Empowerment Program

The primary objective of the Empowerment Program (ep)is to ensure the work of CAFETY volunteers comes from a position of empowerment. For many formerly institutionalized persons, whether placed in a therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center, having safe space to turn to discuss the trauma, challenge internalized stigma and dispel the myths promoting coercive and degrading "treatment" is an important first step in the recovery process. This process might include group sharing, peer support, mental health treatment or sharing with parents their concerns surrounding residential placement.

Empowering Volunteer Educators and Advocates

Our goal is to empower young adults who have had direct experience in residential care by bringing together existing, loose survivor networks and supporting chapter development through our educational programs. Our educational program will provide necessary material resources and technical assistance in strategic advocacy efforts.  CAFETY-National works at the national level and is also the guiding arm to our chapters in community education, coalition building, and systemic advocacy work.

CAFETY produces materials and provides leadership development and skillbuilding trainings/workshops for our volunteer.

Healing

Mental Health Professionals

CAFETY is currently compiling a list of national network of trauma-informed mental health professionals who are willing to commit at least 1 hour per week at low or no cost to our members.  To become a volunteer you must be familiar with this issue and recognize the value of self-determination as part of the therapeutic process.  Please complete our volunteer form AND contact us should you be interested in donating your time.

Community Building

Peer Support

CAFETY currently has a developed collective of over 400 residential program alumni nationwide who have volunteered to offer peer support and/or share their experience with families considering placement within specific programs.  Please contact us should you be an alumnus seeking to connect with others in your community.

CAFETY produces materials and provide trainings/workshops for our peer support volunteers.

Website

Advocacy Program

"Care, NOT Coercion" Campaign

We provide vounteer educators and advocates with opportunities and resources necessary to launch effective targeted education and strategic advocacy campaigns challenging the stigmazing and harmful use of inappropriate and unnecessary institutionalization of youth. 

Chapters

We provide leadership development, legal, technical, research and policy assistance to CAFETY Chapters and other grassroots community groups engaged in a wide range of community development efforts nationwide. Our work is informed by the belief that real and lasting change is rooted in the empowerment of grassroots, community institutions.

CAFETY Chapter leaders will be provided with opportunities for leadership development and advocacy opportunities both in their own community and on a national platform. Advocacy opportunities include: academic conferences, family support conferences, youth councils, forums for the purpose of receiving public comment on proposed regulations, workshops, legislative hearings, and presentations at public venues.

Legislation

In the absence of legal protections at the state and federal level, CAFETY engages in a small amount of direct and grassroots lobbying in support of legislative solutions.

Media Relations and Public Speaking Volunteer Opportunities

CAFETY currently has a developed collective of over 400 residential program alumni nationwide who have volunteered to present at local events and conferences and speak with the press.  Please contact us should you wish to have a CAFETY volunteer speak at your event or if you are a member of the press seeking to speak with alumni from a specific program or a program within a specific state, we will do our best to connect you.

As part of this project, CAFETY collaborates with youth empowerment organizations nationwide. We invite young people who have participated in community based care to share the their experience and highlight the practices that differ from the residential program experience, with a focus on how youth are empowered to be partners in their own care. Our belief is that the stigma of youth with challenges that is caused by institutionalization and the lack of community care are two of the most significant contributing factors to the ongoing choice by parents to send their children away. It is the very existence of these institutions that perpetuates their existence.  Success stories of youth recovering from mental health challenges in their community reduces stigma and dispels the myth that long term (over 90 days) institutionalization is ever appropriate.

Referral Resource and Direct Advocacy

More information coming soon!

Reporting

Working with families, we file formal complaints to private accrediting bodies, trade organizations and government regulators, track responses and issue periodic, and offer state specific recommendations based on our findings. We believe that the presence of state regulation and accreditation of residential programs alone means little and must be measured against the comprehensiveness and capacity of reporting mechanisms and monitoring to adequately respond to the consumers needs and concerns.