Carolina Youth Development Center

"Children need models more than they need critics."

Joseph Joubert

Programs

» Charleston Emergency Shelter

When a child is removed from home because of documented abuse and neglect, he or she often has nowhere to go. The Charleston Emergency Shelter provides an immediate safe haven and treatment for children suffering from the impact of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, until they are placed with a responsible foster care family, go to live with a stable relative, or move to a more permanent group setting.

Carolina Youth Development Center (CYDC) operates two emergency shelters in the tri-county area for abused, neglected, or abandoned children from infants through age 17. The Charleston Emergency Shelter (CES) is located in North Charleston and Callen-Lacey Center for Children (CLCC) is located in Berkeley County.

Program Goals:
• Provide temporary, safe shelter and counseling for children and youth
• Develop problem-solving and coping skills to combat the trauma of abuse
• Provide appropriate long-term transitional resources

Clinical Services:
• Assessments for trauma and behavioral disorders
• Individual, group, and family counseling
• Aftercare support to link community services

At both shelters children and youth participate in educational, vocational and recreational activities provided by our Bakker Career Center and volunteers in the community. An incentive-based level system, which focuses on strengths as well as challenges, helps shelter clients prepare for placement with family, foster care, or group care.

Charleston Emergency Shelter