Hearts Full of Hope Capital Campaign

Family Service and Guidance Center’s “Hearts Full of Hope Campaign” is raising funds with which FSGC will build the Child and Family Academy, 22,000-square foot, two-story facility designed for the provision of specialized mental health services to children from birth to age 6 and their families. This will be a new construction project and is part of our effort to consolidate various FSGC locations onto one centralized campus location while expanding services to fill gaps in local mental health services left by departures and closures.

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Why this campaign is important to our children

For nearly 80 years, Topeka was known as a “mental health Mecca,” serving as home to several large mental health hospitals and clinics featuring some of the world’s preeminent professionals. Thousands of people traveled from all over the country and around the world to Topeka to secure the highest-quality mental health care.

Starting in 1997, the mental health landscape in Topeka and eastern Kansas changed dramatically. That year, the Topeka State Hospital closed, and Family Service and Guidance Center (FSGC) were forced to play the key role in treating the vast majority of mentally ill people, including children and families, in our area.

In 2000, Parkview Hospital, another large mental health care provider, closed, further increasing the need for mental health services in our area.

Finally, in 2003, the world-renowned Menninger Clinic officially left Topeka. This loss would have resulted in numerous broad mental health service gaps and unmet needs.

However, Family Service and Guidance Center remained viable and responsive, by nearly doubling it’s number of employees and developing new programs and expanding others to meet the needs of the children in our community.

Current needs

Each year, Family Service and Guidance Center serves over 9,000 children and families in our region. This number has increased 60 percent since 2001. FSGC has risen to the challenge to bridge service gaps, which has exacerbated FSGC’s need for newer, more spacious and efficient facilities.

However, meeting this increasing demand is becoming more difficult due to our lack of space. Our current physical facilities are stretched to their absolute limits. Literally, restrooms and closets have been converted into work spaces in an attempt to meet the growing needs of children and families in our area.

In short, Family Service and Guidance Center needs room to grow if we are to continue to improve the lives of the thousands of children and families we serve, many of whom are among our community’s most vulnerable.

The Child and Family Academy building will include:

• 21 therapy suites for clinical staff.
• 10 therapeutic preschool classrooms.
• Three child play therapy rooms which will allow parents, clinicians, and supervisory staff to observe their child as services are provided.
• A large training center, equipped with multi-media resources, to be used to provide continuing education to staff and community.
• Two waiting areas for clients and their families, equipped with play areas and age-appropriate toys and activities.
• A courtyard-style playground, safely encircled by the Academy building, with safe, age-appropriate equipment. The playground surface will be covered with an environmentally-friendly, child-safe rubberized surface to minimize common play injuries.

In addition, the building will be surrounded by a large area of green space which includes a stocked fishing pond for use as a therapeutic recreational outlet. For a number of our severely emotionally disturbed children, fishing promotes relaxation and leisure skills as well as breaking down avoidance behaviors that prevent children from fully participating in therapy. Many therapists also use fishing as a reward for positive or desirable therapy-focused behaviors.

How can I help or get more information?

To find out more about Family Service and Guidance Center or the Hearts Full of Hope Campaign, call Amy Burns at (785) 232-7902.