HELPERS. Child and Family Guidance Center volunteers Nick Harris (left) and James Earle assemble furniture donated by IKEA for the centerâ??s new childrenâ??s wing, which opens March 16.
Child and Family Guidance Center of Pierce County (CFGCPC) will soon be able to utilize something it’s needed for years - its wing. The $1.3 million, 2,300-square-foot addition will officially open its doors to area children and families March 16 during a dedication ceremony at the facility, 6424 N. 9th St.
CFGCPC has been an important presence in the community since 1895, and over the last century, it has gone to great lengths to reach out to families in need.
“Through this 100 year time period, the focus has been to reach out to families and individuals who struggle with income or have had some abuse issues,” said Clayton Harris, marketing and special events director for CFGCPC. “What we are doing with our children’s wing is we have created an environment where the youngest of victims who have experienced some sort of abuse whether physical, sexual or a witness to violence in their home, they can come in and get counseling.”
The not-for-profit agency’s new wing will house the “Healing Hearts” program, which helps children ages four to 15 get the help they need. Though the center caters to young children much like other centers do, Harris said the CFCGPC is one of the few organizations that provide services to children as young as four.
“The idea and the purpose of these programs and services are to really mend the brokenness that has happened in their lives,” Harris said. “We want to heal their hearts, get them mended up and restored so they can be good citizens and really break some of those deadly cycles.
“There has been a number of programs we have offered in the community (over the years) to help strengthen families,” Harris continued, “but the real focus of the children’s wing is to reach out to the kids who have experienced traumatic things.”
The CFGCPC facility as a whole offers a wide range of services including individual and family therapy, functional family therapy, an “Impact of Divorce on Children” class, a relatives raising children program as well as the Tacoma Learning Center (TLC) program.
CFGCPC, who helps hundreds of children each year, also works in close partnership with Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, which refers children in need of counseling to the center.
“With the wing expansion, we are able to double our capacity to provide services in this area,” Harris noted. “Unfortunately, in our community we are over loaded as it is in our ability to provide these services so (the addition) will have a dramatic impact in being able to help more people in this way.
“The one thing we try to communicate is that although this is not the kind of issue you want to curl up next to a fire and read about, it is really quite exciting because lives are being changed,” he added. “There is a lot of excitement and hope inside the services we provide.”
The Child and Family Guidance Center of Pierce County will host its dedication ceremony from 4:30-6:30 p.m. March 16. For more information, contact Clayton Harris at (253) 565-5823.
