Childbuilders Use Prevention Centered Strategies
Last year, 66,382 Texas children were confirmed victims of abuse or neglect. Of these, more than 12,000 were in Harris County alone. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year. One out of every 5 students suffers from mental illness in any given year. Sadly, suicide is now the second leading cause of death of persons 15 to 29 years old, and in recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of children between 5 and 11 years old who commit suicide each year.
ChildBuilders aims to address and reverse these tragic statistics by preparing children to protect themselves and each other and empowering parents and teachers to keep their children and communities safe. Founded in 1974, by a group of dedicated child advocates, ChildBuilders is dedicated to improving mental health services for Houston’s area children, the core of ChildBuilders’ work has evolved from expanding treatment options for children with mental illness to preventing the abuse and trauma that contributes to mental illness in today’s youth.
Childbuilders has been serving the Houston community for more than 45 years. Its mission is to promote mental health and prevent abuse by teaching children, parents, and teachers assertiveness skills, emotional control, empathy, resilience, and the ability to resolve conflict nonviolently. We do that through our cost-effective, sustainable model, which trains school personnel, community volunteers, and parents to help Houston’s youth to: (1) identify and avoid unsafe situations; (2) develop empathy and strong decision-making skills; (3) establish and maintain healthy relationships; and (4) prepare for their future role as nurturing parents. During our last fiscal year, we served nearly 44,000 students in the Houston Metropolitan area.
ChildBuilders’ programs teach children, as young as age four, assertiveness skills and the basic concept that every person has the right to be treated with respect. Students learn core values that instill in them the confidence and self-respect to know that each: (1) deserves respect; (2) has the right to be safe;(3) has the power to choose; (4) and will get help when the problem is too big to solve on his or her own. As a result, these children become caring, nurturing individuals who avoid trauma, demonstrate resilience when faced with adversities, make healthy life choices, and become contributing members of their families and communities. Our programs teach children safety, social, and emotional skills that instill assertiveness, resilience, empathy, problem-solving, and emotional control into their lives. ChildBuilders’ prevention-centered strategies are designed to support students and families to reduce and, hopefully, one day eliminate the need for rescue and recovery.
To learn more and support ChildBuilders in this critical work, please join us for an exciting Family Movie Night Fundraiser on Wednesday, June 16th from 6pm to 9pm at Karbach Brewery (2032 Karbach St, Houston, TX 77092). The all-time favorite movie The Sandlot will play, accompanied by delicious food and drinks! Tickets can be purchased at Childbuilders.org.