Robert and his wife, Stacy, were extremely concerned about their daughter, Amanda. Her anxious behavior and temper-driven outbursts were having an effect on their family life. She had reached the point where she no longer cared about the consequences of her actions. When they would try to discuss things with her or discipline her, she would just shut down emotionally or explode with rage. There was no in-between for her. What scared them the most about their daughter was that she was only 8 years old. What would the future hold for her or for the family when she hits her teens? (more…)
Another Great Story…
Where Are They Now?
It was 1988 when Jason and Amy found themselves in a dilemma. Jason had just graduated from high school and Amy was excited to begin her senior year. They were young and in love when they discovered Amy was expecting.
“Since we were both raised in solid Christian homes, it threw our parents for a loop. Honestly, it threw us for a loop too.” Amy remembered. “I couldn’t believe that this was happening to us. Jason offered to marry me, but I didn’t want to get married just because I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do, but I believed that I wasn’t ready to have a baby.” (more…)
Breaking Through & Breaking Free
Sheridan House is in the middle of the fight between good and evil, life and death. A fight between the One who wants to give life abundant and the one who seeks to kill and destroy. Nowhere can it be seen more clearly on a daily basis than in the Sheridan House Counseling Center.
“We are leaving and we will not be back!” This was the angry comment from Sophia and her mom during the first counseling session. They had just been reminded that abuse of a minor child has to be reported, by law. Both Sophia and her mom became vehemently protective of the abuser. However Sophia, whose trauma started at the age of 8, was not the only one who had suffered. (more…)
Helping Families Learn
Marriage and Family Resources – Building a strong family foundation
One of the greatest challenges families face today is, “How to do family.”
Family is no longer on automatic. Not only are there countless competing thoughts about what today’s child needs, but grandma and grandpa also don’t live down the street as a reference point… someone trustworthy to talk to at a moment’s notice.
Doing “family” is challenging, but God still has the answers. It continues to be our desire at Sheridan House to reach out to help people with family needs before they have greater family problems. We don’t want to wait until families cry out for help; we want to equip families with the proper tools for parenting and marriage.
This past year Sheridan House staff had the privilege of speaking to over 157,000 people. Additionally through radio and the internet, countless people had the opportunity to download our studies. Our Parenting on Purpose curriculum was used all over the world…taken to places as far away as Kenya.
It is our conviction that we have the opportunity to help parents with their foundational questions so they might not need further, more intense help in the future.
It is with that thought in mind we have launched the Sheridan House FamilyOPedia, an online tool for designed to give answers to parents. One young mom e-mailed us back to say, “This is incredible. Thank you, thank you. I’ve already started forwarding it to family members in other parts of the country.”
Supplying parents with biblical answers before they asked their questions…that’s why we are here.
In 2008, we supplied these answers through 412 sermons and seminars at churches, schools, and corporations.
Helping Families Cope
At the end of last year, there was an article in USA Today stating that requests for counseling were at an all time high. The irony of the requests is the fact that people are looking for help because of financial stress and the impact it is having on their families. But it is that financial stress that has made it difficult for them to get the counseling they need.
People are looking for more than counseling. They are looking for answers. The Sheridan House Counseling Center has never been more positioned to help families than now. Staffed with eleven counselors, therapists and psychologists, Sheridan House is ready to help at a fee affordable for anyone who seeks help. God has positioned this ministry for such a time as this. (more…)
Helping Families Heal
Residential Care – Changing lives from the inside out
There are many families that have reached a point where counseling and training are not enough. It’s time to give the parent and child a break while giving the son or daughter the training and discipline to change their lives. God has a plan for every child and it is our desire to help those middle school age children who have gotten way off track.
Sheridan House has two campuses for children. Our four acre campus, located in Southwest Ranches works with middle schools girls. Our 57-acre campus on Flamingo Road offers residential help to middle school boys. The children live with us for an average of twelve months. Parents of children in the residential program are also required to attend training meetings. On the weekends, the children return home so the family has time to practice what they are learning during the year. The goal of the residential program is to help change the family, not just the behavior of the child.
Not only does the behavior of the child improve in our residential program, but the grades of the children improve also. During the twelve month stay at Sheridan House, it common for a child to raise his or her grade point average from D’s & F’s to at least B’s and C’s.
Even with the incredible academic progress, Sheridan House is not focused on academic improvement. Our goal is discipleship to the point of knowing how to make decisions and then the implementation of personal discipline to follow through with those decisions.
This past year the Sheridan House residential program worked with 191 individuals.
The residential staff also worked with over 1,138 individuals who needed non-residential assistance or were waiting to be admitted into one of the children’s homes.
*On a sad note, we were unable to open one of our children’s homes that was finished in 2008. Due to the fact that we are two hundred thousand dollars down in our giving this year, we have had to postpone the staffing and opening of this new home.
