ASC + POETIC

ASC and POETIC have set the ambitious goal of raising $430,000 (net) to fund three critical initiatives. Every dollar donated through ASC goes directly to POETIC. Please consider joining us this year in the effort to protect and support girls who have experienced maltreatment, commercial sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking. Together, we can help these girls find their voices, reclaim their narratives, and persist forward.

Expansion of POETIC’s physical space

Estimated Cost: $100,000

By doubling the square footage of its facility, POETIC can double the number of youth it serves. When a child enters POETIC’s program, she gains access to educational services, trauma therapy, creative art therapy, clinical case management and advocacy, and paid internships — all under one roof, at POETIC’s facility. In this way, POETIC’s facility helps build a seamless bridge out of the juvenile justice system and child protective services, and into a comprehensive program equipping youth to avoid the cycle of revictimization. Expanding POETIC’s physical space will help expand its reach to more Dallas-area girls who desperately need these services.

Expansion of POETIC’s Program Staff

Estimated Cost: $250,000

Expanding POETIC’s program staff will allow POETIC to provide therapeutic and educational services to more youth. POETIC’s program staff is comprised of licensed therapists, clinical case workers, and licensed educators — but more will be needed when POETIC doubles the square footage of its facility! These important team members are the heart of POETIC’s program, providing comprehensive dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), creative arts therapy, clinical case management and advocacy, educational programming, internship opportunities, and parent/guardian support. They empower POETIC’s clients to build lives worth living, not just surviving.

Clinical Research Software

Estimated Cost: $80,000

There is no established standard of care for vulnerable youth that is rooted in evidence-based research, so POETIC’s clinical research-driven model is both distinctive and groundbreaking. POETIC’s research shows that upon intake into its program, 72% of youth have a history of substance use, 51% have a history of self-harm/suicidal behaviors, and 50% have a history of psychiatric hospitalization. Remarkably, 95% of youth who enroll in POETIC’s program avoid returning to the juvenile justice system, over 80% report increased utilization of coping skills, and over 80% enrolled in POETIC’s school progress in educational attainment. POETIC’s long-term vision is to scale and train on its innovative model as an evidence-based national best practice. The purchase and integration of more robust CRM (client relationship management) software will allow POETIC to continue and expand its sharing of trends and effective interventions on a national level.