In the News

Children's Home Counseling Service Receives Huge Grant

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 17:46:56 GMT

Expanding Care Farm Therapy Program.

Author: Idaho Today

Published: 3:52 PM MDT September 8, 2025

Updated: 3:52 PM MDT September 8, 2025

Thanks to a $300,000 grant from KeyBank, Children's Home Counseling Services in Boise will be able to expand their Care Farm Therapy program. This nature-based and animal-assisted therapy harnesses the therapeutic benefits of nature and meaningful interactions with animals and plants.

Set in a peaceful and welcoming farm environment, Care Farm Therapy lets kids engage in hands-on activities like tending to gardens, caring for animals and cultivating herbs. This holistic approach connects individuals to the rhythms of nature, allowing them to build life skills, reduce stress and find purpose.

TEGNA Foundation awards the Children's Home Society with $3 thousand dollars to help mental health

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 17:13:24 GMT

Children's Home helps improve mental health in the community and the TEGNA Foundation seeks to help the initiative.

The Children’s Home Society of Idaho received a generous $3,000 donation from the Tegna Foundation to support their efforts in addressing mental health needs for young people in the community. This contribution will help fund vital programs designed to assist children and families struggling with mental health challenges.

The donation comes as part of the Tegna Foundation's commitment to supporting organizations that focus on improving mental well-being. The Children’s Home Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing mental health services to children and families, will use the funds to enhance its counseling services and offer critical resources for families in need.

“This contribution will allow us to continue offering much-needed support to children who are struggling with mental health challenges,” said Grace Shimatsu of the Children’s Home. “With the increase in mental health concerns among young people, this funding helps us provide more services to those who need it most.”

The Tegna Foundation's donation aligns with its mission to empower communities and make a lasting impact through strategic grants. Local partnerships like this one are essential in creating stronger, healthier communities, especially when it comes to supporting the mental health and well-being of young people.

New name, who this?

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:05:38 GMT

New name, who this?

The Children's Home discusses the rebranding of the Warm Springs Counseling Center to the Children’s Home Counseling Services. This name change reflects the organization’s broader mission to serve a wider range of children and families in need of mental health support.

The new identity aligns with their expanding focus, offering services to help address mental health challenges for youth in Idaho. The program aims to provide more accessible and comprehensive counseling resources for the community, ensuring that young people and their families receive the care they need.

Kids Can Learn to Set Boundaries with Goats

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Fri, 31 May 2024 14:46:09 GMT

The Children's Home Society of Idaho has partnered with the Warm Springs Care Farm to offer nature-based and animal-assisted therapies.

Historic Children's Home Society of Idaho building undergoing renovations

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Thu, 16 May 2024 18:41:08 GMT

The several-million-dollar project is in its first phase out of four.

Author: Abby Davis

Published: 8:49 PM MDT May 14, 2024

Updated: 8:49 PM MDT May 14, 2024

BOISE, Idaho — One of Idaho's oldest community resources — the Children's Home Society of Idaho — is undergoing much-needed renovations.

“Because of focusing on providing the service to the low-income families and making sure that every kid actually gets a chance to be served, we had to put aside major maintenance of the building," Executive Director Anselme Sadiki said.

The Children's Home opened in 1908 as an orphanage, he said. Around 1970, it became a temporary foster care home before transitioning to an outpatient mental health clinic for children ages 2 to 18.

Sadiki said they serve at least 90 kids a day and allow everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, to get help. The children's home offers a variety of mental, emotional and behavioral services.

Because of growing demand, he said they even had to open up another location in Meridian.

"Idaho is kind of ridiculously known for not having sufficient resources for children's mental health," Sadiki said. "It's rare to find actually an organization that solely focuses on children."

He said they started a capital campaign about a year and a half ago to raise money to renovate the historic Warm Springs Avenue building in Boise. They are currently in phase one of four.

Teal Point Custom Homes is leading the project. Founder Chomo Santana said crews will get the building up to seismic standards, replace the rood, completely redo the interior, etc.

To preserve the historic value of the building, he said the building will look the exact same on the outside.

“It definitely goes in stages; [ it's] a very unique project. Very methodical. But we have a good game plan for it," Santana said. "If we can have some input on this project and deliver a project that can stand here for another 100 years, we're very proud of that.”

Annika Klein, who said the Children's Home helped save her life as a teenager, said she cannot wait for the plan to become a reality.

"The Children's Home kind of bridges that gap between needing care and actually getting it," she said. "So, seeing steps taken to ensure that that extends into the future is really promising and hopeful."

The Children's Home has raised just over $2 million for renovations. That money came from grants and community members.

However, they are still about $1.5 million short. People can donate online . Santana said they will renovate as money comes in.

He thinks the project will take about a year.

Suicide Prevention: How To Talk To Your Child

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 19:23:10 GMT

The topic of suicide is a difficult discussion for most parents to have with their children, but it is also a very crucial conversation.

Author: KTVB Staff

Published: 3:54 PM MDT April 2, 2024

Updated: 3:54 PM MDT April 2, 2024

The topic of suicide is a difficult discussion for most parents to have with their children, but it is also a very crucial conversation. Some parents are confused about the best way to approach the topic with their kids. Warm Springs Counseling Center and The Children’s Home Society of Idaho is holding a Parent Suicide Prevention Night at South Junior High on April 18th at 6 pm. There is also a workshop for clinicians as well, who would like to broaden their professional skills on this topic. Alisa Merino with The Children’s Home Society shares more with Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul.

March National Brain Injury Awareness

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:28:50 GMT

A traumatic brain injury impacts more then a person’s physical health, it also impacts their mental and emotional health. It’s a relationship that not many people are aware of and it’s impact can be felt through-out an entire family unit. It’s something that counselor Todd Williams from Warm Springs Counseling Center knows firsthand. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and the following months after suffered greatly from the mental impact on his emotions and personality. ‘It was hard on my wife and six sons,’ said Todd in a conversation with Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul. Williams was on the show to help promote National Brain Injury Awareness Month. To learn more watch this video from Idaho Today.

Raising Suicide Awareness

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 18:33:07 GMT

Warm Springs Counseling Center hosts mourning event

After multiple teen suicides struck the Boise community this year, the Warm Springs Counseling Center is hosting an event, giving people the space to mourn.

Learn more about Suicide Prevention and Support.

'While it takes an entire village to raise a child, it takes an entire community to save one': Webinar raises awareness about teen suicide prevention

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 20:00:17 GMT

Boise Schools are one district seeing what they say is an alarming number of suicides recently.

Bring it out of the dark and into the light

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 21:04:21 GMT

A conversation about teen suicide prevention

The local community is experiencing pain right now. There have been a number of recent deaths by suicide at schools in the Treasure Valley.

Those students had family. They had friends and they will be missed. Suicide is a public health issue, and KTVB had a conversation with several mental health experts about ways to help those experiencing a crisis.

Suicide And Self Harm Awareness During The Holidays

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 17:15:10 GMT

Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul speaks with a counselor with Warm Springs Counseling center about how we all can be more diligent and aware of the warning signs of suicide and self-harm and where to go for help if needed.

Over the past month an alarming number of suicides have taken place in the Treasure Valley according to Warm Springs Counseling Center. Experts say the fall and winter months tend to bring on SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Plus they add the holiday season can lead to additional stress and tension in families. I

November is Children’s Grieving Awareness Month

You Are Not Alone. It is not your fault.

Loss, however, it occurred, impacts all of us in different ways. With suicide, the ripple effect can spread far and wide.

When someone has taken their own life, many can feel the impact, even if they were not close or even knew the person well. Suicide is something that can impact individuals and the community. Think of it as when the attack on the Twin Towers occurred on 9/11/2001; it didn’t matter if you knew someone there or not. It didn’t matter if you were there or not. Most of us all felt impacted and grieved in some way. Of course, those closest felt the loss on a different and deeper level and as the ripple effect happens, we can all end up feeling a similar mix of emotions. Similar to an earthquake, there is the epicenter of the quake and then the reverberates beyond.

Somethings to know/do after someone has lost their life by suicide:

Each person grieves in their own way. There is no standard linear grieving process.
Be honest about what happened.
Allow for all the emotions, which there will be a mix: shock, anger, sadness, fear, regret, guilt, curiosity, and anxiety.
Talk openly about suicide. Talking about suicide does not encourage it. In fact, talking about suicide, asking someone how they are doing and if their suicidal reduces the risk.
Find ways to memorialize those who have passed.
Ask what the person who is grieving what they need to feel supported.

Red Flags: When seen, talk. Talking can save lives. These would be changes you notice:

Withdrawing from social things, grades change, withdrawing from friends, family
Any unexplained significant changes in behavior, including mood swings
Not caring about their personal appearance/hygiene
Exhausted, bored or lose interest in school, activities, hobbies-they previously engaged in
Talk about death, suicide, and/or self-harm often
Express feeling the need to be perfect, stressed about making mistakes, feeling like a failure

FREE Resources

Call or text 988, the crisis and suicide lifeline—24/7 –You can reach out to them if you have a friend or family member you are worried about and not sure how to help.

https://www.mentallycovered.org/

Suicide Resources: Understanding suicide and supporting children:

Suicide-Resources.pdf (dougy.org)

Tips for Teens Who Are Grieving:

Tips-for-Teens-Who-are-Grieving_2023-03-17-201232.pdf (dougy.org)

Children, Teens and Suicide Loss-Book

https://dougybookstore.org/collections/after-suicide

Counseling Services for Teens and Children

www.childrenshomesociety.com

A documentary working to remove the stigma of talking about anxiety and mental health

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 17:03:55 GMT

Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul gets the details on the Children’s Home of Idaho event for kids managing anxiety. Kristin Armstrong will be in attendance.

New Paragraph

Parenting Advice For Balancing Stress And Kids Schedules

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 16:26:17 GMT

Parent and host of Idaho Today, Mellisa Paul talks with Todd Williams, a counselor of The Warm Springs Counseling Center about balancing fall school schedules and navigating stress

Suicide Awareness And Prevention With Warm Springs Counseling Center

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:33:33 GMT

September is Suicide Awareness Month. Learn the signs and how you can prevent and support those at risk on Idaho Today.

Somethings to know/do after someone has lost their life by suicide:

Each person grieves in their own way. There is no standard linear grieving process.
Be honest about what happened.
Allow for all the emotions, which there will be a mix: shock, anger, sadness, fear, regret, guilt, curiosity, and anxiety.
Talk openly about suicide. Talking about suicide does not encourage it. In fact, talking about suicide, asking someone how they are doing and if their suicidal reduces the risk.
Find ways to memorialize those who have passed.
Ask what the person who is grieving what they need to feel supported.

Red Flags: When seen, talk. Talking can save lives. These would be changes you notice:

Withdrawing from social things, grades change, withdrawing from friends, family
Any unexplained significant changes in behavior, including mood swings
Not caring about their personal appearance/hygiene
Exhausted, bored or lose interest in school, activities, hobbies-they previously engaged in
Talk about death, suicide, and/or self-harm often
Express feeling the need to be perfect, stressed about making mistakes, feeling like a failure

FREE Resources

Call or text 988, the crisis and suicide lifeline—24/7 –You can reach out to them if you have a friend or family member you are worried about and not sure how to help.

https://www.mentallycovered.org/

Suicide Resources: Understanding suicide and supporting children:

Suicide-Resources.pdf (dougy.org)

Tips for Teens Who Are Grieving:

Tips-for-Teens-Who-are-Grieving_2023-03-17-201232.pdf (dougy.org)

Children, Teens and Suicide Loss-Book

https://dougybookstore.org/collections/after-suicide

Counseling Services for Teens and Children

www.childrenshomesociety.com

Handling Stress and Back to School

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 16:08:01 GMT

Taking care of children’s (and adult’s) mental health during the summer!

Kids and teachers are excited for summer, a break from school.

While many look forward to this, many kids who struggle with anxiety, depression, ADHD/ADD, and autism, summer can set off stressors and feelings associated with anxiety and other symptoms.

This can show up in behaviors like wanting to be in control, wanting to isolate, sleeping a lot more than usual, and tantrums. This can be exhausting, overwhelming, and frustrating to parents.

Hang in there! Keep reading for things to remember and some helpful ideas:

Some basic concepts to remember to help your child’s teen’s mental health -and your own- over the summer

Summer is an opportunity , a time to reconnect with your kid(s).
Structure and schedules are important . Everyone, especially children/teens like to know what is happening for the day. This is the most important part of creating a reduced anxiety driven summer.
Focus on rewards for a couple of positive behaviors (listening, going to bed on time, helping with chores). Try to ignore negative behaviors as much as possible.
Spend time together as a family!
Have something planned to look forward to.

Basic Concepts

Opportunity

Let summer be a casual way of reconnecting with you child/teen. Go for a walk and talk. Talk and laugh about the movies you watch or games you play. Listen to their interests and their stories. Look at pictures from the past. Let them know you are there, you care, and are interested in them.

Structure

Structure can be difficult to create, and for parents who are also neurodivergent, it can feel overwhelming. Creating a schedule/ routine is important, try to keep regular wake and bedtime routines. Creating structure can be in a written schedule or a picture schedule. This helps reduce anxiety as children know what’s expected and happening on a daily basis.

Structure can be found in summer programs and camps. For teens, getting a part time job can help with structure as well as making money- their favorite thing! Summer programs and camps - the library -summer reading programs, parks, splash pads, sports, music, theatre, swim lessons, and so many more. If money is an obstacle many of the camps and programs offer scholarships to help it be more affordable and accessible to children and families.

Structure is also important to keep on vacations (as much as possible) for children with autism. This can look like keeping the same wake/sleep times, favorite snacks, and as hard and non-vacation like it can feel to us as parents, often eating out can turn into a disaster, so, if possible, have a place you can prepare meals and have more control over the routine on vacation as you are able to.

Rewarding Positive Behavior

Focus on one or two positive behaviors to work on over the summer. Using stickers or something similar, keep track of your child’s successes. Using stickers or magnets is a great way for an instant reward. After so many stickers are obtained (you and your child choose) they get a reward. Keep it simple. Could be getting an ice cream cone. Going to the dollar store. Give them a couple of reward ideas that you, as a parent/caregiver, are okay with and then let them choose what it will be.

As hard as it can be, try to ignore negative behaviors, even with negative attention. Often, behaviors have both positive and negative natural consequences.

Time Together - Play

Have a movie night or game night, these add structure and fun! It is a great time to get outside. Go to the park, zoo, the splash pad, community pool, camping, bike rides and walks. When it is too hot during the day, turn on the sprinkler, go to the library, museum, aquarium, or stay inside and play board games, video games like Mario Cart, have a picnic in the living room or build a pillow fort with your kids. (More ideas below)

Social Time With Friends

Set-up play dates for your kids. If you’re not sure how to get in touch with your child’s classmates’ parents, ask (e-mail) your child’s teacher to create a google document for parents who want to share contact information to connect for birthday parties and play dates.

Plan Something to Look Forward to

Having a trip to see family, a special event, camping, vacation…whatever it is, have a countdown. This is great for overall mental health, especially depression, and knowing what is going to be happening helps reduce anxiety. This also includes parent(s)/caregiver(s) to plan for “time off.”

Take family or friends up on their offer to help watch the kids or call a babysitter. Take time for yourself, go hangout with friends, connect with your partner. Remember, your mental health is just as important and this will help you enjoy the days of summer with your child/children even more.

Cool Summer Ideas!

Picnic at the park or in your yard

Lay a blanket down and cloud watch or star gaze

Plant a flower with your child/children, have them help with watering and celebrate watching it grow!

Go fruit/veggie picking at a local farm…or in your garden

Go to a park/splash pad

Visit the river

Go fishing

Fly a kite

Watch thunderstorms

Build a fort

Go to a sporting event/game

Go see a concert or a movie

Check out the local farmers market

Pick something from home, like a garden gnome, and take pictures of it at all the places you go

Day trip to a local town/city,

Visit a historic town or home

Go to a play or demolition derby

Collect rocks and paint them, then hide them throughout the town

Put on your own play at home-your kids are the main stars!

Have a water gun race. Put a hole in the bottom of two or more plastic cups and thread string or yarn through each one. Secure the ends of the yarn to a starting point and an ending point. Use full squirt guns to shoot water into the cups so that they race along the string. The first cup to the finish line is the winner.

Play in the rain and splash in the puddles

Go to the Drive-in movies

Free movie in the park

Treasure / nature hunt in the backyard/neighborhood

Make homemade ice cream

Play dates

Local health organizations help provide free mental health access to students

ctwiss@childrenshomeidaho.org (Colbi Twiss) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 20:19:34 GMT

Central District Health and BPA Health are partnering to help students and families get access to mental health resources.

READ ARTICLE...

In the News

Children's Home Counseling Service Receives Huge Grant

Expanding Care Farm Therapy Program.

TEGNA Foundation awards the Children's Home Society with $3 thousand dollars to help mental health

Children's Home helps improve mental health in the community and the TEGNA Foundation seeks to help the initiative.

New name, who this?

New name, who this?

Kids Can Learn to Set Boundaries with Goats

The Children's Home Society of Idaho has partnered with the Warm Springs Care Farm to offer nature-based and animal-assisted therapies. ﻿

Historic Children's Home Society of Idaho building undergoing renovations

Suicide Prevention: How To Talk To Your Child

The topic of suicide is a difficult discussion for most parents to have with their children, but it is also a very crucial conversation.

March National Brain Injury Awareness

Raising Suicide Awareness

Warm Springs Counseling Center hosts mourning event

'While it takes an entire village to raise a child, it takes an entire community to save one': Webinar raises awareness about teen suicide prevention

Bring it out of the dark and into the light

A conversation about teen suicide prevention

Suicide And Self Harm Awareness During The Holidays

Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul speaks with a counselor with Warm Springs Counseling center about how we all can be more diligent and aware of the warning signs of suicide and self-harm and where to go for help if needed.

A documentary working to remove the stigma of talking about anxiety and mental health

Idaho Today’s Mellisa Paul gets the details on the Children’s Home of Idaho event for kids managing anxiety. Kristin Armstrong will be in attendance.

Parenting Advice For Balancing Stress And Kids Schedules

Parent and host of Idaho Today, Mellisa Paul talks with Todd Williams, a counselor of The Warm Springs Counseling Center about balancing fall school schedules and navigating stress

Suicide Awareness And Prevention With Warm Springs Counseling Center

September is Suicide Awareness Month. Learn the signs and how you can prevent and support those at risk on Idaho Today.

Handling Stress and Back to School

Taking care of children’s (and adult’s) mental health during the summer!

Kids and teachers are excited for summer, a break from school.

Basic Concepts

Cool Summer Ideas!

Local health organizations help provide free mental health access to students

Central District Health and BPA Health are partnering to help students and families get access to mental health resources.

The Children's Home Society of Idaho has partnered with the Warm Springs Care Farm to offer nature-based and animal-assisted therapies.