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Adolescent Couseling Services announces 25-year Anniversary celebration for Caravan House group home
"Spring Sounds" June 1st Carnival Provides Family Fun in Bowden Park
Palo Alto, California — May 7, 2003 — Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), a community-based nonprofit agency dedicated to the healthy social and emotional development of teens, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the founding of Caravan House on Sunday, June 1. The agency will hold a family carnival, “Spring Sounds in the Park,” from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Bowden Park at the corner of California Avenue and Alma Street in Palo Alto.
Caravan House is a long-term residential group home serving girls between the age of 12 and 18. Located on the same quiet street near downtown Palo Alto where it was founded in 1977, the six-bed home provides shelter, around-the-clock therapy and independent living skills training for girls who have been removed from their families due to abuse or neglect.
“Locally there are short-term shelters for teen runaways and group homes where teens can live for up to six weeks,” said Susan Barkhurst, executive director of ACS. “But what about the teens that can’t go home because mental illness or severe drug or alcohol abuse prevent their parents from providing for even the most basic needs? Many girls suffer from emotional and behavioral disorders so severe that they’re bounced from one foster placement to another. These young women require very special care. For 25 years, Caravan House has given them a safe, nurturing environment in which to blossom.”
Since it opened its doors 25 years ago, more than 250 girls have called Caravan House their home. The average stay is 15 months, during which time the staff at Caravan House works to create a family environment for its residents.
“Just like in any family, our girls go to school, do their homework and have assigned chores,” explained Program Director Laurie Linscheid. “They gradually learn to deal with their problems by talking with their therapist and their Caravan House “sisters,” instead of running away or engaging in other inappropriate behaviors. And just like a normal family, we reward good behavior with extra privileges and fun outings. We go to places teens like to go—the beach, the mall and even a yearly vacation to Disneyland.”
Linscheid described a current resident who had difficulty maintaining placements in foster care for most of her teen years. Along with her behavioral problems, she exhibited self harm and suicidal ideation and suffered from depression. “It hasn’t been easy, but after two years of therapy and loving guidance at Caravan House, this resident has turned her life around. She’s made the honor roll numerous times, has the second highest grade-point average in her class and won a district award for “Student of the Month,” Linscheid said proudly.
About ACS
In addition to Caravan House, Adolescent Counseling Services runs two other programs for at-risk teenagers and their family members: an On-Campus Counseling Program that provides on-site individual, family, and group counseling at no cost to students and their family members at six secondary schools in Palo Alto, and an Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program that provides intensive outpatient treatment to teens struggling with drug and/or alcohol abuse. The agency’s operating budget of $1.3 million is funded by government agencies and through private donations and corporate grants.
ACS administrative offices are located at 4000 Middlefield Road, Suite F-H, Palo Alto, California 94303.
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