Charleston Hope builds a mental health team inside Title I elementary schools, so a child who needs care gets it during the school day, down the hall, at no financial cost to their family.

Every Child Deserves Care. We're Putting It Inside Their School.

Most school mental health programs send a therapist into a building to see a handful of students, and the care often stops there. Your support builds something different. Every Charleston Hope school gets a team. A licensed therapist, a care coordinator who stays with the family start to finish, and a graduate level clinician trained in play therapy.

This only happens because people like you choose to show up.

THE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS NEEDS A DIFFERENT RESPONSE

More than three quarters of South Carolina youth with depression receive no treatment at all. These needs begin early, follow children through school, and shape outcomes long after the classroom. Closing the gap takes more than reaching the child.

It takes reaching the family, the teacher, and the school around that child at the same time, which is the gap in most school-based mental health programs.

More than 3 in 4 South Carolina youth with a major depressive episode receive no mental health treatment
Access has stayed out of reach for most families despite years of state investment and a doubled counselor workforce, now at one counselor for every 567 students
The youngest children carry the most. In Charleston County, children ages 0 to 6 are abused or neglected at a higher rate than any other age group

WHAT YOUR GIVING BUILDS.

Therapy, during the school day

A licensed therapist works on site. Every child is assessed before care begins and again at the end, and no student is placed with a clinician until that assessment is complete.

A coordinator who knows the family

They take the referrals, walk the parent through permission, schedules around the school day rather than a clinic's hours, and stays in touch from the first call to the last session.

Clinicians we train & grow ourselves

Graduate clinical interns carry cases under licensed supervision, trained in play therapy before they meet a single child.

She’s Only 7: Why Mental Health Support in Schools Can’t Wait.

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!”