We believe in a world where every child has access to the mental health support they need to thrive.

  • TAKE A JOURNEY THROUGH FIVE-YEAR-OLD LIAMS EYES

    A real story of one of the students in our THRIVE therapy program.

  • Imagine you are 5 years old. Your mom left. Your dad is giving up his parental rights… because he says you are “too much.” And now, you’re in foster care.

    You feel confused.
    Unwanted.
    Like no one ever stays.

  • You get to visit your siblings—the ones still living with your dad. But he won’t come. He doesn’t want to see you. And every time you return to your foster home… your heart breaks all over again.

    Monday comes. You’re tired. Sad. Alone.

  • The weight of learning feels heavy. Your emotions are bigger than your words. So you do the only thing you know how to do:

    You scream. You throw a chair. You get angry.

    And you’re sent out of the classroom.

    Again.

  • Without support, pain takes the lead—and the outcome becomes heartbreakingly predictable.

    Kids with repeated suspensions are 3x more likely to drop out. Those carrying deep trauma? 32x more likely to end up in the juvenile justice system.

  • This is how kids, like you, get pushed out of classrooms and into courtrooms. Not because you’re “bad.”

    But because no one ever helped you make sense of the pain you were carrying.

  • But then, someone sees you. .

    A counselor welcomes you into Charleston Hope’s THRIVE room, and for the first time—you feel safe.

    You start to open up.

    You feel seen.

    And slowly, you begin to heal.

  • Your story isn’t over. Because hope has entered the room.

    This is the work of Charleston Hope.

    Your partnership in this work doesn’t just fund programs—it opens the door for a child to receive therapy at their school. It ensures their healing doesn’t have to wait, and their story doesn’t stop at trauma.

  • Together, we can keep showing up for students who need us most—and remind them that their story doesn’t end in trauma. It begins again with hope

    Make your gift and join the mission here.

Our Work in Action

In one of his first therapy sessions with Charleston Hope, Liam (see story above) used Child-Centered Play Therapy to express his pain. He quietly created an image of a baby floating in a bubble—cut off from everyone else, surrounded by family and connection he couldn’t reach. That bubble was Liam’s world. His way of saying: I feel invisible. I feel unlovable. I feel forgotten.

But at Charleston Hope, Liam’s story doesn’t end in that bubble.
Because he now meets weekly with a school-based therapist who sees him. Who listens. Who helps him name emotions and slowly, gently, begin to heal.

Through Liam’s eyes, therapy is no longer just a room with toys—it’s a lifeline. It’s a place where he can be angry, scared, or quiet—and still be safe. A place where healing begins.

This is what we do at Charleston Hope. We meet children where they are—sometimes broken, sometimes shut down —and we help them process, heal, and thrive.

Our Commitment: Ensuring Every Student Has Access to Mental Health Support, No Matter Their Zip Code

Our programs at Charleston Hope create safe, supportive spaces where students can develop emotional resilience, strengthen coping skills, and build confidence—empowering them to navigate challenges, improve their mental well-being, and thrive in school and beyond.

Individual Therapy

Licensed therapists and graduate-level interns provide individualized, evidence-based mental health support for boys and girls facing significant challenges at school, during their school day.

Group Therapy

Small group counseling sessions help students develop emotional expression, peer connections, and coping strategies in a supportive environment.

Girls Enrichment Groups

A mental health-infused enrichment program that fosters self-confidence, resilience, and healthy relationships through group sessions.

Henrietta Gantt, PhD, LPC-S, NCC

“Tre is a first grader who had to grow up very quickly after his father was incarcerated at an early age, witnessing violence in the home, and his older brother was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition. He struggled with constant anxiety of his family’s safety and wondering whether or not he was “good enough.” He fears being a burden to others.

Through therapy sessions and play therapy techniques he explored the trauma of violence through role play and his brother’s medical condition with a toy medical kit. His anxiety about safety decreased overall and his teacher reported that he had seemed much more comfortable at school and playing with others and had started to reduce the amount of times he asked whether or not he was good. He was able to start just acting more like a kid!”

Key Partners

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Our Office:
701 East Bay Street, #121

Mailing Address:
P.O Box 21315, Charleston, SC 29413

Phone:
843-608-0188