The Program

The Road To Success Begins with Learning Skills for Life!

Many Louisiana youth have experienced some form of trauma, are incarcerated or are at risk for incarceration. The impact of these conditions severely interferes with the normal development of basic skills needed for adult life. The Life Skills Program serves not only residents of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home, but also children living in group homes and foster homes in twenty-nine parishes in the following regions: Monroe, Covington, Lake Charles and Lafayette. This program provides the opportunity for youth, ages 14-17, to learn the life skills necessary to transition successfully into independence. These youth also have the opportunity to return after completion of the program from ages 18-21 to “brush up” on their skills and receive Case Management Services.

Life Skills Training Centers partner with other community based programs to offer education and training. These other programs may include churches, transitional living facilities and schools, all of which assist youth in transitioning successfully into adulthood. Additional training is offered to foster parents DCFS staff.

This program is housed in the Life Skills Training Centers. The beauty of this program is its ability to meet teens on their own level and grow them toward the goal of independent living. The essential life skills taught in this program include:  personal appearance and hygiene, checkbook balancing, meal planning, money management, housing, parenting and sex education, and job-seeking skills.

Other services of the Life Skills Training Centers include:

  • The NextChapter Employment Preparation Program
  • The Youth Engagement Program
  • Case Management Services (ages 18-21)
  • Hope Chest Donation Program

Residents and foster youth preparing to live in their first apartment are in great need of household items such as pots and pans, bathroom accessories, bedding, small appliances, etc. The Life Skills Training Center maintains the Hope Chest Program to collect donations of such items. Contact Angie Thomas, Director of Life Skills, at 1 (318) 255-3717 if you wish to donate items or learn more about the Life Skills Training Center.

“All the people from Life Skills really care. They stay in my life and I know that I can call them when I’m going through something. They are the only family I have that I can always count on.”

– R.B a 23 year old female that has been receiving services since the age of 16.