally, we would serve them for up to one year,” Owen explained. “During that time, we are working to address their mental health issues and resolve and work through some of their childhood trauma, but also help them develop coping skills so that when they transition out of here, they are equipped with a whole set of skills they can use to manage their emotions.”
Speaking on common trends seen among clients in recent years, Owen cited human trafficking and high levels of complex trauma.
“We are experiencing much higher rates of human trafficking. We have experienced that in our community, and we have experienced that in our area,” Owen advised. “The population of youth that we serve are very prime targets for individuals involved in trafficking. One thing to remember is that if you see something that doesn’t feel good or look good, make sure you are reporting that.”
Owen said One Hope United serves as an incredibly strong ally to not only its many young clients, but the Centralia community at large.
“It takes a village,” Owen said. “We have 70 people employed here at our Centralia site, so we are a very big employer in the community. We also do a lot of activities in town; we do our shopping in the community; our kids go to the city schools; they go to the churches in the community; and we are really active members [of Centralia].”
Owen said One Hope United is always looking to bring on new team members with a passion for helping our youth.
“We are always looking for really good staff members,” said Owen. “If there is somebody out there that feels called to help adolescents, we are here.”
One Hope United operates in Illinois and Florida. The agency employs over 700 employees and serves over 10,000 families agency wide.
One Hope United
618-532-4311
1400 E. McCord St., Centralia, IL
