Children's Crisis Center (49 children)

In 2001, SAW established a safe house for Burmese orphaned and abandoned youth whose parents are unable to care for them while they are detained, deported, or can no longer care for them. SAW provides shelter, education, and basic needs services for Burmese children, while protecting them from becoming vulnerable prey for traps like sweat-shop employment, sex trafficking, and the drug trade. This safe house was renamed the Children's Crisis Center (CCC) in February 2005.

Objectives

- To provide basic need services for Burmese children whose parents are unable to care for them while they are detained, deported, who are abandoned, etc.

- To make pro-active efforts to reunite children with parents as well as maintaining contact with relatives throughout the child's stay

- To assist the children who were raped or sexually abused

- To provide emotional support and supervision

- To foster a child's education during their stay

- To teach responsibility and community awareness by assigning children daily chores reflective of their age and ability

- To protect children from vulnerable prey for traps like sweat-shop employment and the drug trade

Activities

- Providing trauma counseling and health care

- Providing education and basic needs for the children

- Providing trainings such as music, sewing, computer typing, knitting and health education for older children

- Assisting children to go back to Burma

- Assisting children to get in contact with their parents or relatives

- Providing exposure trips and sport activities

- Meetings with staff and children twice a month for informal discussions

-

Target

- Orphaned, abandoned, trafficked, vulnerable and sexually abused children

Criteria for Accepting Vulnerable Children at Children's Crisis Center

1. Trafficked Children
2. Children forced to work in the sex or drug industry
3. Children who have been raped or threatened by sexual abuse
4. Children whose parents are in jail and have no other relatives to care for them
5. Children of single-parent families whose mother or father can not provide for them
6. Handicapped children in single-parent families
7. Children who have been mentally or physically abused