Grand opening held today for Communities in Schools and Trauma Institute CTI

The two non-profits aim to positively impact the lives of struggling youth and teens in the area.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A grand opening was held today for the new and improved headquarters for the Communities in Schools of Cape Fear (CIS).

The move to the new location not only brought more space for the organization, but it brought them closer to New Hanover High School, which is one of the schools that they serve. It is also only two blocks away from the CIS’s youth center, WIRE.

The space at 1209 Market Street is shared with the Trauma Institute and Child Trauma Institute (TICTI), an organization that provides free, intensive trauma therapy in Wilmington to promote the healing and healthy development of children and adults who have experienced trauma or loss.

TICTI founder and psychologist Ricky Greenwald states, “Trauma and loss can cause school under-performance as well as behavioral issues, substance abuse, anger, anxiety, and depression.”

Students can meet one on one with a skilled trauma therapist for up to six hours a day for up to five days at a time at no cost.

PPD donated many pieces of furniture for the new location, and delivered and set up several fixtures inside.

Communities in Schools of Cape Fear (CIS) benefits greatly from the new and larger location, as the expanded space allows for their growing staff to work together closely to provide support for students in the region.

Louise Hicks, the Executive Director of CIS Cape Fear, says that thanks to community support, the organization has been able to expand not only their staff, but their services and schools as well.

“Having started in a tiny office with a two-person staff back in 2005, it’s been incredibly rewarding to see our programs and staff grow to where we are today.”

It has definitely grown, just in the past year, their staff has almost doubled in size.

Just this fall, they were also able to add 7 new schools that they will provide services to, making 29 schools in total that they provide support to within New Hanover and Pender Counties.

Most of the work that CIS does is school-based, meaning their employees are in the schools bell-to-bell to help and support students in need.

They also have community-based programs, such as Teen Court, young-parent support that helps both parents and their babies, and after school programs that take place at WIRE.

Hicks states that the move to the new location not only benefits both organizations, but the community as well.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our community to really get some healing and the support that a lot of our kids and families need.”

Kymberly Lasser-Chere, the Director of the Wilmington Satellite Office told WWAY, “There’s a lot of folks that don’t know that there’s actual methods out there to heal trauma from the past, so part of this is getting the word out, and letting people know that there are treatments that work. And I think that this is gonna be incredibly successful and hopefully we will be able to replicate it in other areas.”