Child Crisis Center of El Paso

Description

The Child Crisis Center of El Paso was established in 1973 by El Pasoans George and Mary Russell, whose infant grandson was critically injured as a result of child abuse by their parents. With a donated house and a handful of volunteers, the Center opened its doors in 1980 to offer emergency shelter services to eight children from infancy to 10 years of age. After 27 years, the shelter expanded and houses a total of 31 children whose ages range from infancy through 13 years of age. The Center remains the only children's emergency shelter and crisis nursery for West Texas. Furthermore, the Center works closely with the local Homeless Coalition, and different social service agencies to enhance outreach services by referring clients and their families to access additional support to alleviate their immediate crisis situation.

Families with children are also offered holistic services that include home visitation services, family visitation and exchanges services, case management services, No Kidding: Straight Talk for Teens, and the Abuelos con Cariño program. The Amor de Niños program is set up to offer untraditional parents and teen parents with parent education classes via our home visitation program where parents learn about early childhood development, and coping mechanisms to manage discipline issues. The Family Visitation and Exchange Program allow divorcing parents to safely exchange and visit with their children in a neutral and protective environment. The case management services offer our families access to community social services for immediate assistance with food stamps, referrals, Medicaid, and additional shelter support services. No Kidding Straight talk for Teens educates high school students about the realities of becoming teen parents through presentations offered by out of school teen parents. Lastly, the Abuelos con Cariño program provides educational and social support to grandparents caring for grandchildren.