Comprehensive Family Support Services
White Picket Fence Foundation operates six interconnected program areas designed to address the full spectrum of challenges that families in the Greater Charlotte region face. Our wraparound model ensures that every family receives coordinated, holistic support rather than fragmented services that treat symptoms in isolation. Each program is led by licensed professionals and grounded in evidence-based methodologies proven to produce lasting outcomes.
Housing Stability Program
Housing instability is the single most disruptive force in a family's life. When a family loses their home or faces the threat of eviction, every other dimension of stability — children's school performance, parental employment, mental health, and family cohesion — deteriorates rapidly. The White Picket Fence Foundation Housing Stability Program intervenes at every stage of the housing crisis continuum, from prevention through emergency response to long-term stabilization.
Our Housing Stability team, led by two certified housing counselors (HUD-approved), provides direct financial assistance for emergency rental payments, security deposits, and utility arrears. We maintain active memoranda of understanding with the Charlotte Housing Authority, Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, Roof Above (formerly Urban Ministry Center), and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, enabling rapid-referral pathways that bypass typical 30-to-60-day waitlists for qualifying WPFF families.
Services Provided
Direct payments to landlords covering up to three months of past-due rent for families facing imminent eviction. Maximum benefit: $4,500 per household per fiscal year. Coordinated with the NC Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NC ERA) for supplemental funding.
Our certified mediators negotiate directly with property managers and landlords to establish payment plans, prevent eviction filings, and resolve lease disputes. In 2024, our mediation efforts prevented 187 eviction proceedings from reaching court.
Interest-free security deposit grants of up to $1,500 for families transitioning to safer, more affordable housing. Families who complete our Financial Literacy Workshop are eligible for enhanced deposit support of up to $2,200.
Emergency payments for past-due electric, water, and gas bills to prevent service disconnection. Coordinated with Duke Energy's Share the Warmth program and LIHEAP for long-term energy cost reduction.
For families who have already lost their housing, our team coordinates placement through the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Coordinated Entry System, prioritizing families with children under age five and those experiencing domestic violence.
One-on-one assistance with apartment applications, credit explanation letters, background check preparation, and tenant rights education. Our team maintains a database of landlords who accept Housing Choice Vouchers and have flexible screening criteria.
Eligibility Requirements
- Resident of Mecklenburg County with at least one child under 18 or currently pregnant
- Household income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level
- Demonstrated housing crisis (eviction notice, utility shutoff, doubled-up living, or literal homelessness)
- Willingness to participate in case management and develop a housing stability plan
Parenting Education Program
Effective parenting is not instinctive — it is a learned skill set that requires ongoing education, practice, and support. Many parents in our community face the compounding challenges of intergenerational trauma, cultural adjustment, economic stress, and inadequate access to professional guidance. Our Parenting Education Program provides structured, evidence-based curricula facilitated by licensed family therapists in a supportive group setting that reduces isolation and builds peer community.
We offer two nationally recognized parenting programs, each tailored to specific developmental stages and family situations. Both programs are offered in English and Spanish, with Vietnamese interpretation available upon request. All sessions include complimentary childcare and light meals. Transportation assistance is available for families without reliable vehicle access.
Curricula Offered
Triple P — Positive Parenting Program
Ages 2–12An internationally validated behavioral family intervention system developed at the University of Queensland. Our facilitators are Level 4 Accredited Triple P practitioners. The eight-session group program covers positive parenting strategies, managing misbehavior without harsh discipline, promoting children's social competence, and building parental confidence. Each participant receives a personalized parenting plan and a take-home resource workbook.
Next Cohort: January 14, 2025
Location: WPFF Community Room, Suite 215
Circle of Security Parenting
Prenatal – Age 5A relationship-based parenting program grounded in decades of attachment research. Circle of Security helps parents understand their child's emotional needs, recognize cues for when children need support versus exploration, and manage the strong emotions that parenting evokes. Particularly effective for new parents, foster and adoptive families, and parents navigating co-parenting relationships. Sessions use video-based reflection exercises facilitated by our clinical team.
Next Cohort: February 6, 2025
Location: WPFF Community Room, Suite 215
Child Enrichment Programs
Children from families experiencing economic hardship or instability are disproportionately likely to fall behind academically and miss opportunities for social-emotional development. Our Child Enrichment Programs provide structured after-school academic support, summer learning experiences, and developmental services that keep children engaged, thriving, and on track for educational success regardless of the challenges their families face at home.
All programs are free for children whose families are enrolled in WPFF services. Limited slots are also available for community families meeting income eligibility guidelines. Our enrichment staff includes two NC-certified teachers, three trained tutoring specialists, a licensed art therapist, and a rotating roster of 25 to 30 volunteer mentors, all of whom have completed comprehensive background screening and child safety training.
Program Components
Monday through Thursday, 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM during the CMS school year. Small-group instruction (maximum 4:1 ratio) targeting reading comprehension, mathematics, and science. Homework assistance, test preparation, and individualized learning plans. Healthy snack provided daily. Transportation from select CMS schools available.
Six-week day camp (June through July) featuring hands-on robotics, coding fundamentals, environmental science experiments, and engineering challenges. Developed in partnership with Discovery Place Science and UNC Charlotte College of Education. Camp runs 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM with breakfast and lunch provided.
Weekly one-hour sessions facilitated by our licensed art therapist for children ages 5 through 14 processing family transitions, grief, or behavioral challenges. Painting, sculpture, journaling, and music-based activities in a trauma-informed therapeutic setting.
Navigating early childhood education enrollment can be overwhelming for families. Our Early Childhood Specialist assists with NC Pre-K applications, Head Start eligibility screening, childcare subsidy paperwork, and waitlist advocacy for children ages 3 to 5.
Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) screening for children ages 1 through 66 months, administered by trained early childhood staff. Families receive results and, if indicated, warm referrals to Mecklenburg County Early Intervention services, pediatric developmental specialists, and speech-language pathologists.
One-on-one mentoring relationships pairing children ages 8 through 14 with screened adult volunteers for weekly outings, homework help, and positive role modeling. Mentors commit to a minimum six-month relationship with ongoing training and supervision by WPFF clinical staff.
Financial Literacy Workshops
Financial instability is both a symptom and a cause of family crisis. Families trapped in cycles of debt, predatory lending, and inadequate benefits enrollment often lack access to the financial education that more affluent communities take for granted. Our Financial Empowerment Workshop Series bridges that gap with practical, judgment-free education that meets families where they are and builds financial capability from the ground up.
Eight-Week Workshop Curriculum
Income assessment, expense tracking, understanding pay stubs and tax withholding. Participants receive a personal budget workbook.
Needs versus wants analysis, the 50/30/20 budgeting framework adapted for low-income households, digital budgeting tools.
Opening a bank account, understanding fees, avoiding check-cashing services, direct deposit setup, mobile banking safety.
Credit reports and scores explained, disputing errors, building credit responsibly, secured credit card strategies.
Debt snowball versus avalanche methods, negotiating with creditors, avoiding predatory lending, student loan options.
SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, CHIP, LIHEAP, childcare subsidies, Earned Income Tax Credit. Application assistance provided on-site.
Automatic savings strategies, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), micro-savings apps, setting realistic savings goals.
Insurance basics, retirement account fundamentals, homeownership readiness, protecting assets, graduation ceremony and certificates.
Matched Savings Program (IDA)
Graduates of the Financial Empowerment Workshop who maintain consistent monthly deposits into an Individual Development Account (IDA) receive a $2-for-$1 match from WPFF, funded through our partnership with the NC Community Development Initiative. Maximum match: $2,000 over 12 months. Eligible uses include security deposits, vehicle purchase for employment, education expenses, and small business startup costs. Participants must complete all eight workshop sessions and meet with a financial coach monthly to maintain match eligibility.
Family Counseling Referral Network
Mental health is the invisible foundation of family stability. When parents or children are struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma responses, grief, or substance-related challenges, every other support service becomes less effective. The White Picket Fence Foundation maintains a curated referral network of 14 licensed family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors across the Charlotte metropolitan area who have committed to providing accessible, culturally responsive care to our families.
Clinical Specialties Available
Whole-family sessions addressing communication breakdowns, role confusion, boundary issues, and relational patterns that maintain dysfunction. Structural and strategic family therapy approaches. Particularly effective for blended families and multigenerational households.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Cognitive Processing Therapy, and somatic experiencing for adults and children who have experienced abuse, neglect, community violence, or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Outpatient counseling for parents in early recovery, relapse prevention planning, family education about addiction, and coordination with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) providers and 12-step programs in the Charlotte area.
Play therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training for children and teens experiencing anxiety, depression, school avoidance, self-harm ideation, or behavioral difficulties.
Access & Fees
- All WPFF families receive a facilitated warm referral to a matched therapist within 10 business days
- Network therapists offer sliding-scale fees starting at $15 per session based on household income
- Pro-bono sessions available for families in acute crisis (limited to 6 sessions per family)
- Medicaid, NC Health Choice, and most commercial insurance plans accepted
- Teletherapy options available for families with transportation barriers
Crisis Intervention Services
When a family faces an immediate safety or survival crisis, every hour matters. Our Crisis Intervention Services, launched in 2024 in response to growing community need, provide a 48-hour rapid-response framework for families in acute distress. Whether the crisis involves domestic violence, sudden homelessness, child welfare involvement, or an emergency that threatens basic needs, our crisis team mobilizes resources quickly to stabilize the family and create a bridge to longer-term support services.
Crisis Response Services
Individualized safety plans for families experiencing domestic violence or household danger. Coordinated with Safe Alliance (Charlotte's domestic violence agency) for shelter placement, protective order assistance, and victim advocacy.
Pre-assembled family food boxes providing 5 to 7 days of nonperishable and fresh items. Available same-day for crisis-referred families. Coordinated with Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina for supplemental bulk distribution.
Same-day coordination with emergency shelter providers, hotel voucher issuance for families with no available shelter beds, and rapid engagement with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Coordinated Entry System for permanent housing placement.
When families come to our attention through child protective services involvement, our crisis team provides immediate stabilization support, parent education, and advocacy to safely maintain family unity when possible. Coordinated with Mecklenburg County DSS.
Need Immediate Help?
If your family is in crisis, do not wait for an appointment. Call our main line at (704) 555-0198 during business hours and ask for the crisis coordinator. After hours, contact the Mecklenburg County Crisis Line at (704) 566-3410 or call 211 for the United Way referral hotline.
Contact Crisis TeamReady to Get Started?
The first step is a confidential Family Needs Assessment that takes just a few minutes. Based on your responses, our intake team will match you with the programs best suited to your family's unique situation and schedule an intake appointment within two business days.