Hope Lives Here

Change is difficult, and it’s even more difficult for a child who may already experience adverse childhood experiences or trauma.

Children arriving at Palmer Home may experience a heightened state of readiness which goes hand in hand with elevated levels of anxiety and stress that can lead to emotional duress.

Cultivating Restoration & Healing

Our goal is to establish felt safety and to provide a calming, therapeutic environment. Once children can experience a calm state where they can listen, process, and learn, then we can begin working with them on acquiring new life skills they need to establish healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve goals. Within these programs, they will also learn to feel and show empathy, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and learn responsible deci-sion-making skills. The five core objectives are:

Develop and Grow Self Esteem
Encourage Opportunities to be Outdoors
Create and Achieve Manageable Goals
Teach Practical Life Skills
Establish Supportive Relationships
Three Core Values

Restoration & Healing

Children who are dysregulated have a difficult time learning new skills to help regulate their emotional world. Our first priority is to help them feel safe and calm.

Nature as Therapy

Each Palmer Home program strives to provide restorative environments for the children in our care; spaces where they feel safe, connected to nurturing adults, and supported to develop the skills they need in order to thrive at home, in school, and in their community.

Structure

Each child residing on campus is required to participate in one or more support programs by the age of 12. Each child is placed within a program based on an interview process during their initial 30 days on campus which helps identify his or her strengths, interests, and potential areas for growth. Each of these new programs will be supervised and managed by the following campus staff:

Campus Operations Director

Task Identification
Assignment Approval
Ensures Completion of Work

Campus Office Manager

Payroll
Scheduling Assistance
Secondary Support

House
Parents

Support & Scheduling
Task Coordination
Responsibility

Case
Managers

Accountability
Responsibility
Encouragement

Because of you, their future is bright.

From full-time positions to volunteer roles, your service can make a difference for children and families who urgently need help.

Get Involved

Hope Grows Garden Program

Horticultural therapy is a proven method of treatment and an effective tool in increasing one’s social, educational, psychological, and physical well-being. It can also have a positive impact on those with depression, anxiety, addiction, and survivors of abuse.

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Valero Cattle Program

Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure. Studies have also found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood.

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Valero Hope Works Program

The Valero Hope Works program is focused on providing practical life and vocational skills to the children in our care through hands-on learning experiences to enhance independence, build self-esteem, and garner social-relational skills.

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