Expanding Access to Natural Therapeutic Environments for Low-Income Families
Low-income families often are stuck in a system that discounts their traumatic experiences (ACEs). Multiple indicators point to their children struggling and are twice as likely to be economically poor as adults. Olive Tree Early Learning Academy (OT) was launched in 2023 to provide low-income families with high-quality early education and trauma-responsive childcare. DHS licenses OT and currently serves 60 children, ages six weeks to 5 years old (67% are from low-income families, and 48% are from single-parent households). It is located on a beautiful 16-acre property with a 2-acre pond and a 10,000-square-foot building. On this property, the OT collaborates daily with Harmony Family Center (HFC), East Tennessee Collaborative (ETC), and The Restoration House (TRH) to provide holistic wrap-around services for low-income families, focusing on trauma-responsive therapeutic interventions.
OT plans to develop a master plan for the property and a sustainability plan that allows other community organizations to take advantage of all the site offers. These plans will include an assessment of the property to determine the feasibility of introducing therapeutic riding, adventure-based therapy with a low ropes course, gardening, and other projects to enhance the therapeutic web parents and children can access.