Emergency Placement Homes
Our Emergency Placement Homes are unique, family-style environments that provide short-term care for children until child services can place them in a safe, permanent setting. With the support of our dedicated Honduran staff, psychologists, and leadership team, we strive to help each child within their cultural context, empowering them to rely on their communities and trusted adults to reach their full potential.
Most children who come into our care have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Due to our proximity to the border, we also frequently receive immigration cases. The length of stay can vary from a few days to several weeks.
Legacy of Hope is one of the few centers fully equipped to offer trauma-informed care, tailoring interventions to meet the unique needs of each child. Through its specialized approach, the center ensures that every child receives individualized support, addressing both their immediate and long-term needs compassionately and effectively.
The following stories and quotes come from a range of our cases. Please know that many of the children we encounter have been through a great deal of trauma, so do take care while reading.
“I am a 9 year old boy who was attacked by a drunk family member late at night with a machete. I have 11 stitches on my arm and it is red and swollen. Sometimes I sniff glue to make the hunger pains and worries go away, but today there is no way to dull the physical and emotional pain I bear. I am the man of the house, and I am afraid they will not let me go back to my mother and siblings. I worry what will happen to them without me.
I am a 16 year old girl who was raped on my way to the market. I left my small village in the mountains to deliver my baby in the public hospital 3 hours away. I spent the last 24 hours alone in that hospital. I am struggling to make enough milk to feed my baby, but I will not abandon her. I am full of fear and uncertainty as I wait for social services to locate a family member willing to take me in.
I am a 7 year old boy who was caught alone at the Guatemalan border. When the gangs moved into my village it became violent and dangerous. My mother left our village with the hope of making a better life in the United States. She worked 3 years as a migrant worker picking vegetables to fulfill her promise to bring me to her. She paid my guide $2000 to smuggle me across the border. He was abusive and forced me to walk day and night without food or water. He abandoned me when the authorities began to pursue us, and I was too slow and weak to keep up. I don’t know if I will ever see my mother again.”
– Children of the Crisis Care Center