St. Anne’s, renowned for its comprehensive social services in the Metro Los Angeles service area, recently hosted an open house for its newest site, St. Anne’s at Crenshaw District. Through a contract with Los Angeles County’s Mental Health and Children and Family Services departments, St. Anne’s at Crenshaw District Wraparound Approach Services program will provide crisis intervention and mental health therapy to at-risk families in South Los Angeles. St. Anne’s president and chief executive officer Tony Walker spoke to local community members and business owners in attendance and shared, “it’s important to St. Anne’s to introduce ourselves and build long-lasting relationships with this community because many of the young women from our residential program are from this area. They often move back to this neighborhood and reunify with their families as they try to rebuild their lives, and we want to provide them with crucial continuity of care to increase their chance at success.”
Correnda Perkins, St. Anne’s division director of community-based programs, also spoke at the event and recounted St. Anne’s success with a story about a family who had “graduated” from the Wraparound Approach Services program:
Parents Peter and Betsy had lost custody of their five children and were in danger of losing them permanently. Referred to the Wraparound program, Peter, Betsy, their children and foster caregiver were assigned a team of four experts: a mental health therapist, child and family specialist, peer parent partner, and a facilitator. Over the course of a year, this team of four worked with the family to rebuild trust, improve communication, manage behaviors and coordinate services from multiple agencies. In just six months, the parents regained custody of their children, and two years later, they are a healthy, thriving family.
Perkins emphasized the importance of the program, “Wraparound can take a family that is on the verge of being shattered and reverse its course. Instead of foster care, the children are now in a healthy family environment with empowered and educated parents.”
Dr. Charles Sophy, medical director for the Department of Children and Family Services and Gregory Lecklitner, district chief of the child welfare division of the Department of Mental Health were also in attendance. Both representatives praised St. Anne’s for its commitment to the most vulnerable children and families in Los Angeles and its stellar record as a service provider. With this expansion, St. Anne’s anticipates doubling the annual total of families served in Wraparound Services. When each family finishes the program, its child welfare case closes, children are set up to thrive in school and at home, and parents have formal and informal community contacts to support their self-sufficiency. These intensive, coordinated services put families on a new path to success.