DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The new Volusia Family Resource Center is officially open in Daytona Beach.
The facility is set to help troubled young children and their families.
They can go to the facility and use resources in juvenile justice, mental health, substance abuse prevention and behavioral services.
“We get phone calls and emails from parents all the time, ‘My kid... something is not right, I think he’s doing drugs, there’s skipping school, they are hanging out with the wrong crowd.’ Well, you can bring your kid here. We have somebody who will help you with the medical insurance and get them the help that you need,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
[TRENDING: Owner pulls the plug on Orlando’s last RadioShack after 52 years in business | ‘Never been done before:’ News 6 investigation helps lead to arrest of gas pump manipulators | Become a News 6 Insider]
Chitwood said the goal is to provide troubled children with change and new opportunities.
The plan to open a family resource center has been in the works for years.
Earlier this year, the county received $5.4 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan which gave officials the green light to open and they were able to convert the building into a resource center in 90 days.
What a great way to start the day! The Grand opening of the @VolusiaSheriff @CountyOfVolusia Family Resource Center! A place where true second chances for our youth happens! A great partnership between law enforcement and @volusiaschools #ChangeStartsHere @SenTomWright pic.twitter.com/bWycIzhbii
— Volusia County Schools (@volusiaschools) November 17, 2022
“From 2006, when I first became the police chief of Daytona Beach, we saw the correlation between truancy, curfew and alcohol was the big drug used by middle school students in Volusia County and you can see the nexus to that. So we applied for federal grants, state grants, we tried to get traction with the county,” Chitwood said.
Also partnering with the sheriff’s office is Volusia County Schools, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and the Children’s Home Society of Florida.
“This allows for us to give one more option to families to be able to confront what at times is a harsh reality where outside forces are having more impact on our children than we can,” Angel Gomez, Spokesperson with Volusia County Schools said.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: