April 19, 2026 – Helix Human Services was awarded a grant from the South Congregational Church in Springfield to offset the cost of summer activities for residential programs.
Bringing Fun to Summer for Residential Kids
Helix Human Services is grateful to share that we have received a generous $1,625 grant from South Congregational Church. This meaningful community grant will directly support recreational opportunities for youth in our residential programs during the summer months.
Summer can be a challenging time for many of the children we serve. With school out of session, maintaining structure, engagement, and positive experiences becomes even more important. Thanks to this grant, we’re able to provide activities that keep our residents active, practice important social skills, and enjoying being a kid!
How the Grant Will Be Used
This grant will fund a variety of recreational experiences designed to promote joy, social connection, and personal growth. Planned activities include:
- Tickets to local amusement parks
- Visits to museums and cultural attractions
- Trips to Interskate 91
- Other summer experiences that build memories and life skills
About Helix Human Services
Helix Human Services was founded in April of 1865 as The Springfield Home for Friendless Women and Children. This organization was one of the first social service agencies in Massachusetts and was started by a broad group of religious and community leaders “to provide a temporary home for friendless and destitute women and children; and to give them employment and instruction with the ultimate design of providing for them a more permanent situation, or of fitting them to maintain themselves”.
Today we serve children, adolescents, and families with special needs throughout the Pioneer Valley, the Berkshires, and Cape Cod areas. The children we serve are often struggling to cope with behavioral, psychiatric, and cognitive issues related to the experiences they have survived. Our staff assesses their needs and develops individualized service plans that foster recovery, growth, and wellness.
Helix Human Services is proud to serve children and families in partnership with the Department of Children and Families and various public school districts. We are approved by the MA Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Early Education and Care (DEEC), and accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA).
About Our Residential Services
We provide programs for children and families who are struggling to cope with behavioral, psychiatric, and cognitive issues related to trauma they have experienced. Our approach to care is trauma informed and client centered. Our highly skilled and compassionate team members assess client needs, develop individualized plans, and work to restore wellness.
Our programs promote the improvement of self-esteem, life skills, a sense of personal identity, emotional regulation skills, the development of healthy coping skills, and interpersonal relationship strategies. Our goal is for our residents to leave our program with the skills necessary to find success within the community.
Helix Human Services embodies a Trauma Informed Care approach, and our programs apply these foundational practices day in and day out. They employ several evidence-based treatment approaches such as Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). These approaches provide the clients with person-centered treatment heavily focused on the development of skills in the areas of mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, healthy coping skills, personal identity, and life skills. We provide DBT skills groups, psychoeducational groups, Occupational Therapy, individual, and family therapy, as well as clinical case management.
Our programs place the client first with a highly therapeutic approach; never punitive. We focus on healing, with continual evaluation and refinement of treatment goals and objectives to meet the needs of individual clients.
Our children often come from disenfranchised communities and as part of our work we teach them to expect more of themselves and those around them. Overall, it’s important that the youth experience activities in and around the community as a necessary part of their success within the community.
A Heartfelt Thank You
We extend our sincere thanks to South Congregational Church for their continued generosity and commitment to supporting children and families in our community. This grant will make a tangible difference in the lives of the youth we serve, creating opportunities for joy and growth this summer. To learn more about the work of South Congregational Church, visit: https://sococh.org/
Learn more about the Cottage Residential Program for males ages 6-13 here.
Learn more about SHARP for LGBTQIA+ folks here.