Grace village

Every Child Deserves A Home

Eighty percent of Haitian children living in orphanages have a living parent. Unfortunately, many parents are economically unable to care for their children and are feel compelled to entrust their children to orphanages, which are largely unregulated. Our job creation initiatives and partnership with organizations like Lumos help resource Haitian parents, making long-term parent/child reunification possible.

In cases where parent/child reunification is not possible, our family-style homes at Grace Village provide a safe place for children to thrive. These homes are staffed by live-in “mommies” and “daddies” who provide a true sense of family through shared meals, spiritual encouragement, deep love, and (when necessary) loving correction. 

Trust based relational intervention

One of the sad realities is that most Haitian children have endured trauma. A true care-giving model must help children understand that while their trauma may be a part of their past, it doesn’t have to define their future.

At Grace Village, we employ the Trust-Based Relational Intervention method or TBRI. The three parts of TBRI include:

Connecting: Through play, activity, and body language. Eye contact and getting on their child’s level physically disarms fear and lays a foundation for trust.

Empowering: When a child suffers trauma, their choice and control are stripped away. Offering choices to a child who has endured trauma empowers them as individuals. Something as simple as the choice of their bedsheet color offers a sense of ownership over their space. When choices are given, a child is connected and empowered, which in turn provides caregiver the opportunity to correct, when necessary.

Correcting: Poor behavior doesn’t define an individual. We believe in a God of second chances. Giving the child another chance to try again, in a different way, gives them the tools to do the right thing in the future.

Our mission is to support God’s design of the family by supporting parents with education and opportunities to raise healthy, godly children into healthy, godly adults.

Staff Spotlight: Mommie Darlene

Darlene is one of Grace Village’s mommies raising 10 children as her own with faith and love. She is also the manager of all of the mommies. Supporting them and helping keep all four families at Grace healthy.