FOR THE REFUGE

Programs

1. Housing and feeding children who otherwise would be living in extreme poverty, abandonment, and malnutrition. We provided a safe environment with necessities (power, water, gas) to enable all the spaces in the home to be habitable. We cared for between 5 and 20 children (it varied because they were reunified with family members or the department of the government that oversaw the care of at-risk children moved them to another location. We housed volunteers as well to make sure the children received the appropriate amount of care needed by children who had experienced multiple traumas. We made sure the kitchen was always stocked with nutritious food/snack since food insecurity is an instance of trauma when it creates fear in a child that there won't be enough and they exist in a state of continual hunger, as many of our children had done previous to being placed with us. We made sure their were sufficient personal hygiene supplies, cleaning supplies, and equipment to sufficiently care for the amount of children and volunteers we had residing in the house (5-20 children and 5 -8 volunteers). We also homeschool the children due to the severity of their behavioral issues - they were…

   $32,329 spent
   46% of program spending

2. Studies have concluded that children heal from trauma and excel in moving forward best when they are in a home. Since they have been removed from their families and put with us, one of the best thing we can do is make our home one that looks and feels more homelike as opposed to an institution. We have pajama parties, we eat out together as a family (this also teaches the children how to interact in society), we put kids into classes and workshop...dog training, rotc, etc. We have pets to take care of, subscriptions to online services for games and learning. We have cute bedding and toys and furniture. Everything that you would find in a "regular" family we bring to the kids so that they feel as if they are, in fact, in a home and not just in a shelter until they move to the next one.

   $12,846 spent
   18% of program spending

3. Mental health for children/volunteers who suffered multiple compound/complex traumas. In dealing with children who have experienced severe traumas, the volunteers can become victims of secondary trauma by dealing with the disciplinary issues and behavioral concerns that can arise in the children. Therapy for volunteers was a requirement we put in place to ensure that the children were constantly receiving the highest level of care from competent individuals. We had continual training in trauma-informed care due to the fact that it is possible to re-traumatize a child if one isn't aware of how to deal with them during high-stress situations. All of our children received therapy weekly, some of them multiple times per week. We also had group therapy for the children and the volunteers for specific situations

   $9,448 spent
   14% of program spending

4. Other program services. This is to administer all of the other programs. Office supplies, lawyer and accounting fees, licensing and business fees, volunteers expenses, advertising, etc., the cost of running the house.

   $15,129 spent
   22% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2022 Form 990-EZ. Program spending in total: $69,752.