The Night’s Shield in West Frankfort opened its new Children’s Crisis Center Wednesday.

According to a post on the Night’s Shield Facebook page, the Children Crisis Center program serves families from the entire State of Illinois and especially the southern regions of Illinois.

The program is a temporary emergency child care shelter that provides short-term care for children age’s birth to a child’s 18th birthday, for families who are experiencing a severe disruptive crisis such as domestic violence, parental stress, home crisis/homelessness, legal issues, family medical problem, mental health issues, substance use/abuse, public support/services, job/school issues or family instability. The shelter also provides intervention, community based resource referrals and support to families for their restabilization and empowerment.

Children receive 24-hour quality crisis care for 24 to 72 hours, depending on the needs and goals of the family. Longer care plans may be developed at the discretion of the executive director in such cases involving substance abuse and mental health crisis.

Call 932-6400 if you have any questions or need more information about the shelter.