May is Mental Health Awareness Month — a time to open conversations, reduce stigma, and remind one another that healing is real. At Sunny Glen Children’s Home, that message isn’t a campaign we run once a year. It’s personal. The children and youth in our programs have faced some of life’s most difficult circumstances, and their mental and emotional wellbeing sits at the center of everything we do. Here’s a look at how we approach mental health, and why your support makes healing possible.
The Children Who Come to Us
Every child who arrives at Sunny Glen comes through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Many have experienced domestic violence, neglect, abuse, or even human trafficking. These aren’t just painful memories. Trauma rewires the developing brain, affecting how a child regulates emotions, forms relationships, and imagines a future for themselves.
That reality shapes everything. It shapes how our staff speak to children, how we structure daily routines, and how we think about what it truly means to care for a child. When we say we meet children “where they are,” we mean it — emotionally, developmentally, and spiritually. We believe every child is created with inherent dignity, and that God’s love for them doesn’t waver regardless of what they’ve been through. Our job is to reflect that love in tangible, consistent, human ways.
What Does Healing Actually Require?
Healing begins with felt safety. Before a child can learn, grow, or trust another person, they need to feel safe. Not just physically but also emotionally safe.
Children who’ve been hurt by adults often expect to be hurt again. Rebuilding that sense of safety is slow, relational work. It requires caregivers who are calm, consistent, and willing to stay present even when a child is pushing them away. That kind of steady, unconditional presence — grounded in Christian faith — is what allows a wall to eventually come down.
We build felt safety into everything, from the way a caregiver greets a child in the morning to the predictable rhythms woven into each day. The small moments matter more than most people realize.
At the heart of our program is Trust Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI. Developed specifically for children who’ve experienced trauma, TBRI is a holistic, evidence-based model built around three core principles: empowering, connecting, and correcting. Empowering meets children’s physical and sensory needs. Connecting builds the relational bridge between child and caregiver. Correcting guides behavior through compassion rather than punishment.
Every staff member at Sunny Glen is trained in TBRI because healing doesn’t happen in a classroom or a therapy room alone. It happens in relationship — in ten thousand ordinary moments between a child and a trusted adult.
Why Mental Health Awareness Month Matters Here
Mental Health Awareness Month exists for a reason. Stigma around mental health still prevents people — children and adults alike — from seeking the support they need. At Sunny Glen, we work to change that from the inside out.
Our message is clear: mental health challenges are real, they’re treatable, and support is available. Every child who needs therapeutic care receives trauma-informed individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, guided by a care plan that’s regularly reviewed and updated. For children who need psychiatric support, we coordinate with licensed professionals to make sure their needs are fully met. No child at Sunny Glen walks that road alone.
This May, staff across Sunny Glen are also participating in a TBRI training session titled “Attachment Patterns — All About You and Me.” It’s a fitting theme for Mental Health Awareness Month, because secure attachment isn’t just a clinical concept. It’s the soil in which healing grows. When a child learns — sometimes for the very first time — that a relationship can be safe and predictable, something shifts. Brain science and scripture agree on this: we are made for connection. When caregivers understand their own attachment patterns, they show up more fully for the children entrusted to their care.
Who’s Taking Care of the People Who Care for Children?
The people who care for traumatized children aren’t immune to the emotional toll of that work. Compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress are real occupational realities, and Sunny Glen takes them seriously.
Staff have access to Employee Assistance Program services, which provide confidential mental and emotional health support for employees and their families. Annual training on managing compassion fatigue and burnout is required for all caregivers. Mindfulness practices drawn from our CPI and TBRI frameworks remind staff to begin each day with intention and self-awareness, because a caregiver’s emotional state directly shapes outcomes for the children in their care. Asking for help here is encouraged, not stigmatized. A caregiver who is well can care well.
A Mission That Doesn’t End at Discharge
Sunny Glen’s commitment to a child’s mental and emotional wellbeing doesn’t end when they leave our programs. Our aftercare program provides up to six months of continued support following a resident’s transition. Through wellness check-ins, emotional support, and connections to community mental health resources, we stay in the lives of young people as they find their footing in the world.
Because healing isn’t a moment. It’s a journey. And no one should have to take it alone.
That conviction runs through everything we do. Since 1936, Sunny Glen has served more than 25,000 children. That number isn’t just history. It’s 25,000 chances for a child to hear — maybe for the first time — that they are loved, that they matter, and that their story isn’t finished.
Our ministries and services reflect that commitment. The Poenisch Counseling Center walks alongside children and families doing the hard work of healing. The Allen House supported independent living program helps young people build confidence and real-life skills as they step into adulthood. Our children refugee services welcome those who’ve been through the unimaginable and need a place to belong. And through our residential care programs, children find stability, safety, and people who believe in them.
Every one of these programs is grounded in the same conviction: that God’s love is active, practical, and meant to be felt by every child who walks through our doors.
Can Children Who’ve Been Through So Much Really Flourish?
We’ve watched it happen more times than we can count. The children who arrive at Sunny Glen carrying the heaviest burdens can — and do — go on to flourish. With the right relationships, consistent support, and a community that refuses to give up on them, they find their footing. They discover their strengths. They begin to imagine a future they couldn’t see before.
That kind of transformation is possible. And it’s only possible because of people who care enough to act.
How Can You Get Involved This Mental Health Awareness Month?
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite you to be part of something that lasts. Get involved as a volunteer. Make a donation that goes directly toward the care, therapy, and programs that change lives. Or simply contact the team to learn more about how you can help.
The children at Sunny Glen need to know that people outside these walls believe in them too. Your presence in this mission sends that message louder than words ever could.
What is Mental Health Awareness Month and why does Sunny Glen participate?
Mental Health Awareness Month is observed each May to reduce stigma and encourage open conversations about mental and emotional health. Sunny Glen participates because mental health is central to our mission. The children we serve have experienced significant trauma, and their emotional wellbeing shapes every aspect of their care and recovery. We use this month to reaffirm our commitment and invite our community into that conversation.
What kind of mental health support do children at Sunny Glen receive?
Every child who needs therapeutic support receives trauma-informed individual therapy, group therapy, and family therapy, all guided by a personalized care plan. For children who need psychiatric support, Sunny Glen coordinates with licensed mental health professionals. Care plans are reviewed and updated regularly to make sure each child’s evolving needs are fully addressed throughout their time with us.
What is TBRI and how does it support mental health?
Trust Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI, is an evidence-based, trauma-informed care model developed specifically for children from hard places. It works through three principles — empowering, connecting, and correcting — and is grounded in the understanding that healing happens in relationship. Every Sunny Glen staff member is trained in TBRI because secure, consistent relationships with caring adults are foundational to a child’s mental and emotional recovery.
How does Sunny Glen support staff mental health?
Sunny Glen recognizes that working with traumatized children places real emotional demands on caregivers. Staff have access to confidential Employee Assistance Program services, receive annual training on compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress, and are encouraged to use mindfulness practices as part of daily caregiving. Asking for help is treated as a sign of strength, not weakness.
How can I support Sunny Glen’s mental health mission this May?
There are several meaningful ways to get involved. You can volunteer your time, make a financial donation to support therapy and residential programs, or reach out to our team to learn more about partnership opportunities. Every act of support tells a child that their community believes in their healing. Visit our website to take that first step.