Helping Children Heal Program
Specialist support for children and young people whose lives have been impacted by homelessness and/or violence.
What is the Helping Children Heal Program?
Helping Children Heal is a program that provides specialist support for children and young people whose lives have been impacted by homelessness and/or violence. Family violence can have a lasting impact on children, whether they are directly targeted by the abuse, or whether they witness the abuse of a carer. Growing up with a violent parent is an adverse experience that can impact every aspect of a child’s life growth and development.
Every child has the right to be safe at home. Despite the prevalence of children’s exposure to violence, we know that we can mitigate the impacts and help them heal by providing holistic, targeted and therapeutic support. The Helping Children Heal Program seeks to meet the social, education, emotional and developmental needs of children and young people who have experienced domestic violence and homelessness.
What does Helping Children Heal offer?
TraumaSupport
Through a range of activities, the program builds on the resilience of children by teaching them the skills to process change, loss and grief early on.
EducationandSocialSupport
By facilitating homework tutoring and school holiday activities, we ensure that children maintain a sense of normalcy, connection and fun while addressing their educational and social needs.
TherapeuticandHealthSupport
The program also facilitates access to therapeutic supports, such as health care, psychology, and occupational therapy, to make sure kids are physically healthy while they recover from trauma.
ParentingSupport
Helping Children Heal also supports mothers to reestablish solid footing after crisis with peer support groups, and domestic violence education. Research has shown that the non-abusing parent is often the strongest protective factor in the lives of children who are exposed to domestic violence. We work to reestablish the bond between a mother and her children, so we can help families move forward and heal together.
Express your interest
Families can self-refer for the program, or be referred by the child's school or other support services (with consent).