Not every child grows up in a safe, loving home. For 150 years, Epworth Children & Family Services has specialized in helping kids who suffer from severe problems caused by neglect or physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The agency focuses on protecting at-risk youth from birth to age 25 with a wide range of support services, including emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, education, case management, residential treatment programs and foster family recruitment. The agency reaches more than 7,000 young people and their families each year.
Epworth is dedicated to helping families repair broken lives. “But the challenge has always been, how can we prevent abuse in the first place?” asks Epworth CEO Kevin Drollinger. Seeking an answer to that question, the agency merged with Family Support Network in 2012. “The merger enables us to address the causes of abuse, instead of merely dealing with the symptoms,” he explains. “What we’re trying to do is break the cycle of abuse by building proven protective factors into the family structure.”
Epworth’s Family Support Network offers free, in-home counseling to improve family communication and relationships. “The program helps parents develop resources and strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under pressure,” Drollinger says. The program’s trained therapists teach parenting skills, positive discipline techniques, and stress and anger management skills. “We also show parents how to build and maintain community resources that can help relieve some of the pressure they’re under.”
The approach is effective. “Evidence shows this type of intervention correlates with reduced incidence of child abuse and neglect—in fact, 99 percent of parents in the program remain free of abusive behavior,” Drollinger says. “We’ve built upon that success by expanding the program to include more therapists and serve more families. By going to the source of the problem, we hope to decrease the need for some of the more intensive services we’ve traditionally provided, such as residential care.”
Anna Gold came to Epworth’s Family Support Network when her son, Adam, was suspended six times in his first semester of middle school. Through in-home therapy, Adam revealed his adult brother had been hitting him and making him feel it was his fault. “The therapist worked with our family and with Adam’s teachers to help him communicate his feelings,” Gold says. “Together, we dealt with the situation. Adam felt heard and understood. His meltdowns decreased significantly, and he tested into the school’s gifted program by the end of the year.”
Funding these services requires community support. The annual Wine Dinner & Auction, a major fundraiser, takes place Nov. 15 at The Ritz-Carlton. Presenting sponsor is Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company. “It’s a fun way for grape enthusiasts to taste something new and bid on rare wines,” explains Deborah Lemoine, who co-chairs the event with her husband, Bryan. “And it’s for a wonderful cause. Epworth helps families build brighter futures so they can function successfully in our community.”
[The annual Wine Dinner & Auction, benefiting Epworth Children & Family Services, takes place Nov. 15 at The Ritz-Carlton. Tickets are $300 per person; tables start at $3,000. The event offers two options for wine enthusiasts: Table captains can bring wines from their own collections for everyone at their table to enjoy during dinner, or The Wine Merchant’s Jason Main will select and pair wines for the table.]
Pictured: Jason Main, Scott Anderson, Deborah Lemoine, Sherri Bockhorst, Kevin Drollinger and Jennifer Whitlow
Photo: Tim Parker Photography