Rebuilding Lives
Gateway Family and Child Services offers more than social service programs. It offers help for every aspect of life.
By Blake Tommey
This year, more than 20,000 children and family members in Alabama are putting their lives back together following debt, domestic violence, substance abuse and a host of other problems with the help of Birmingham’s oldest social service agency, Gateway Family and Child Services.
Gateway’s flagship service, the Residential Program, provides therapeutic treatment to adolescents ages 12 to 18 who have been physically or sexually abused and suffer from emotional or behavioral problems. During their stay at Gateway’s Susanna campus on Airport Highway, young people and their families participate in therapy programs designed to address individual needs. Over a period of six months to a year, residents focus on building healthy relationships, learning independent living skills and overcoming emotional obstacles.
Accompanying the Residential Program is the Rushton School, which provides campus residents with levels K to 12 academics, teaches them behavioral management skills and prepares them to return to public school and their community.
Gateway Executive Director Jim Loop says that serving children and their families requires a comprehensive philosophy that is fundamental to Gateway’s mission.
“Even in 1891 when Gateway began, there was a perception of a holistic approach to providing services,” Loop says. “You can’t just take a kid from his or her home, treat that kid in a facility, send him or her back home and expect everything to be great. It just won’t happen.”
In addition to the Residential Program, Gateway’s Community Connections program focuses on the prevention of tobacco consumption, substance abuse and domestic violence by reaching out to the children of Jefferson County about conflict resolution, building trust, the importance of education and the dangers of smoking.
“It’s all targeted at keeping people out of the public social service arena,” Loop says. “The idea is to get them on the front end before they enter the system, and work with these kids to keep them in their home, where they need to be.”
Among Gateway’s 15 total programs, Consumer Credit Counseling helps families get out from under debt and learn to manage their finances. Mental health services provide counseling to those struggling with bipolar disorder, behavioral issues, depression and other mental problems. And therapeutic foster care is available for children who have been removed from their own homes in order to resolve behavioral issues.
However, Gateway’s 215 employees are not the only residents reaching out to Birmingham children and their families. In fact, Gateway thrives on community partnerships through which corporations and organizations provide vital resources to Gateway programs. As of February, the Tutwiler Hotel is providing bed linens, pillows, kitchen utensils and other household goods to children in Gateway’s independent living program. In addition, Two Men and a Truck owner Richard McBee arranged for his employees to move the children into their independent residence at no cost.
Gateway’s other community partners include Coca-Cola, the Air National Guard, HealthSouth—and the list goes on. Loop says it’s about tapping into a desire to help others in the community and ensure kids are in the best environment possible.
“We are focused on strengthening, enriching and preserving children and their families in any way we can,” Loop says. “If we’ve done that, we’re meeting our objectives and our mission.” Learn more at gway.org.
