A Message from our Founder
Dear Friends,
Through our mission Mettle Child, Inc., helps emotionally and behaviorally challenged children and youth resolve internal conflicts and pain related to their history of abuse that lead to emotional, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. By meeting every child where he or she is today, without any projected expectations, Mettle Child sets the standard of care higher. There is no cookie-cutter program at Mettle Child. All of our children deserve respect and individualized care—all judgment is removed from every situation and replaced with compassion and hope. We understand that what works well for one child may not work well for another, and accordingly we listen, learn, and revise our creative process and community-based services to suit the exclusive needs of every child.
Our service delivery model includes comprehensive prevention and early intervention programs that contribute to the well-being of our children, foster assertive communication, behavioral and social competence, cognitive development, creative expression, reduces delinquency and crime, and respond to the needs of the greater community. For the span of my calling I have worked interpersonally with children and families, most of who had multiple presenting issues such as cognitive, mental or physical disabilities; and/or suffered from mood disorders such as aggression, anxiety, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, depression, disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders. What is more, a common theme I found was that the “problem” children were often the ones that were severely mentally, physically, and/or sexually abused. As a result of their problematic behaviors, these boys and girls were placed in alternative schools because administrators could not restore balance to the schoolhouse, or placed in residential treatment facilities because families could not manage their complex requirements.
Consequently, these traumatized children began to embrace a negative self-perception and acted out in ways deemed inappropriate. By this means, Mettle Child, Inc., was founded out of a necessity to lower the recidivism rate through community trauma-informed care, assuring no child will be “thrownaway” for lack of support; and at-risk families will receive the help they need to provide safe, nurturing homes and the resources their children require to thrive; chiefly ensuring all children are empowered to lead healthy, productive, and satisfying lives without the need for higher levels of care.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theorizes how an individual’s needs motivate their behavior:
Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health care, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow described these needs as less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.
Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-Actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in fulfilling their potential.
As I have acknowledged, it is difficult to focus in math class when you are unsure of where your next meal is coming from? It is even harder to have a pleasant demeanor when you slept under the truck last night because stepfather came home drunk (again), began beating mother, and as usual, headed to your bedroom to make himself “feel better?”
Among tens of thousands, these are but two dire circumstances children tell, if they should tell. My amassed familiarities in this field are emotionally draining. I imagine how past and current life adversities are disheartening torments for every child. Their “spirit · nature · temper · temperament · character” is absolved. Not one of us can live nor own their suffering. However, all of us can speak up and reach out for them.
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our unspoken of and unappreciated champions in the field, advocates for troubled children. Gifted and caring counselors teaching critical community living and survival skills along with exceptional instruction to help underrepresented children of all abilities “cope well with difficulties and face demanding situations in spirited and resilient ways.”
Thank you for all your generosity and support of Mettle Child's ministry. I look forward to working closely with you through what will be collaborative partnerships to facilitate the recovery, resiliency, and renewal of our children.
Through our mission Mettle Child, Inc., helps emotionally and behaviorally challenged children and youth resolve internal conflicts and pain related to their history of abuse that lead to emotional, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. By meeting every child where he or she is today, without any projected expectations, Mettle Child sets the standard of care higher. There is no cookie-cutter program at Mettle Child. All of our children deserve respect and individualized care—all judgment is removed from every situation and replaced with compassion and hope. We understand that what works well for one child may not work well for another, and accordingly we listen, learn, and revise our creative process and community-based services to suit the exclusive needs of every child.
Our service delivery model includes comprehensive prevention and early intervention programs that contribute to the well-being of our children, foster assertive communication, behavioral and social competence, cognitive development, creative expression, reduces delinquency and crime, and respond to the needs of the greater community. For the span of my calling I have worked interpersonally with children and families, most of who had multiple presenting issues such as cognitive, mental or physical disabilities; and/or suffered from mood disorders such as aggression, anxiety, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, depression, disruptive, impulse control and conduct disorders. What is more, a common theme I found was that the “problem” children were often the ones that were severely mentally, physically, and/or sexually abused. As a result of their problematic behaviors, these boys and girls were placed in alternative schools because administrators could not restore balance to the schoolhouse, or placed in residential treatment facilities because families could not manage their complex requirements.
Consequently, these traumatized children began to embrace a negative self-perception and acted out in ways deemed inappropriate. By this means, Mettle Child, Inc., was founded out of a necessity to lower the recidivism rate through community trauma-informed care, assuring no child will be “thrownaway” for lack of support; and at-risk families will receive the help they need to provide safe, nurturing homes and the resources their children require to thrive; chiefly ensuring all children are empowered to lead healthy, productive, and satisfying lives without the need for higher levels of care.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theorizes how an individual’s needs motivate their behavior:
Physiological Needs
These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.
Security Needs
These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health care, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.
Social Needs
These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow described these needs as less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.
Esteem Needs
After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.
Self-Actualizing Needs
This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in fulfilling their potential.
As I have acknowledged, it is difficult to focus in math class when you are unsure of where your next meal is coming from? It is even harder to have a pleasant demeanor when you slept under the truck last night because stepfather came home drunk (again), began beating mother, and as usual, headed to your bedroom to make himself “feel better?”
Among tens of thousands, these are but two dire circumstances children tell, if they should tell. My amassed familiarities in this field are emotionally draining. I imagine how past and current life adversities are disheartening torments for every child. Their “spirit · nature · temper · temperament · character” is absolved. Not one of us can live nor own their suffering. However, all of us can speak up and reach out for them.
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to our unspoken of and unappreciated champions in the field, advocates for troubled children. Gifted and caring counselors teaching critical community living and survival skills along with exceptional instruction to help underrepresented children of all abilities “cope well with difficulties and face demanding situations in spirited and resilient ways.”
Thank you for all your generosity and support of Mettle Child's ministry. I look forward to working closely with you through what will be collaborative partnerships to facilitate the recovery, resiliency, and renewal of our children.
Founder and Executive Director
Mettle Child, Inc.
Mettle Child, Inc.