When Home Doesn’t Feel Safe w/ Marie Brown & Kimber Decker

What happens when “home” doesn’t feel like home?

In this episode of Wedgwood’s Coffee Break Conversation, host Hillary talks with Marie Brown, Supervisor of Wedgwood’s Human Trafficking residential treatment home, and Kimber Decker, clinical facilitator in Wedgwood’s Intensive Outpatient Program.

They unpack how instability, trauma, and unsafe environments affect a child’s sense of safety and identity—and how consistent care, healthy boundaries, and supportive relationships can begin rebuilding belonging.

Drawing from decades of combined experience, Marie and Kimber share powerful stories that highlight the impact of trust, autonomy, and connection in healing.

Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, mentor, or someone who simply cares about kids, this conversation offers practical insight and hopeful reminders that nurturing, “home-like” spaces can be created in small, meaningful ways.

LINKS & INFO:

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Transcript

Hillary Kirkendall: 0:12

It's a great day when I get to chat with Marie brown or Kimber Decker, and lucky for you, they are both here for our coffee break today. Thank you both so much for taking the time. Thank you for inviting us. So I will let you both Introduce yourselves a little bit. Okay, well, I am Marie Brown, and I am the supervisor for kakos Manasseh program. I have been working here at Wedgwood's Since 1986 so almost 40 years. Wow. I obviously enjoy what I do, or I wouldn't be here, right? So I just feel blessed to be working in an environment like this. It's wonderful. My name is Kimber Decker, and I work at Balma counseling. My primary responsibility is working with adolescents that have substance use disorders, and I'm the Clinical facilitator for the

Unknown: 1:01

IOP program that is out of Eckert,

Hillary: 1:04

wonderful. I'm so glad that you both are part of the Wedgwood's team and here with me today. So when this episode comes out, we will be in the midst of the holiday season. You can tell we are all wearing our festive red. Something that we hear and see and is emphasized quite a bit around the holidays is home and family, and that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to many of us, home can mean safety, stability, comfort, peace. But to others, and I assume you both see a fair amount of this in your work, home means the exact opposite, and home doesn't feel like home at all, absolutely. So you each work in different programs here at Wedgwood, and they're kind of on different ends of our continuum of care, but you both work with kids and families who might be dealing with this challenge of home not feeling like home. So how does the idea of home come up in your work?

Marie Brown: 1:58

For us, home comes up in our work where the kids constantly are talking about it, saying that they you know, this is not my house. I don't know why you guys want me to do these things. Why do I have to be here those kind of things? I think that's how it comes up for us. And so we spend a lot of time when they first come in, even the first day, trying to make it feel as homey as possible, including the decorating. We spend time making sure that there's you know colors in the home, making sure that there's you know curtains so that they can see that the showers are are clean, so that they have a bedroom where it's just theirs, and so trying to do as much as we can to make it feel like them, they're they're at home no matter what they're doing. So that's kind of what we work on with our kids there.

Kimber: 2:48

And in the work that I do, I see something a little bit different, because they're actually talking about their actual homes that they are in with their caregivers, their parents, guardians and their siblings or whoever. And a lot of the things that I deal with are just hearing about the situations that make it thoroughly unsafe for them. They don't have the kids that I deal with and the clients that I see don't have a great sense of stability around a place that should be a very stable environment for them, and for many of them, that's why, that's one of the reasons why they start using substances.

Hillary: 3:30

So when a home doesn't feel like home, it's not safe or accepting. What long term impacts can that have on a person?

Unknown: 3:41

I what I have seen in my practice. And unlike Marie, who has been here for a number of years, I only came to Wedgwood this last October and but before that, I have done, you know, private practice counseling. I've worked in school systems giving aid to I guess all ages. Now that I stop and think about it, throughout the grade spectrum, I it carries on. You can see in these little kids that come in, even in kindergarten and first grade, that they're just they're they're so dysregulated, they're so lost, they have a really hard time with attachment and you know, and that carries on through and if you don't have the correct interventions early on, that is actually going to continue on into adulthood. And it's a generational issue that we just see over and over and over again, and we get to experience a little bit of both. I mean, sometimes they they detach, and sometimes they attach too much because they don't know boundaries. They they don't they, they feel like, if I do this, you'll do that for me to make me feel better. And sometimes it's showing them what boundaries are. All About, showing. Them. You know how you can still get love and attention without doing something for someone else, because of the type of kids that we get that have been either at risk for trafficking or actually been trafficked, they don't know that people can love them for who they are no matter what, so they spend a lot of time trying hard to make sure that that connection happens, and that can be difficult, too. So yeah, the the one thing that I think is something that I see a lot, and I describe it this way, that these kids that we work with, and even their even their parents or the Guardian, they're in survival mode. Yeah, they are just struggling to make it. And survival mode is a real thing. And you know, the brain is an amazing thing, and it can be our friend, but it also can be our enemy, because it can just set into motion these survival behaviors that are so hard placed it's really hard to intervene and and to create for people a real, true, safe environment for them. You know, that's one of the things that we always try to do in the work that we do in therapy. You know, I had great advice when I first started counseling. It came from a school psychologist, and I was seeing little kids in a rural district north of here, very high risk, you know, population. And he had just said to me, I came to him, and I was a new counselor, and I said, I'm not doing any type of therapy with these kids at all. I don't have enough time, you know. I have I have 30 minutes. What can I do in 30 minutes? And he looked at me, and he gave me some advice that I have always remembered, and I take it into every session or any group, or, you know, even a conversation with people. The time that you spend with those kids is going to be, for most of them, the safest, most secure time that they'll have in their week, and that's a gift. Yeah, they don't understand when they're not safe, though they, you know, I think they don't even understand when things are happening to them. I one young lady who said to me one time, I trafficked myself, and it's like, why is she thinking that she I needed to get money for food. I needed to be able to take care of myself. My mom wasn't giving me money. I didn't have food at home, so no one made me do it. I trafficked myself. Well, of course, you can't traffic yourself. Adults have to know what's best for you, and when that situation happens, someone needed to just give her money for food, not take advantage of her while doing so?

Hillary: 7:44

Yeah, so it sounds, it sounds like to me and all of the things you're describing, that when home isn't a safer accepting place, you kind of develop these maladaptive or unhealthy strategies, and then that's what you think is normal moving forward, which is kind of what I think both of you are helping kids to to learn or unlearn and then relearn what is healthy and normal in a home. Absolutely. Does it go away when a person moves out or moves on from an unsafe home or unhealthy environment?

Unknown: 8:19

Does it go away. I don't think it goes away. What our job is to do is to help them gain coping skills so that they if those things come around again, they have a way of being able to cope. I think you always remember the tragedies that you have happened to you in the trauma is how you deal with it is what we focus on with our girls in order to be able to be successful. I mean, sometimes things so simple as a green Buick pass by and they are traumatized by that, because that was part of what happened when they were traumatized, was they they always got picked up in that type of car. So it doesn't go away. It just gets put in another part of your brain, and then it's able to stay there until you have something trigger it, and then it goes from there. So I totally agree, I think, with the kids that are using substances, you know, one of the things that that we emphasize is that you know the reality of what it's like to use a substance is always going to stay with you, but you can, you know, as Marie said, you can develop those skills and the abilities to, Basically, you know, manage the urge or the craving. And in that sense, I appreciate what you said, Hilary, about you know, a person's norm being, you know, not healthy, you know. And that's you know. And I try to use the distinction not good or bad. I use healthy and unhealthy. And so. So unhealthy is doing what you're doing with this substance. But what can cause you to become healthy around that substance is understanding what it's doing to you and creating, you know, this reality for you. But let's come over here and work at creating a new norm, you know, a new level of understanding, a new level of being able to, you know, just kind of look at the situation you're in, and as Marie says, just use those coping skills to, you know, just stay sober and keep away from relapse.

Hillary: 10:39

So how do you help someone young or old begin to rebuild this sense of home inside themselves when their actual home isn't safe or supportive?

Unknown: 10:56

I'm sitting here and I'm thinking because that is that it's just an extremely powerful question in itself, but what I go back to is, what is it that we need to feel that safety and that security I want to be I want to be accepted just for who I am. Yeah, right, and, and that means that I need somebody in my life to accept me with all of the flaws and all the things that are going on without judgment, yeah, you know, and, and so I want to be accepted, and then I take that a step further. And this is what I try to teach the people that I work with, whether they're kids or adults or whoever you know being being accepted just as you are is, is the foundation, but then actually also understanding that you can belong, you know, you can be long as a human being to another human being in a safe relationship, and maybe in that moment in that person's life, I am that person as their therapist or that counselor in that safe space of that counseling room. But for those moments, as I said a little bit ago, I can create a safe place where that person can feel that sense of belonging, and hopefully that will ignite something within them that gives them a sense of hope that this can be different. And I think the other thing is, is that, you know, a lot of the a lot of the people that I work with, just they, they don't, they don't necessarily express it, but they feel so broken and so unworthy, right? And so creating an opportunity for them to be able to contribute. And you know, so it's acceptance, it's belonging, it's contributing to to something that's new, something that's healthy, something that will help them move away from just survival to flourishing. And you know, and I and I think the other thing that I try to stress at least in the long run, is getting them to be able to see a future that has them actually taking what they've learned and then sharing it with others and contributing to their lives in positive ways. And so that's kind of the direction that I go. Yeah, I often get asked the question of how, what's the hardest part about this job? And a lot of times I talk about building a relationship with the clients that we serve, because they don't trust anyone. When they come in, they don't know us. They don't want to be there. So how do you get them to be invested in their own self? By building that relationship with them and you are trusted until you cannot be trusted, you've done something to show that you can't be trusted. So it's our job as as staff here at Wedgwood's to make sure that the kids learn to trust us, and that way they're willing to invest in their own treatment, because they have learned that we are going to be there for them. We've had kids come in with zero credits, and they're 16 years old, so how do we get them to want to invest in themselves going to school? And the first thing they figure is, I'm not going to make it anyway. Why do you keep pushing me? Well, we keep pushing you because we care. We know that you can do it. We know that you want better for yourself, so we're going to help you do that. And we've gotten some that we've gotten part of the way and say, I'm done. I'm done. I'm not doing it anymore. And we keep working with them and keep pushing them, and keep believing in them, and they graduate. So that is a sign of them being able to see that they can do something for themselves, to better themselves, to carry on with them for the future. So. I think building that relationship with them is the most important way to get some of those things to happen.

Hillary: 15:05

Yeah, and here at Wedgwood's, our residential program literally becomes home for kids for a while. So Marie, can you talk a little bit about how you and your team create an environment that models what a healthy home can and should look like,

Unknown: 15:22

well, when they first come in, we welcome them in. We kind of write their name on the board and, you know, say, Welcome to whatever kids that's coming in. We, as I spoke about earlier, we make sure that they have clean towels and all of the essentials that they need when they first come in, we assign another kid to talk to them during that time, because so they don't feel so alone. We assign what we call goal workers, and they're responsible for making sure that we're focused on their treatment that is set up with the therapist that we have in our program. We give them some sort of information book that we have so that they are able to understand what the program is all about, talk with them about questions that they may have, give them as much control as we can within our program, so that they can feel like we're not taking that away. Even though we're in a locked environment. We don't have a level system in our program, so we feel like that's not something that you would have at home. So we don't have a level system. We have expectations. We expect them to be respectful, we expect them to take care of their chores. We expect them to go to school, do therapy. So when those things are not done, then we have conversations with them. We, you know, there's no you're grounded for 10 days kind of thing. But we, we try to make it seem like it's a homey environment in that way. We cook with them. We when we're doing activities, we do things with them so that they can feel again, like we are part of their lives. So we do as much as we can to take them on outings so that it seems like normal things. Like to the mall, skating, making sure that they, you know, are able to have their own clothes. And if they need clothes, they go with us to pick out clothes that they they need to have. So we try to do things that you would do in a normal household. Yeah, so

Hillary: 17:20

and Kimber, things look a little different for you in our counseling services, you are seeing kids and families outside of their home environment most of the time, like in the office or at a center for group. So how can therapists model or help build healthy sense of home?

Unknown: 17:38

I think one of the most powerful ways is to create the safe environment in the space that you're in, okay? And so, for example, in the IOP group that meets at Eckert, it's a great facility. We have one large room that is just for IOP, AND we allow the participants in the group to basically take ownership, from the standpoint of, you know, how they how they want to decorate it, you know, we how they want to sit, and those types of things. So we try to make it as as friendly as possible within the confines of what we're doing. But then I think the other thing too is that we we talk to them very straightforwardly about the unsafe environments that they come from, and what they could do in order to promote that sense of home within their own home. The reality is, is that many of them say that can't happen, that can't happen, and then they will give you the reasons why. And but what, what we hope is that by talking about it in IOP and an individual counseling or and especially family counseling, if we can actually talk to families about creating safe spaces and, you know, in secure places and healthy spaces, it's just, it could be a matter of just changing one or two small things. Sometimes it's a whole system that needs to change, but, but if we can at least plant some seeds, hopefully, hopefully, someday those seeds will, will will take hold, and you know that generational piece will change for the people that we work with,

Hillary: 19:49

something I think is interesting that you both kind of touched on is that a lot of times when home doesn't feel safe or like home, it's because there are a lot of things happening. Out of their control, right? And the way that you two both talked about making a place feel like home was giving some autonomy and some ownership and a chance to make some decisions in a place where they maybe haven't gotten to do that before, which I think is an interesting thing to think about home, is that home comes when you get to speak into it

Unknown: 20:21

a little bit Absolutely, and that for us sometimes means decorating their room if they want to change something. I mean, just again, the piece of control is so important. If you don't want to attend group that day, you don't have to attend group that day, and there's no punishment behind that there. We definitely have conversations because we want to know why you're feeling the way you're feeling, but we want to know what's going on with you. And so that is different for a lot of kids when they come into care with us, because they've never had anybody to have an interest in them. Like, why are you doing that? It's not why, for most of the time, it is you did. You can't, you won't be able to. And so they want to be able to have some control and hear some yeses sometimes,

Hillary: 21:08

yeah, yeah. I think that comes back to what you were saying, Kimber, about belonging. When you get a chance to speak into something and be a part of the decisions you belong in that environment.

Unknown: 21:19

Absolutely, right, absolutely and that's one of the things. I mean, we just did it yesterday, but we have House meeting with the girls, where we sit down and we tell them the things that we don't have control over, so you can't prop the doors and things like that and and so. But we also talk about, what do you want to do for activities, you know? So they give us, you know, an idea of the things that they want to do. You know, if we can't do this, will we be able to do that? Let me look into that. I'll try to see if that's something we're able to do. If we're not, maybe we can substitute it for something else. Again, back to how can we make them feel like they're empowered? We just started a new round of IOP yesterday, and we have 11 clients loving teenage kids. And, you know, one of the, one of the things that I asked is we provide snacks for them. And I just, I just asked myself, What would you like for snacks? And they said, What do you mean? I said, just what. I said, What would you like for me to get for you for snacks? Oh, we have a choice. Yeah, you have a choice. Cosmic brownies, Little Debbie, cosmic brownies, that is

Hillary: 22:25

an excellent choice.

Unknown: 22:26

First of all, yeah, and, you know, but, but even in just something that small, what is communicating to that, to that person, is that I care enough about you to actually ask, and I want you to be included in my world, hoping that you'll include me in yours

Hillary: 22:47

well care enough to ask and follow through and follow, oh yeah, exactly,

Unknown: 22:51

yeah. And if I don't get the cosmic brownies Hillary, I'm in trouble.

Hillary: 22:55

Yeah. So I'd be with them. Those are

Unknown: 22:58

excellent snack choice, and they look forward to that too, that they look forward to when you make those commitments. And it could be something very simple, even with our girls, if it's I'll take you on a walk in a few minutes, if you you need to really say what those minutes are going to be. If it's five minutes, you need to follow through on that. I just said to a kid, you know, hey, thanks for cleaning out. The shower is really good. I appreciate it. Maybe I have to take a trip with you to read us. And she was like, Really, you're gonna really take me. Miss Marie, you're gonna really take me. I said, Yep, I'll have to make a plan. So I'll let you know today. So it's that kind of stuff that they have not had an opportunity to feel like that makes them safe, and that feels like, you know, home to me, when your parents agree to do something, they generally do it with you.

Hillary: 23:41

So can you share a time when you saw someone at Wedgwood begin to heal or find a new sense of home and belonging, and then how did that change things for them? I'm sure, Marie, you probably have several examples you

Unknown: 23:55

could pull boy, yeah, it's like picking which one, yeah. You know, I talked a little bit about the young lady who didn't have any credits for school, and she has just been one of those that has been on my mind all the time. She didn't I think that the change came in when she thought she could not achieve it. She had been out there and abused and never had any control over anything, and when she was there, she didn't even know what to do with control when we gave it to her, so instead, she acted out. And so we had to work with that. And eventually, when she graduated from high school and her adoptive dad came to see her walk, we were able to get graduation pictures here through Wedgwood for her, and that was exciting for her as well. We we couldn't even figure out, like, where do we shoot at? And Wedgwood's did a good job of finding very nice places on campus, and she thought it was the best thing in the world. And, I mean, we couldn't help but to beam from it. But yeah, you know, she did really well. I happened to see her after she left Wedgwood one time in Myers, and she had a little baby with her. And I said, Oh my gosh, you got a baby. It was probably like a year later. And she said, Yes, but you know, she still remembers the fact that she accomplished graduating, and how proud it made her feel. And we were proud with her that that moment had

Hillary: 25:22

happened. You were able to create an environment where she could try

Unknown: 25:26

exactly and succeed Exactly. And she fought us on that like I said, she quit a couple times on us and said, I'm not I'm not doing this anymore. You guys are pushing too hard. And the unfortunate part throughout that time, she thought she had enough credits because she was told that she had enough. She didn't. She had to do another class before graduation day, we got her to do the other class. She graduated. Such a beautiful story, you know? And it was just, it was really powerful, because she literally had two credits when she came to us, and she was 17, yeah, but the credit recovery was very helpful for her, and Wedgwood put a lot of energy into it, and we had one of our staff two to her on times when it wasn't school. We had, you know, one of the teachers was very good at math, and she would do it on her times that she wasn't supposed to be in the classroom, but yet she came in and she did that. So we she worked harder than we did, I have to say, but we still worked hard to make sure that she was successful. So it was a good feeling. Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm sitting here and I'm thinking that we've had successes with our IOP program, and we've had kids come in, and they have already reached sobriety and early recovery, and so we have those successes. But if you will, I want to go back in my personal history and my family's personal history with Wedgwood, because back in the day when Wedgwood was actually facilitating foster care. My wife and I were foster parents through Wedgwood's Cool. And so for me, this is kind of like coming full circle from that standpoint. But you know, I'm thinking of the kids that that we fostered, and I think that we probably fostered about 10 teens from Wedgwood over the years, and, you know, varying degrees of success, but one in particular that So proud of she was here came into our home, was successful in our home to a degree, and then she decided that she didn't want to be there, and so she went out, and she basically did her own life, you know, her way, you know, and but we always tried To keep in touch with the kids that we fostered and and we would reach out. Every once in a while, we wouldn't hear anything back, and we still continue to reach out and, and then one day, oh, wow, a response, you know. And it went something like, Hi, Mom and Dad, how are you? And, you know, I'm out here, and it's not that great. Can I come and visit? And so she came, as an adult, you know, back to visit. And over the time that you know, she has been back in our lives, I don't think she ever really left our lives, but, but the time she's actively been back in our lives, you know, we've, we've kind of taken that place again as her mom and dad, and we're grandparents to her kids, and consequently she works here.

Hillary: 28:55

Wow, wow. So what a cool, full circle story.

Unknown: 29:00

Yeah, I It's funny. You say that because we were talking when we were sitting over there, and I, too was a foster parent for 18 years at Wedgwood. I mean, all for Wedgwood, and it was, that was probably it started me being, I started being a foster parent because of working at Wedgwood. Wow. And you know, there was so many kids that we played a part in their lives and and most of them I've kept in contact with, but there's a lot of success stories, I mean, too many to tell. But you know you are, it fills your heart to know that you are still a part of their lives, and they want you to be just like your own, you know, biological kids. So I think, you know, I wish we could still be doing

Hillary: 29:44

that. So, yeah, it's a real continuation of the modeling of what a good home environment looks like, absolutely. So kids can take that with them in whatever their next step looks like. That's so beautiful. What great stories you guys have. Um. What advice do you have for our friends listening today on how they can create welcoming, nurturing home like environments for their own families or maybe others in the community?

Unknown: 30:10

Boy, there's so many kids out there now that just need guidance. And I think don't be afraid to to help someone. I think even coming to Wedgwood, doing some volunteering, you may see during that time that you are impacting them in some way and making a difference and showing your own kids and families that this is if you have the ability to do it, then you should do it, because there's too many parents that have been involved in substance use or things that cause kids not to have good home environments, and so they need help. So the best way to do that is just not be afraid to reach out. And starting at one of these places, like Wedgwood, is a good place to do that. Yeah, you know, I think for us, it's in in our home. Our home has a kind of an open door policy, right? And what that means for us is that we were the house that all of the kids hung out at, right and and we would get comments. Our kids would tell us they would get comments from their friends. It's like, wow, both your parents are still together. Wow. I can't believe that your parents are so open to having so many, you know, people in the house. Or, Wow, you know. And we did get the comments of, of, you know, we feel safe here, you know. And so I think, I think just trying to take those types of things that we would do in our home and just kind of share them and say, Hey, maybe, what about this? What about that? You know? And it doesn't have to be big things. It's just, it's just little things that just create, create a welcoming environment, you know, and sometimes maybe taking a risk and inviting that family into your home that might not necessarily be in a position to have a safe home or secure home, but let them come into your home and experience what that is like, and, you know, just Just basically mentoring, yeah, people and, and what it's like to create that kind of environment,

Hillary: 32:44

yeah, yeah, I love that. My parents also did something similar, you know, we were the place where all of my friends hung out. And, I mean, they didn't ever, like, you know, have big conversations with my friends. But, you know, it got to the point where, like, if my friends were stuck somewhere and needed a ride, they could call my parents, because they knew, you know, oh, Hillary's parents will come get them. You know, we hang out there all the time. They know us. So just being a welcoming presence, right, is sometimes just as meaningful as, like, literally opening the doors to your home Absolutely.

Unknown: 33:15

And that's, that's what, what needs to happen in society. I think people are so afraid to do that. I mean, I'm happy to hear that there was more homes that were doing these kind of things, because my home was that home as well. I still interact with some of my kids friends now, because they do things like plow my snow and, you know, things like that. So I think it's, it's a matter of taking a risk, and sometimes you don't always get a risk, where things are going to go positive. I mean, I've had some foster kids that things didn't go well with them, and eventually, you know, they had to move to a different place. But for the most part, most of the kids that I've had were kids who really felt like they were part of the family. If we went, I coached Bowling for 10 years, and if we went on a bowling trip, so did they? You know, they were a part of the bowling league. A lot of times when I did it, if they didn't want to, they still went on the trip with us. So I think, again, making them feel like you care, which is what we try to do, even in the residential homes. We make, try to make them feel like they care. I didn't. I wasn't a hugger when I first started coming to working at Wedgwood, and that's all these kids need, is a hug. And so they have created a new person with me, because they always asking, Can I have a hug? And and so I try to make sure I feel that, fulfill that need for them too, because human touch is so important. So you know, it's just a matter of building that good, solid relationship with them, and it's going to take time having patience to do that.

Hillary: 34:48

It's a good reminder that family and home can be from people outside of your immediate family too, like building that chosen family or your own community. So sometimes it's okay if it's not your. Blood relatives, absolutely, if someone is listening and is feeling a little out of place in their own home right now, what encouragement or truth would you want to offer them?

Unknown: 35:12

I guess the first thing that came to my mind is just reaching out and them reaching out for whatever type of help they need, right? And there are places that they can reach out to Wedgwood's one, right? There are other places, like Wedgwood, where you can reach out. And then once that contact is made, I think just reassuring them that no matter what the circumstance is that they find themselves in, they have great, great value, and just just really being very careful about caring for that value within that person and nurturing that within them, you know, so that they don't feel like they're out in the wilderness, you know. But there are people that will support them and people that will will come around them and create, frankly, just create the home they need. I love that. I really encourage them to find the one person they can trust, even if it's a peer, because eventually that person will find the person that can help you. I think I say that to our staff, I mean our clients all the time. You don't have to talk to me if you don't feel comfortable doing that. But is there another staff or another person you can talk to so that you can get the support and help you need? I think when they internalize it and keep all that in, it creates anger and mistrust and uneasiness that stops them from getting the help that they need. So I would encourage them to reach out to someone that they can can trust.

Hillary: 37:06

Yeah, in the face of all of the brokenness and conflict and instability we see in our work here at Wedgwood and we kind of see in the world, where are you two seeing hope in your work?

Unknown: 37:20

For me, I have been working with girls at Wedgwood, like I said, since 1986 and I was not aware of how much I had been working with girls who have been at risk for being trafficked. So I think the fact that Wedgwood has put into a program like the human trafficking program that we have at Manasseh, that has given me a lot of hope by itself. I We didn't open till 2012 but it took us a while to figure out some of these girls need a little bit more intense trauma therapy than we are giving them. And so with that, I think continuing to learn skills to help them more and more in the trainings that we get, I think that's where I see hope, is that we are learning, you know, things like sanctuary and things that are going to help us to be able to get at the root of what's going on with them. Definitely always want to see more, but I think we're on the right track, just because we have a stable, safe, caring environment for them to be in and allowing them to express where they are. I love them. Yeah, you know the integrated counseling department here at Wedgwood offers so many things, trauma focused, you know, therapy for families and kids, and we have the wraparound program, and we have the individual counseling and and so in my end of that spectrum, it is substance use disorder and adults, yes, but primarily adolescents. And we are, frankly, one of the only, I think, possibly the only organization in the state of Michigan that offers adolescent IOP for Sud issues. And so, you know when, when we, when we look at, when I look at that, you know, it just, it just reminds me that Wedgwood, and this is, I think one of the reasons why I came here and applied here was because I was aware of the commitment that Wedgwood's willing to make, to actually reach people and actually make a difference. Yeah, not just provide a service, but to actually make a difference. And so, you know, we've, like I said a little bit earlier, we've had kids, and we're on our fourth group now of IOP since I've been here in October. And. And this current one has 11, the last one had six. The size of the group varies, but we have had, I'm going to say I think it's a significant number. We've had, I think, six or seven kids that came in using reach sobriety. Wow, that's awesome already, right? And one of the things that Wedgwood's committed to, and one of the things that that the people that supervise me and my program are committed to, is developing systems so that we can have continuity of care for these kids that we're working with. And so when I came on, it was, let's do the IOP. Let's start that, you know, again, and let's bring that to the forefront and see what we can do with that. And next week, we are starting the first session of a once a week support group for these kids who have reached sobriety. So that continuum of care is still there. And so, you know, and that's what we're we're looking at in terms of just, you know, taking the commitment that Wedgwood has to reaching people who need the help, and then actually doing it and making sure that we're supporting it all the way. Yeah, for their success.

Hillary: 41:22

Yeah, I agree. Wedgwood has such a strong commitment to people where they are now, but then their future success too, and that is so encouraging to know that you know they're they're going to be along this journey for a while, because that's how mental health and behavioral health works. It's an ongoing process, but we're committed to being there along the way. Yeah, you were both so incredible. Thank you so much for taking this coffee break with me today. It was really, really

Unknown: 41:48

awesome. Thank you. Thank you inviting us.

Hillary: 41:52

You can partner with Wedgwood to restore safety, stability, acceptance and hope for kids and families every month by becoming a Wedgwood waymaker, learn more about monthly giving and being a way maker on our website, wedgwood.org, stay hopeful, stay helpful, and let's have another coffee break soon. You.