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In Keene, a nonprofit organization provides a no-conflict zone for kids of divided parents
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The agency
All R Kids Supervised Visitation Center (ARK)
Sponsored by Monadnock Family Services
A United Way agency
24 Vernon Street, Keene 03431; 357-4661
www.visitationcoop.org
Particulars
Program coordinator: Christine Parsons
MFS Chief Executive Officer: Ken Jue; board president: Story Wright
Founded: 1992
Service area: Entire Monadnock region; in 2007 provided 850 hours of service to 47 families
Annual budget: $100,000
Staff: 1 full-time, 5 part-time
Mission
Provides a safe, neutral environment for supervised visits and exchanges that promote healthy interaction among family members.
Often, in times of separation and divorce, children get caught in the middle of parent battles. For more than 15 years, All R Kids Supervised Visitation Center in Keene, generally known as ARK, has provided a peaceful, secure environment for supervised meetings and exchanges between children and non-custodial parents.
From the indoor built-in slide to the child-size bowling alley, the youth-focused facility is a kids’ playground paradise. Two comfortably furnished family rooms, with cartoon character walls, hold multitudes of toys and books for youngsters from infants to teens. There’s also a fully equipped kitchen where families can prepare meals together.
Despite the cheerful décor, the goal remains serious: to keep children safe and free from parent conflict. Six days a week, by appointment, the center facilitates private meetings for children and non-residential parents, often referred to the program by the court system because of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and the like.
“We’re focused on kids getting to see their parents,” said Christine Parsons, program coordinator. “And, we’re focused on making sure that kids are safe.”
The visiting child’s parents are allowed no physical or visual contact with one another: They arrive at separate locked entrances at staggered scheduled times. Security checks are performed at the door, while security cameras operate throughout the building. A trained staff member accompanies the child at all times and monitors the one hour visit, providing documentation of the visit and exchange.
Besides on-site supervised visitation, the center also offers monitoring and a safe drop-off point for parent exchanges of children for unsupervised off-site visits and returns.
“It’s a great program for prevention of violence because we remove the opportunity for parent contact over child visitation or exchanging,” said Parsons. “We’re making a huge difference because we’re reducing violence in this community, resulting in less time spent with police, courts and in jail.”
“We have lots of cases involving substance abuse issues. Now, kids aren’t in cars with those parents,” she said. “And in cases of parents with mental illness, kids don’t have to feel the fear of unexpected happenings.”
The program steadily grows. Clients now also can participate in a free parent coaching program, complete with scheduled classes and individual parenting support during supervised visits. During the past two years, the center expanded the number of families served by 53 percent, while in 2007, staff monitored nearly 600 visits for 64 children from the Monadnock Region. Parsons expects to exceed that number this year, and urges community members in need of help to contact the center.
“If people find themselves at McDonald’s parking lot exchanging their kids, and one parent is kicking the tires of the other’s car out of frustration, come here instead,” she said. “Exchange your kids safely where you don’t have to see each other. Kids don’t have to see the anger or feel it. They don’t have to be victims of violence.”
“It’s important that people know about this place,” she said. “Almost everyone is likely to have a friend or relative caught up in a situation where children are at risk. Here kids are in a peaceful environment. They see how it’s supposed to be. It stops the cycle of violence.”
~ Joan Geary
“Making a Difference,” a weekly feature, is a collaborative project of The Keene Sentinel and Giving Monadnock, which seeks to raise public awareness of the role of nonprofit agencies in the Monadnock Region. For more information, e-mail info@givingmonadnock.org or call 357-7171.
(Article originally published in The Keene Sentinel print edition entitled ARK provides a no-conflict zone for kids of divided parents.)
From the indoor built-in slide to the child-size bowling alley, the youth-focused facility is a kids’ playground paradise. Two comfortably furnished family rooms, with cartoon character walls, hold multitudes of toys and books for youngsters from infants to teens. There’s also a fully equipped kitchen where families can prepare meals together.
Despite the cheerful décor, the goal remains serious: to keep children safe and free from parent conflict. Six days a week, by appointment, the center facilitates private meetings for children and non-residential parents, often referred to the program by the court system because of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and the like.
“We’re focused on kids getting to see their parents,” said Christine Parsons, program coordinator. “And, we’re focused on making sure that kids are safe.”
The visiting child’s parents are allowed no physical or visual contact with one another: They arrive at separate locked entrances at staggered scheduled times. Security checks are performed at the door, while security cameras operate throughout the building. A trained staff member accompanies the child at all times and monitors the one hour visit, providing documentation of the visit and exchange.
Besides on-site supervised visitation, the center also offers monitoring and a safe drop-off point for parent exchanges of children for unsupervised off-site visits and returns.
“It’s a great program for prevention of violence because we remove the opportunity for parent contact over child visitation or exchanging,” said Parsons. “We’re making a huge difference because we’re reducing violence in this community, resulting in less time spent with police, courts and in jail.”
“We have lots of cases involving substance abuse issues. Now, kids aren’t in cars with those parents,” she said. “And in cases of parents with mental illness, kids don’t have to feel the fear of unexpected happenings.”
The program steadily grows. Clients now also can participate in a free parent coaching program, complete with scheduled classes and individual parenting support during supervised visits. During the past two years, the center expanded the number of families served by 53 percent, while in 2007, staff monitored nearly 600 visits for 64 children from the Monadnock Region. Parsons expects to exceed that number this year, and urges community members in need of help to contact the center.
“If people find themselves at McDonald’s parking lot exchanging their kids, and one parent is kicking the tires of the other’s car out of frustration, come here instead,” she said. “Exchange your kids safely where you don’t have to see each other. Kids don’t have to see the anger or feel it. They don’t have to be victims of violence.”
“It’s important that people know about this place,” she said. “Almost everyone is likely to have a friend or relative caught up in a situation where children are at risk. Here kids are in a peaceful environment. They see how it’s supposed to be. It stops the cycle of violence.”
~ Joan Geary
“Making a Difference,” a weekly feature, is a collaborative project of The Keene Sentinel and Giving Monadnock, which seeks to raise public awareness of the role of nonprofit agencies in the Monadnock Region. For more information, e-mail info@givingmonadnock.org or call 357-7171.
(Article originally published in The Keene Sentinel print edition entitled ARK provides a no-conflict zone for kids of divided parents.)
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