This organization helps students and families in Camden navigate hardships

NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Students in Camden have a new resource to help them navigate their struggles with mental health.

“What we’re trying to accomplish is helping those families transition from just trying to survive day to day to really being able to thrive in their lives and in their communities,” said Thrive Network co-founder Lorenzo McFadden.

Thrive meets with students in school, at home or in a nearby facility.
Executive Director Michelle Coddington says they work with kids who have been abused or neglected, are struggling to deal with their parents’ divorce, the death of a loved one, and other hardships.

“Little bodies are not made to hold and to process those really, really big things,” Coddington said, “and they need the support of stable, caring grownups to help weather those storms.”

Part of what they do is provide continuity of care and communicate with school officials to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Coddington says it’s also important to engage the adults to achieve the best outcomes.

“So our program is a family systems model where we support the caregiving system as well as the child, so grownups learn how to regulate themselves when they’re in distress,” Coddington said. “And they can model that regulation for the child in a process we call co-regulation.”