Our Mission & History
Our Mission
The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery is committed to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and provides trauma-informed emergency intervention, 24-hour respite care, and support to families in crisis through:
Short-term care for young children in a safe and nurturing environment
Empowering families to resolve crises and build resiliency through culturally responsive interventions
Equitable access to concrete support, crisis counseling, and parenting education
Grassroots community outreach and training to build child abuse prevention awareness
Advocacy for the safety and wellbeing of all children and families in our region
Our Vision
We work to ensure that every child can live in a safe, loving home in which they can thrive and reach their full potential. Every day, we strive to make our world a better place for our children so that they have the best possible start in life. Through our efforts to prevent instances of child abuse or neglect before they happen, we boost the positive impact we have on children’s lives and on our communities exponentially.
As an organization, we place a strong emphasis on teamwork and community empowerment to achieve this vision. We would not be able to help as many children and families as we do now without the expertise of our world-class clinically-trained staff, the community leaders we partner with, our thousands of individual donors throughout the region and the nation, and the investment and commitment of corporate partners. Despite the terrible odds of generational poverty, crime, and the tragic consequences of addiction, we see substantial, consistent improvement in the communities we serve.
As the Crisis Nursery continues into its fourth decade of keeping kids safe and building strong families, we are coming closer and closer to making our vision more real every day.
Our History
The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery has been a national leader in child abuse and neglect prevention for 38 years, offering immediate crisis intervention and intensive follow-up support to help high-risk families with children from birth to age 12. Specifically designed around evidence-based approaches for families facing multiple risk factors, SLCN programs provide trauma-informed crisis intervention, emergency respite care, case management, care coordination, and parenting support for struggling families across our region.
Originally opening its doors in 1986, the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery was the first Crisis Nursery in the state of Missouri, founded by the Junior League of St. Louis, the Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Deaconess Hospital.
Beginning with just one location, the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery has since grown to include five Crisis Nurseries and eleven community-based Family Empowerment Centers across the Greater St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln and Jefferson County Region.
The Crisis Nursery has remained true to its original mission of child abuse and neglect prevention.
99% of children served by the
Crisis Nursery do not have a substantiated
child abuse hotline call.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy
The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery (SLCN) is committed to promoting diverse, inclusive, and equitable beliefs that recognize and support the full humanity of each child, family, staff, student, and volunteer. We are an organization shaped by our differences and driven by the multitude of stories, abilities, experiences, and intelligences that unite us in serving the common mission of keeping children safe.
Our approach to advancing diversity and inclusion is manifold and includes:
engaging diverse communities by identifying and closing gaps in services
following a strengths-based approach with children, parents, staff, students, and volunteers
empowering our children and families, assuring their voices are core to our services
providing a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment
As an agency, SLCN supports equitable practices that address deeply rooted social disparities. Our efforts have resulted in the establishment of multiple outreach centers throughout the area in providing a stable source of support in and for the region’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized communities; the creation of a Latinx Outreach Program that works to dismantle barriers for Spanish-speaking families; and, the formation of the Parent Advisory Board, which consists of former clients who provide guidance and oversight over our services and delivery models.
