Youth Residential Care
Living away from home can be a hard thing for children and adolescents. For youth in need of 24-hour, out-of-home services, our residential treatment and education programs provide the expertise, caring, and resources necessary to meet individual needs. Our trauma-informed, solution-focused approach enables us to offer a continuum of services in a safe and supportive environment.
Many of the youth in our care face a variety of challenges, with most having experienced trauma in their lives. Our programs seek to prepare them to reunite with their families (when appropriate), transition to other residential living arrangements, or transition to independent living in the community.
Youth Residential Programs
Residential Education
Located on our Main Street campus in Lancaster, MA, our residences serve different age ranges and gender identities, providing structure, routine, and support to help each young person succeed. Students attend the Doctor Franklin Perkins School, co-located on the Main Street campus, and fully participate in educational and extracurricular activities alongside our day students.
Community Treatment Residence
Located on our Old Common Road campus in Lancaster, MA, Oatis Children's Center is a closed-referral program serving children and youth whose home environments cannot safely support them. Our staff encourages each young person to make their space their own with photos, artwork, and decorations reflecting their interests and important relationships in their lives.
Emergency Residence
Johnston Hall, also a closed-referral program located on our Old Common Road campus, offers shorter-term stays for children and youth requiring a safe and supportive environment. We strive to make each young person feel welcome and valued, and help them create a comfortable personal space for themselves.
Secure Treatment
We run two secure treatment facilities for young people referred by the Department of Youth Services, the South Hadley Girls Program and the Kennedy School in Middleton, MA serving young men. Both programs provide treatment and education to the young people in our care, and help them find positive paths forward.Our South Hadley Girls Program also offers a voluntary Transition to Independent Living Program for young women seeking additional support as they move into young adulthood.
Compassionate Treatment
Each of our residential programs provides top-quality clinical care. In treatment, we focus on a wide range of areas, including skill-building and development, daily living skills, independent living skills, pragmatic skills, and more. In each of our residences, our expert staff strive to create environments that feel like home.
Many of the youth in our care face a variety of challenges, with most having experienced trauma in their lives. Our programs seek to prepare them to reunite with their families (when appropriate), transition to other residential living arrangements, or transition to independent living in the community.
From Dreams to Reality
Help Us Inspire Others to Follow Henry’s Success
Click on the "See Henry" link to see a video of Henry telling his story.
After years of facing challenges and creating "mayhem," Henry's time at RFK Community Alliance's Kennedy School Secure Treatment Program has helped him find his successful path. He is enrolled in college, and has his sights locked on a job at Google. And while Henry credits the Kennedy School team for his success, we know that he is responsible for his own achievements including being enrolled in college. Go Henry!
Staff Spotlight
Marcus D. Pritchett
Marcus D. Pritchett’s strength of character, integrity, and belief in the young people he works with have changed numerous lives over the course of his career in youth residential services by establishing and nurturing trust with the young people in his care.
Marcus grew up in the South Bronx and faced many personal challenges. As a young kid, he wore braces on both legs and, at age 6, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. He also had difficulty paying attention — today he probably would have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — had anger issues, and was discriminated against. But Marcus had an incredible support system around him that began with his single mother who was a constant in his life and surrounded him with positive role models.
Marcus learned many important lessons along the way. He was trained that “it’s always in the relationship,” that people needed to know he could be trusted and would listen. Above all else, he values his integrity with his employers, the young people he works with, and their families. “If you lose a kid’s trust, it has a ripple effect in a residential community,” he observed. “You can’t compromise their integrity.”
Marcus D. Pritchett’s strength of character, integrity, and belief in the young people he works with have changed numerous lives over the course of his career in youth residential services by establishing and nurturing trust with the young people in his care.
Marcus grew up in the South Bronx and faced many personal challenges. As a young kid, he wore braces on both legs and, at age 6, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. He also had difficulty paying attention — today he probably would have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — had anger issues, and was discriminated against. But Marcus had an incredible support system around him that began with his single mother who was a constant in his life and surrounded him with positive role models.
Marcus learned many important lessons along the way. He was trained that “it’s always in the relationship,” that people needed to know he could be trusted and would listen. Above all else, he values his integrity with his employers, the young people he works with, and their families. “If you lose a kid’s trust, it has a ripple effect in a residential community,” he observed. “You can’t compromise their integrity.”
We're here for you.
For current or prospective families and caregivers, please reach out to our Youth Residential Team.
Referrals
We partner with local school districts, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health, and Department of Youth Services to provide shelter, care, education, and support to young people referred for services.
We see the family as experts regarding their child and work together to tailor individual services to meet their needs. Family members and other stakeholders are involved from the intake process through every facet of a child’s placement, treatment, and eventual discharge, including collaborative after-care planning.
Urgent. Essential. Appreciated.
Human service organizations are seeing an unprecedented need. Help us meet the challenge.
