Child Crisis Arizona Center for Child & Family Wellness to Open Sept. 25, 2024

The Child Crisis Arizona Center for Child & Family WellnessPhoto byChild Crisis Arizona

Child Crisis Arizona will celebrate the opening of its highly anticipated 38,000-square-foot Center for Child & Family Wellness on Wednesday, Sept. 25 with a free, interactive open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The 2.4-acre Child Crisis Center for Child & Family Wellness, located at 424 W. Rio Salado Parkway in Mesa, is a state-of-the-art, net-zero campus offering myriad programs and services, including counseling, parenting classes, and child enrichment activities, all designed to create a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment where children and families can thrive. The campus, a statewide center of excellence, is a testament to the power of community collaboration and philanthropy.

“This Center for Child & Family Wellness would not be possible without our transformational donors that made this vision a reality, including The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, APS Foundation, Thunderbird Charities, The Kemper & Ethel Marley Foundation, and the Neely Foundation. Additional financing was made possible through the new marketstax credit program through City of Phoenix PCDIC-IDA and Enterprise Bank & Trust as well,” said Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona. “Their generosity has allowed us to realize the vision of a centralized campus, providing crucial wraparound services for children and families in need across the state of Arizona.”

The child- and family-friendly open house will feature live music, refreshments, healthy appetizers from the newly opened community kitchen, photo opportunities with the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, arts and crafts for all ages, guided tours, food trucks, booster seat installation demonstrations, giveaways, lawn games, and the chance to bring items for a time capsule to commemorate the occasion. Members ofthe community may also visit at this time to sign up for resources to enhance childhood and parental development.

“We have invited each of our community partners that will have programming on our campus to be part of the fun as well, including United Food Bank, Ballet Arizona, one-n-ten, Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Arizona, Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, and Gabriel’s Angels,” said Taj. “Each partner will host a table, game, demonstration, or booth to showcase their organization.”

Ballet Arizona will also be giving a performance for all guests as an added treat.

“During the open house, members of the community are encouraged to bring clothing items for toddlers– as part of a celebratory donation drive, with all items being donated to the children and families our programs provide for,” said Taj.

For more information, visit www.childcrisisaz.org.

About the Child Crisis Arizona Center for Child & Family Wellness
Set to open on September 25, 2024, the Center for Child & Family Wellness will centralize Child Crisis Arizona operations and become the new home to a comprehensive range of services for low-income children and families. This includes foster care and adoption services, family education, children's counseling, and health and wellness programs. Additionally, the center will house basic needs support, a centralized kitchen and food distribution, administration and philanthropy, foster teen programs, art, dance, and music therapy, and volunteer and staff training. It will serve as a hub for the agency’s health and education services, ensuring a holistic approach to child and family support.

It features:

· Education rooms that can convert into a larger space for community classes aimed at providing educational opportunities ranging from financial literacy to parenting skills to drug trends in teens.

· A health and community wellness area, which will include medical space for vision, hearing and wellness exams, basic needs distribution, and food distribution.

· An art and music therapy space, hosting partnerships with Ballet Arizona and bringing the arts to vulnerable children within our organization and community.

· A counseling support center with four sensory and play therapy rooms.

· A foster care and adoption wing, offering foster or adoptive families realistic training and ongoing support to prepare them for placement of children of all ages and backgrounds.

· A donation center and a volunteer center.

· A full-service kitchen to provide nutritious, home cooked meals for our clients throughout the east valley.

· A Safe Kids car seat safety station, across the parking lot, will offer education classes on proper car seat installation and will distribute free car or booster seats to low-income families.

Additional spaces include a children’s playroom, community partner hub, technology center, job skills center, and innovation space.