Children that have experienced neglect and abuse need support services to help them heal. Along with specially trained Treatment Foster Parents, LFSV provides Therapeutic Support Services to help Treatment Foster Youth resume a safe, healthy life. Therapeutic Support Services are also provided youth who are not in the care of Lutheran Family Services, who may come from economic, community, school or family environments which cannot and do not afford them a full measure of attention and opportunities. They may lack positive role models or educational support. Trained, supervised LFSV mentors provide for extensive one-on-one therapeutic interaction to help at-risk youth manage anger, build social skills, increase self-esteem and improve schoolwork.

What often makes the difference between success and failure for a child is the degree to which the child is connected to family and community or is "resilient" and able to overcome the effects of a high-risk environment. Resilience in turn is traced to a child's connection to caring, competent adults. Therapeutic Support Services can help to heal and empower by increasing self-esteem and helping victims reach their full potential. Our goal is to ensure that fewer children are abused, and that those who are recover from the scars of the abuse.

Click HERE to read about Lutheran Family Services of VA's therapeutic mentoring program in Hampton, Virginia. This article originally appeared in the May 2007 issue of The Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

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