The children accepted in Dwelling Places go through a four step holistic care program. This ensures that in addition to providing for immediate needs of the child, we also encourage and empower the child to fulfill his or her potential as a moral, hard working, contributing member of society.

Step 1: Rescue

First we travel to the streets of Kampala and local slum areas in order to build relationships with children who are begging and homeless. Then, we send an outreach team of volunteers, social workers and nurses to interview them and give them some basic health care. We spend days, sometimes even weeks, building a relationship with a child and getting to know their background. Once trust is established, we asses the needs of the child, and adjust the program to meet their needs. Some children need to be immediately removed from their environment, while others only need education and health support. Some children are total orphans, while others have family members. Some families can benefit from the Family Empowerment program, while other families are abusive, exploitive and a dangerous environment for a child. Each child is in a unique situation and is given a care plan based on their individual needs. Whenever possible, we seek to rescue and rehabilitate entire families rather than just a child.

Step 2: Rehabilitation

Street children are often social out casts; some of them become alcoholics, sexually active, and drug users at a very young age. Most them don’t understand basic hygiene habits, and have never slept in a bed, or sat in a class room. In order for them to be accepted into society, they need to be rehabilitated. The rehabilitation strategy of a child and a family can take several forms. In most cases rehabilitation is done by working with a child in our Transitional Rehabilitation Home and Interim School. In other cases, rehabilitation can be done at their home with support of the family. Some families qualify for our Family Empowerment Program, which seeks to provide parents and caretakers with skills to effectively care for their children.

Step 3: Reconciliation

We believe that a loving family is the ideal environment for every child. Whenever possible, we reconcile a child back into his or her own family, and through our Family Empowerment Program, we seek to reconcile the family back into society. Through this reconciliation period, Dwelling Places continues to follow-up with the child and the family, providing for basic supplies, health care, and education costs if necessary to ensure that resettlement will be sustainable. We meet with the family regularly to reassess their needs and encourage them towards self-sustainability. However, there are circumstances when family reconciliation is not possible. There are three options if family reconciliation is not possible: (1) Independent living (after the age 18) (2) adoption and (3) foster care.

Step 4: Resettlement

Once we have empowered a child’s family to provide a safe loving environment for them, we will permanently resettle the child back into their family. If the child has no surviving family members, we will search for a foster family and eventually assist in permanent adoption. There are cases where we cannot find a permanent placement for a child. In these cases, the child will live in Dwelling Places housing until they have reached 18 years of age. During this time we work to equip them with the skills they need to live independently.