The Connections Advocacy Program (CAP) is the only program of its kind in Dane County. It is unique in that it is the only program with a formal relationship with the Madison Metropolitan School District to provide counseling and case management to students identified as homeless.
The Connections Advocacy Program works to break the cycle of homeless by:
Connecting Youth and Families with Safe Shelter – Briarpatch staff will work to place youth and their families in affordable housing (including by providing rent assistance), provide youth with safe short-term shelter in the Briarpatch Youth Shelter, or provide families with shelter with other service providers.
Building Healthy Connections – Through the provision of individual, family, and group counseling, the Connections Advocacy Program will develop resiliency in its clients and help them develop the life-skills necessary to be successful after they leave the program.
Developing A Strong Support Network – Through case management services the Connections Advocacy Program will help youth and their families develop a support network of peers and services providers to meet their future needs.
Our services focus on:
Individual youth:
- Developing coping skills
- Identifying and cultivating protective factors
- Resiliency-caring relationships, meaningful participation, high expectations, mastery experiences, “real talk,” creative expression, service to others, culture identity
- Safety planning for self and situations
Groups of youth:
- Educational and skill building groups
- Bridge building for service gaps from community to court involvement to shelter
- Bounce back from trauma groups
- Support groups behavior strategies and pro-social behavior
- Stamina building for educational outcomes
- Stamina building for coping through challenges
Families:
- Planning and practice to increase tolerance and stamina though challenges within the family system
- Functional behavior assessments
- Identify the structures, routines, and predictability that increase the likelihood of sustainability
Services are available to those without insurance; it is currently impossible or very difficult to find similar counseling and case management services that are available to the uninsured.
