The mission of Jonathan’s Place (JP) is to provide a safe place, loving homes, and promising futures for abused and neglected children, teens, and young adults. JP’s Emergency Shelter provides residential care and specialized services to newborns and children up to 18 years old. While at JP, each child receives medical and dental exams, weekly individual and group therapy, and is enrolled in school. JP’s Foster Care & Adoption Program recruits, trains, and supports foster and adoptive parents. Case managers work to place children into a foster home that is qualified to meet the individual needs of that child. Should a child become eligible for adoption, JP provides a continuum of care for the child and their adoptive family. JP’s Safe Place program is a national outreach and runaway program designed to educate middle and high school aged children about abuse and provides immediate help and safety to youth in crisis.
JP’s Transitional Living Program is for young women aging out of foster care between the ages of 17-23. It includes provisions for safe housing and service components that provide for mental and physical health, education, and improved wellbeing. Finally, JP’s Girls Residential Treatment Program, that which is most dear to Shannon Skokos’ heart, provides a home for girls between the ages of 10-18 who are in need of therapeutic residential care and specialized professional services. These girls have experienced neglect, abandonment, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The Girls Residential Treatment Program is the only licensed residential placement option of its kind in Dallas County.
In 2016, the Skokoses learned of Jonathan’s Place when conflicting family schedules resulted in them spending Christmas day alone in Dallas. They wanted to spend the day doing something that reflected the love of Christ, so they asked the shelter to provide a list of “dream gifts” for each child in their care. On Christmas Day, with their SUV bursting at the seams filled with toys and more, the Skokoses witnessed the precious joy shining in the children’s eyes and their beaming smiles as the dream gifts were distributed courtesy of “Santa’s elves.” At that moment, the Skokoses committed to making this “Christmas Magic” an annual tradition and to expanding it so that the teenage girls in the therapeutic program could partner with female adult role models to go shopping after the holiday. The Skokos Foundation is honored to support this remarkable organization and its CEO Allicia Frye that provide trauma informed therapeutic services, shelter, and housing for vulnerable newborns, children, and young adults.
