Round Rock nonprofit supports area families in need

Their stories are all different, but they have a common theme: crisis. Clients have been turning to Children At Heart Ministries for 62 years to help heal the challenges brought on by divorce, financial insecurity, alcohol, drugs, abuse and neglect.

"This was a place where we all had a fresh start. Being here set me on the path that helped me to endure my loss," said Susan, a former CAHM client and single mom whose last name was withheld to protect her confidentiality. "It's a family and a bond you don't lose."

Susan is just one of the 13,000 individuals a year that CAHM says it has impacted. The Round Rock–based nonprofit is the umbrella organization for four ministries devoted to serving families.

"Helping children and strengthening families—that's at the heart of all we do," said Todd Roberson, president and CEO of CAHM. CAHM provides administrative support such as insurance, personnel and accounting services to the other ministries so they can focus on serving clients.

CAHM began as the Texas Baptist Children's Home, supporting abused and neglected children. The Henna family donated the sprawling 109-acre tract of land at the northeast corner of Mays St. and Hwy. 79 in 1950, and the northeast organization continues to grow in Central Texas.

"We were founded by Baptists—that's our heritage—but you don't have to be a Baptist to receive services," Roberson said.

All four of the CAHM organizations receive funding from individual donors and organizations.

Texas Baptist Children's Home, the first organization, provides a variety of services including residential care for children ages 6–17 in a cottage-style setting. The Family Care program, one of the most popular programs, allows single working mothers with dependent children to live together while they rebuild their lives. TBCH also serves Round Rock families who do not need residential care but require additional resources or counseling to get through difficult times.

Gracewood provides family care in Houston. The program assists single mothers and their children through residential group care, mentoring, financial planning, counseling and resource referrals.

Located near Brenham, Miracle Farm is a 325-acre working ranch for at-risk teenage boys struggling with family relationships, behavioral or social skills.

The fourth CAHM organization, STARRY, began in Round Rock 21 years ago and has recently expanded to Waco and Temple. STARRY provides counseling, foster care, emergency shelter, and Shelter Alternatives and Family Empowerment, a program for runaway and homeless teenagers. STARRY receives its funding through contracts with the state as well as through private donors.

"The No. 1 thing that makes us special is that our staff senses a calling to do this work and this ministry—a God-given calling that this is where they need to be—especially our house parents that do this work every day with kids that aren't theirs. They feel this work is what they were made for," Roberson said.

Children At Heart Ministries, 1301 N. Mays St., Round Rock, 255-3668, www.childrenatheartministries.org