CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – A counseling program that offers support to children who have experienced trauma could be in jeopardy due to federal funding cuts.
ReadyKids is a Charlottesville-based nonprofit that works with children and their families from across central Virginia.
One of the nonprofit’s main functions is its Inside Out program, which offers free support to kids aged 2-18 who have experienced various types of physical or emotional abuse, including those who have been a victim of or witness to a crime.
But now, with $200,000 of the program’s funding omitted from the federal budget, ReadyKids is left with a big financial question mark.
“The reaction was just uncertainty,” said Eileen Barber, Lead Communications Specialist for ReadyKids. “It’s a big chunk of funding, and it’s scary when you know these are vital services. We have a waitlist of people who we want to help, but without the funding, we can’t do that.”
Barber says the Inside Out program prioritizes families who could not otherwise pay for this type of counseling. Only five percent of licensed providers in Virginia work primarily with kids, and the number is even lower, Barber says, for those that work with uninsured or underinsured families.
“Our program is, in some ways, a bit of a unicorn,” Barber said. “When kids come to us, most of the time they’re either on a really long waitlist somewhere else or they don’t have a way to access the service otherwise.”
ReadyKids’ counselors work with about 30 kids per year. They are welcome to stay as long as they need to complete their healing journey, Barber says.
“Our counselors develop really important relationships with these kids, and they’re a trusted person that kids can disclose to, who they trust to help them heal in many ways,” Barber said.
Inside Out is supported by a mix of different types of funding: federal, state, and local, along with private donations.
With this loss of $200,000 from the program’s $1 million budget, Barber says they are now working to try to fill the gaps with private donations and other grant programs.
Barber says they will continue fighting for Inside Out, even as uncertainty over funding streams grows.
“We’re all in this work because we care and we want to help people, and we’re in uncertain times, but we’ve been in uncertain times before, and we’ll get through it,” Barber said.
Now that ReadyKids is relying more on donations to fulfill its services, Barber is calling on the community for help.
If you’d like to learn more about ways to get involved, you can do so here.
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