Home Depot helps Fresno Police Chaplaincy set up new Resiliency Center

The Fresno Police Chaplaincy will soon have a new place to help kids through tough times - all thanks to The Home Depot.

The store donated cabinets, appliances, and supplies to renovate a space for a new center.

Rodney Lowery with the Fresno Police Chaplaincy explained they are opening up a Resiliency Center.

"Any calls involving children and trauma - we will capture those and send a team out to actually engage with those kids and the family," he said.

Fresno Police receive about 500 to 800 calls a month that involve children being exposed to traumatic experiences.

A traumatic experience can range from abuse, child neglect, to witnessing abuse or dealing with death.

Once they respond to a call they will do some education out in the field with the families about how traumatic experiences impact kids.

Then within 72 hours, this is where the Resiliency Center comes into play. Kids will be able to come to the center for extra help and counseling.

"We will use it for 'voices' curriculum with young girls, it's a self esteem curriculum. We will be holding classes up there, different life skills classes, but it will be individual and group counseling," Lowery said.

According to the agency, children who are exposed to traumatic experiences are 4.5 times more likely to develop depression, 7.4 times more likely to become alcoholics, 11 times more likely to use illegal IV drugs and 14 times more likely to attempt suicide.

"Whatever child needs any kind of support, we are going to make sure that they get it," he explained.

The cost of the renovations ranges from $15,000 to $20,000. However, through the Home Depot Foundation, it did not cost the department a dime.

"Every dollar that they invested in us saved us from having to spend that money and that money can now be poured into the kids. It also just shows the heart of the community and that people realized we need more and more services for our young people," Lowery said.

Cole Pierce with The Home Depot said this was an easy decision to help out and donate.

"Doing stuff like this is just a great way to give back to the community, which we are. We live in the community - if (there is) anything we can do to to help them out, it's a great thing to do," Pierce explained.

The Resiliency Center should open up within the next couple of months.

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