C arla Hall is a busy lady. At the beginning of our interview, a child ran to her, crying. She stopped the interview and comforted him until he was all better— it was very sweet to see. She knows it’s all about the children. She also supervises all childcare activities, enrollment, parenting classes, and safety. She runs the family and children’s services department, makes sure they are always in compliance with all state and federal regulations, leads the staff for therapeutic services, and offers individual behavior and health treatment. “Just like the moms get treatment, the children get treatment. We support them through their trauma or any issues they may have.” But perhaps most importantly, she helps mothers reunite with their children. Carla explains that when parents are beginning their Mary Hall Freedom Village (MHFV) addiction program, recovery doesn’t happen overnight. “We want to make sure the mom is ready for reunification. We want them in the parenting classes, which I facilitate. After about forty-five days, we get together with the parent’s counselor, the Department of Family and Children’s Services worker, the parents themselves—there’s a team of us. From there we set up visits, in-house. That way, our staff, Sharita and Tara, are right there if the mom starts to struggle. We are here to monitor and make sure everything happens the way it needs to happen. Because this is scary for the mom, who hasn’t been with her children in a while, and for the children. So, we want to make sure they are in a nurturing, safe environment. The next step is for Sharita to set the parents up to volunteer, giving them time with their children, in a supervised and nurturing environment, to begin the reunification process, one step at a time, safely and with love. Children learn better when they are back with their mom.”
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FAMILIES BACK on Track
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