Madrona Day Treatment School is a one of a kind school that arose through a collaboration between Kitsap County School Districts and KMHS. Madrona school serves severely emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children who cannot be accommodated in their home schools. Skilled therapists and teaching staff work intensively with children in this program, which meets during regular school day hours and helps children develop the skills necessary to be successful at home, in school and in their relationships with others. Children present with a variety of diagnoses, most often autism, while some children may experience post-traumatic stress syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, extreme ADHD, major depression and/or severe anxiety disorder. Of the 12 children served each school year, nearly all of them return to their usual school setting successfully after one year in the program.
Prior to construction of Kids Kove on September 26, 2010, the Madrona Day Treatment School had no outdoor play equipment of its own. The new and specially constructed Therapeutic Playground will greatly benefit the children in Madrona School, who often experience difficulties with their body coordination, standing, walking, and sensitivity to their outer environment. Most of the children are encouraged to engage in occupational therapy activities such as balancing, climbing, sliding, swinging and strength building. The playground will help support these therapeutic play activities as well as foster more interactive social skills, also an area of challenge.
Though the budget for KMHS is large, nearly all of the dollars reflect Medicaid or state legislated funds allocated for the provision of specific client mental health services. Due to these funding restrictions, KMHS needed to secure financing outside of the agency’s client services funding to make the dream of a playground a reality.
Having reached the fundraising goal of $38,000 to build the playground, volunteers have now installed the multiple, specially designed playground components.
(See photos). A generous bequest of $10,000 from longtime friend of KMHS Gerald Knight helped spearhead funding for the project, and the commitment of two young teens Alanna Nixon and Paris Harrison (see “Kids4Kids Receive Healthy Tomorrow Award” for more information and front page coverage by both the Kitsap Sun and the Bremerton Patriot) brought the vision of a therapeutic playground from dream to reality. Kids4Kids’ efforts inspired major support from the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Lodge No. 1181 in Bremerton, the Bremerton Rotary Foundation, the East Bremerton Rotary Foundation, the Silverdale Rotary, NAMI Kitsap County and many individuals throughout our community.
For more information please contact Rochelle Doan, Director of Development and Community Relations at rochelld@kmhs.org or 360-415-5871.
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