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The strength of the Mid-Atlantic Region is in the sharing of resources among the programs, an approach that better serves youth and young adults in trouble. The basic programming design of Maryland’s Thomas O’Farrell Youth Center spurred the development of the Loudoun County Youth Shelter in Virginia. The shelter provides group and individual counseling; medical and mental health services; on-site educational services; substance assessment; recreation and physical fitness; community service opportunities; and family work. Counselors prepare youth to receive assistance from other community resources, as they move through this transitional period of their lives. The Loudoun County Youth Shelter is operated in a manner consistent with our overall mission to “treat every youth as an individual, affording each a full measure of human dignity and his or her best chance to succeed in life, to the highest level of his or her best abilities.” This commitment includes a goal for each youth of minimizing disruptive episodes such as hospitalizations, youthful offending, absences from school, and lengthy out-of-home placements; and maximizing the use of less restrictive, community-based care which focuses on preventing recidivism and family reunification whenever possible and appropriate.
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VIRGINIA (VA)