With a heavy heart, MacKenna’s* mother made the hard decision to give custody of her bright, creative, independent 12-year-old to the Department of Children and Family Services. She did so to make sure MacKenna received the help she needed. You see, MacKenna suffered from trauma at a young age and her body remembered, but her mind did not. The result of this trauma was incredibly unsafe behaviors that put both MacKenna and her family in danger.
McKenna was placed with our Nexus-Indian Oaks agency. She came to us with a history of breaking and entering, property damage, fire-setting. She was homicidal, suicidal, and she self-harmed.
Customized wraparound services
Because her needs were so severe, it was necessary to provide her with one-to-one care to ensure her safety. MacKenna’s therapist and the rest of the staff wrapped around her and worked tirelessly to help her mental and behavioral health. The hard work paid off. McKenna went from almost constant significant events, to none for an entire year. She began to thrive. She no longer needed one-to-one care and she talked positively about improvements in her mental health and no longer feeling depressed.
After MacKenna’s time at Nexus-Indian Oaks, she moved on to a less restrictive placement, and eventually she was reunited with her mother. Her mother believes the work of the Nexus-Indian Oaks staff was key to her daughter returning home. MacKenna’s mom threw a party in honor of her daughter’s success and the staff from Nexus-Indian Oaks were in attendance to help celebrate her healing journey.
*Name and some details have been changed to protect privacy.
