In 2009, New Beginnings served over 300 children and teens with advocacy and children's programming in the Community Advocacy Program (CAP), Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing Program (THP), and served over 2,500 adolescents through the Social Change Program's Owning Up groups and prevention workshops.

Kid's Club

Kids’ Club is a special children's support group that is designed to help children who have witnessed domestic violence make sense of and heal from those experiences. 

All of the topics in the group meetins are presented in a developmentally appropriate way and include understanding feelings and fears, safety planning, families, health relationships and conflict resolution.

Kid's Club is held at our Transitional Housing Program and Community Advocacy Program.  While all of the children in the THP group have mothers who have left an abusive relationship, there may be youth in the CAP group whose mother's are still living with their abusive partners.  This makes safety planning night especially important.

Kids’ Club is also available at:

Jewish Family Services Project DVORA (206.461.3240);

in South King County, it is available at:

Domestic Abuse Women’s Network (425.656.4305)

Parenting Group

Parents who have experienced violence in their home have very unique challenges.  New Beginnings uses a parenting group curriculum specifically for parents who have experienced domestic violence.  Topics include the effects of violence on children, safety planning with children, talking to children about violence in the home, understanding children's development, respectful parenting and limit setting with children, what to do if your teen or child is abusive and strengthening your relationship with your child. 

Parenting groups are held at our Transitional Housing Program, Communicty Advocacy Program and Emergency Shelter.  Children's Advocates often use this curriculum when working on a one-on-one basis as well.

CHILL

"CHILL is truly an amazing program. In the short span of six weeks, I watched the New Beginnings kids go from quiet, unsure bunny hill beginners, to laughing, confident, snowboarding shredders, having a ball and zipping around the mountain with new friends. In a word, unforgettable!" 

-Becky Roberts, CHILL Volunteer

Pictured left to right: Becky Roberts, CHILL Volunteer with Transitional Housing Program Children's Advocate Kiana Swearingen.

Each winter youth in New Beginnings’ programs have the opportunity to participate in CHILL, a six week snowboarding program sponsored by the founders of Burton Snowboards. Over the six weeks the youth learn the basics of snowboarding, and each week they focus on themes, or character traits, that are “Pillars of the Program”. The first two weeks they struggle just to stand up on the board. They need to learn how to control their bodies and develop the strength to avoid falling flat on their faces. Appropriately, the first two program pillars are Patience and Persistence, without which they will never move off of the beginner’s hill. As they progress to the medium hill (called Holiday) the Program Pillar is Responsibility. Snowboarding can be a dangerous sport and they need to learn to take responsibility for themselves, their actions and their safety. It takes a lot of Courage, the fourth pillar, to progress to Central, the highest mountain CHILL participants can access. Through the fifth week they learn Respect; of the mountain, of themselves and other CHILL participants. And then finally, as they finish the six week program they can experience the well earned feeling of Pride for their significant accomplishment.

CHILL is an important program that helps youth recognize the strength they have and how through hard work and perseverance they can accomplish great things.

Karate

Kids who grow up in families where there is violence are often left with a feeling of powerlessness.  The weekly karate group helps children regain a sense of personal strength and increase their self-esteem.  The group is run by Laura Doyle, Marcie Sako-Orme and Nancy Goebel, who are all black belts in karate and who volunteer their time to work with youth from our Transitional Housing Program and Emergency Shelter.

Family Fun Night

At our Transitional Housing Program, family fun night is held on the last Friday night of the month.  It is a time for families to come together, eat dinner and participate in a special activity put on by the children's advocates.  Past activities have included movies, bingo, Wii tournaments and crafts.

Teen Empowerment Group

This group provides teens at our Transitional Housing Program a space to talk freely about topics that are relevent to thier lives.  Often a speaker or group facilitator is brought in to discuess what are often very emotionally charged topics.  Past topics have included bullying, drugs and alcohol, expression feelings, fear and nutrition.

Homework Group

Children who live in families where there is violence often have a hard time in school, especially if they have had to leave their homes and move to a shelter.  Youth who participate in New Beginnings' programs often have to switch schools multiple times, which can affect their ability to be successful in school.  Home group allows time for youth at the Emergency Shelter to sit down with a children's advocate and focus solely on school.  This time allows the children's advocates to assess each child's strengths and also identify areas where they might be struggling.

Field Trips

At our Transitional Housing Program, field trips occur on a monthly basis September through May and on a weekly basis June through August.  At the Emergency Shelter, field trips occur every other week.  These field trips allow families to get out of the house, bond and participate in fun activities.  Past field trips have included trips to local beaches and parks, hikes, the aquarium, Woodland Park Zoo, puppet shows, pumpkin patches and farms, the Pacific Science Center and the movies.