Our priority, our children:
Every child at Carrie Steele - Pitts Home has the basic needs met everyday. But the Carrie Steele - Pitts Home does so much more than provide for the basic needs of children. We provide a real home, a shelter from the storm.
When people arrive at Carrie Steele - Pitts Home, the first thing they notice is the beauty of the place. Our 26-acre wooded campus is landscaped with neatly manicured flowerbeds an d grassy spaces where children can run and play. Birdhouses, made by children, hang from the trees, and playground equipment is tucked in areas between the five residential cottages.

In each cottage, approximately 20 children live with their house parents, a team of compassionate adults who provide 24-hour supervision and care. Each cottage has a family room where the children gather after school to finish their homework and spend time with their friends. Sofas and chairs are arranged among the bookshelves, computer learning areas, and tables where the children do their assignments. The children's bedrooms down the hall are filled with stuffed animals; their walls hung with mylar birthday balloons.
One of the most important moments of each day is the evening meal, when all of the children and staff gather in the central dining room to eat together and talk about the day's experiences. After eating, there is a time of sharing, where children and staff are encouraged to present readings, songs, funny stories, and personal achievements to the entire group.

In the atmosphere of love and acceptance, CSPH is able to provide the structure and discipline that many children's lives have lacked. Following simple rules based on respecting others, the CSPH staff and children develop a since of community. These bonds have grown have grown more important as children's lives have become increasingly fragmented.

In the Home's early years, the majority of children were abandoned or orphaned. Today many are unable to live with their parents due to abuse, neglect, drug addiction, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, or other intractable family situations. Children are exposed to unprecedented levels of violence - in their homes, their neighborhoods, and through the media. More and more children are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to these multiple factors, many children now require specialized classrooms in the public schools to meet their needs, and personalized attention at home.
Because children placed in care today generally have more psychological, emotional, and social needs than they did just ten years ago, they are demanding more individual care.

The Carrie Steele - Pitts Home is committed to the well being of every child. We work hard to maintain a level of excellence, a high 2.5 to 1 staff-to-child ratio, and a warm, nurturing environment. We are committed to the following: to ensure that every child feels special, to build trust, to encourage self-confidence, and to offer a source of strength, support and love.