Retreat will provide healing support for trauma and sexual assault survivors
Realities For Children has purchased four acres of land adjacent to its Homebase Campus, 308 E. County Road 30 in Fort Collins, with plans to create a peaceful place for children to begin healing from abuse.
“A donor made it possible for us to acquire a beautiful piece of land that will allow us to build the Healing Sanctuary so desperately needed,” said Craig Secher, Executive Director of Realities For Children. “The Realities For Children Healing Sanctuary will provide a world-class model of healing support for trauma and sexual assault survivors.”
One of Realities For Children’s primary roles is to identify changing needs and provide vital support. During the pandemic, the organization saw an unprecedented need for emergency services as requests skyrocketed, from nine children daily before the pandemic to 15 children daily, a 67 percent increase.
The dramatic increase in sexual assault against minors, a lack of support for ongoing care, and poor mental health resources for survivors “has led to the perfect storm of self-harm, depression, anxiety, and suicide,” laments Secher. “To address these serious mental health issues – and associated life-threatening impacts – our children need a healing sanctuary.”
The vision of Realities For Children Healing Sanctuary is to provide a multifunctional resource that connects trauma survivors with the healing power of nature, while also offering numerous programs in a safe and welcoming setting.
The bucolic compound, scheduled to open in 2025, will offer:
- The Inspiration Center
- Sexual Assault Healing Center
- Interactive Therapy Gardens
- Therapy Farm
- Wraparound Support
“Our children need and deserve a healing sanctuary” concludes Secher.
About the Healing Sanctuary:
- Video and website: https://www.realitiesforchildren.com/healing-sanctuary/
- Estimated cost: $6M ($3M raised to date)
- Planned opening: 2025
- SPD Architecture
- Michael McBride Landscape Architecture
The Criminal Investigations Division of the Fort Collins Police Department
- Cases of sexual assault on a child were up 26% in the past two years
- Since 2019, cases of child exploitation have increased over four times
- 17% of all criminal investigations in Fort Collins Involve Children
The State of Colorado Annual Report found
- That 24% of all violent crimes now involve sexual assault
- The rate of sexual assault is four times higher against juveniles than against adults
RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) finds the mental health impacts are DEVASTATING:
- 33% of sexual assault survivors contemplate suicide
- Sexual assault survivors are 10 times more likely to become drug dependent
- 38% of sexual assault survivors struggle to function in work or school
About Realities For Children
- Founded in 1995
- Provides support for abused, neglected, or at-risk children in Northern Colorado
- Provided 5,094 children with emergency funding in 2022
- Served 5,240 children and guardians with youth activities and facilities space
- Represents over 260 business members and 40 partner agencies
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- Blue Federal Credit Union is Pathways To Possibilities Sponsor
