Bryce came to Eliada’s Child Development Center when he was 10 months old.  His grandmother had gained guardianship of Bryce and needed to continue working to support her family. She was looking for a nurturing and learning-focused environment for Bryce to grow and socialize with other children. She found Eliada through a recommendation from Bryce’s pediatrician, who had some concerns about Bryce’s development.

During the pre-enrollment visit, the Eliada staff learned that Bryce had been born with severe Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome. This was reflected in his difficulties with motor skills and balance. His teachers placed him in the infant room to help him overcome these issues. He progressed quickly and soon was able to transition to the toddler room.

In the toddler room, Bryce’s teachers began noticing signs of additional developmental delays.  Bryce would get easily frustrated, lose control of his emotions, and struggle to follow daily routines.  He lacked verbal language skills and couldn’t function within a group setting. After a review of his progress, they decided it was time to bring in speech and occupational therapists to work with Bryce on his unique individual needs. They created an intensive plan to get Bryce the extra help he needed.

Over a year later, Bryce has made remarkable progress. With the additional support offered through his teachers and therapists, his innate intelligence began to shine through. In some areas, he is now ahead of his peers. For example, Bryce can recognize and repeat every letter in the alphabet! He is becoming more verbal, forming close relationships with friends, and able to follow daily routines. His teachers continue to connect him with external therapists, and his Grandmother is able to continue working knowing Bryce is thriving at Eliada.

Thanks to a little help early in his life, there is no telling how far this bright, sweet little boy will go!

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Interested in learning more about Eliada’s Residential Interns Seeking Excellence (RISE) Program?

The RISE internship is a one year-long paid placement that provides recent college graduates the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the mental health field. RISE interns receive:

1. Paid housing and utilities
2. Medical benefits
3. Hourly stipend
4. Free meals
5. Opportunities to explore projects of personal interest

Join us this weekend for an open house to learn more!

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Join Eliada’s students in cheering on their friends and school mates in the Barrel Race Competition!

Trophies are given for the best times.  Students are also recognized for best turn, coolest gear/outfit, most improved, and more!

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Kourtany was born in Texas into a life of abuse and neglect.  Social services removed her from her home at an early age, placing her with family members in North Carolina. Unfortunately, this situation was equally unhealthy.  Kourtany saw many things that a child should never have to experience. Eventually, she found her way to residential care at Eliada.

Traumatic childhood experiences often manifest in a young person’s behaviors.  Many times, this can look like aggression, self-harm, anger, and running away. This was the case for Kourtany, who was dealing with a lot of anger over the circumstances that had led her to Eliada’s doors.  Fortunately, she had many strengths to help see her through difficult times.  Her energy, creativity, humor, and outgoing personality all helped her weather what was initially a very challenging period in her life.

Kourtany worked hard at Eliada and finally began to feel safe again. She developed relationships with staff across campus that nurtured, supported, and encouraged her. She began to see that people loved and believed in her. When she graduated, she was placed in a loving foster home. She continued to come to school at Eliada Academy and see the therapists she had grown close to while living here. This continuity helped give her a sense of stability while she adjusted to life in a new home.

Kourtany grew close to her foster mother and sister, but the transition to foster care was difficult. When she began to decompensate, foster care staff members decided to try something new.  They placed Kourtany with a foster mother named Mary Alice, a wise and patient woman who immediately connected with her.  While her support team at Eliada thought Mary Alice’s home would be a good match for Kourtany, they had no idea just how strong this relationship would become.

At Mary Alice’s home, Kourtany thrived.  All of the building blocks she had learned previously began to come together.  Kourtany graduated from Eliada Academy and enrolled in Job Corps to study carpentry.  Mary Alice stayed involved in her life, visiting Kourtany at Job Corps, taking her shopping, bringing dinner for Kourtany and her friends, or just spending quality time together.  In return, Kourtany came to Mary Alice’s home during holidays and on weekends, seeing it as her home, too.  In the past two months Kourtany earned a driver’s license, got her GED, and completed Job Corps.  She is preparing to begin school at AB-Tech. She hopes to one day be a special education teacher.

Recently, Kourtany returned to Eliada, not as a student, but as an employee! Kourtany got a job working in our central purchasing center and in digitizing archival records. It is a joy to see her around the Eliada campus! Congratulations Kourtany and thank you, Mary Alice!

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A decade ago, Natasha Evans was one of the very first interns in Eliada’s Residential Interns Seeking Excellence (RISE) program. A new college graduate, she found the RISE program after several unsuccessful months of job hunting.

“I kept hearing that they wanted someone with more experience,” she remembers. “It was frustrating because it seemed like there wasn’t any way to get the experience that employers were looking for. I just couldn’t get my foot in the door. RISE opened so many opportunities for me.”

RISE is an internship program for new college graduates that offers housing, a living stipend, medical benefits, vacation time, and professional development opportunities. Most importantly, RISE interns have the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job experience in the challenging and rewarding field of child and family services. They rotate through Eliada’s continuum of advanced educational and treatment programs, gaining experience working with a variety of student populations and evidenced-based interventions.

RISE interns have numerous opportunities during their service to lead projects of personal interest and deep significance to the agency. These leadership opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of programs, and training in specific models make RISE interns extremely competitive in the job market. The program is a true win-win. RISE interns gain real-world, resume-building experience, while Eliada’s students benefit from the enthusiasm and energy of new college graduates.

After her service was completed, Evans moved on to complete graduate work before eventually coming back to Eliada, this time to lead the RISE program that helped her get her professional start.

“I love working with these young professionals,” says Evans. “It is so remarkable to see the change in someone when they’re given leadership opportunities. There is so much growth that happens within the RISE experience.”

The RISE program was developed by Eliada CEO Mark Upright, for whom the idea came from pro-bono work that he did in law school.

“I liked the concept of service and professional development as a unified concept,” says Upright, “and I felt sure there had to be a way we could bring a similar model to the social service sector. While they’re here, RISE interns don’t have to worry about housing, bills, medical insurance, or anything like that. They can just focus on growing in their professional experience. It’s a unique opportunity that way.”

In the past ten years, RISE has welcomed interns from 38 states and 7 countries. RISE graduates have gone on to graduate programs and/or leadership positions within the field. Several have followed in Upright’s footsteps, going to law school or attaining an MBA. One has even become an FBI agent. For Upright, where they end up is less important than the experience they gain while being at Eliada.

“If RISE interns stay with us for one year and ultimately decide this field is not for them, I don’t consider that a failure,” he says. “We live in a time in which an awareness of mental health is so valuable to understanding our society. Even if they go on to work in a totally unrelated capacity, what RISE interns learn here will always stay with them.”

Particularly in the last five years, the program’s relevancy has become more pronounced. An analysis of government data recently conducted for The Associated Press showed that a weak labor market has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don’t fully utilize their skills and knowledge. Nationally, new graduates with little real-world experience are struggling to find meaningful, living wage work. Too often, young workers with great potential are forced to relocate to large metropolitan areas, creating a “brain drain” that diminishes smaller communities like Asheville. The RISE program helps change that by training the next generation of social workers and mental health professionals.

Now, the RISE program is expanding. Eliada is currently recruiting for a large number of open internship positions. More information and an online application is available at www.eliada.org/employment/rise, or by calling 828.254.5356 x 360.

About Eliada

Eliada is a 110 year old non-profit agency serving North Carolina’s children and families. Founded in 1903 by Dr. Lucius B. Compton as a home for women and children, Eliada’s full service continuum includes 5-Star Child Development Services (Pre School, After School, Summer Camp, More at Four); Residential and Day Treatment for children and adolescents; Vocational Education and Transitional Living; Foster Care and Therapeutic Foster Care; and Therapeutic Recreation services. Learn more about Eliada’s history and services by visiting Eliada.org. The agency enters its second century with pride, committed to the fulfillment of its mission statement: Helping Children Succeed.

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