old rosario | Hike Kidz Foundation

THE SAFE & SOUND INITIATIVE

The Safe & Sound Initiative works to provide programs, partnerships and campaigns to address crisis in our local youth.

Our local children in crisis include:

The Mckinney-vento students
Foster care children and students
The unaccounted for
The underserved
Mental health crisis referral
Domestic violence & Sexual Assualt Refferal
Emergency housing referral

DONATE DIRECTLY

The mission of this initiative is to inform, educate, provide warning signs, prevention and local resources to keep our local children in crisis become: Safe & Sound. We work as a liason, resource, and directly, to help the child become and FEEL Safe & Sound during crisis.

The local children in crisis are also those affected by bullying, abandonment, abuse and neglect. These children are at a higher risk and higher exposure rate to danger and crisis situations that they need to be prepared for.

Through our taskforce, partnership teams and advisors, we are getting closer to filling the gaps for the youth, together.

Our goal is to remove barriers and fear from getting the help that is available while providing the youth and caretakers relief and hope.

SAFE & SOUND: CLOTHE THE KIDZ: 2025 PILOT

A-Z School Shopping Expierence

This program will be facilitated through the Warren County Public School's special services department. Hike Kidz Foundation will be working directly with the special services liason, who will also be working directly with each school. Once the parent/child have worked with the department, Hike Kidz Foundation will take the received forms provided. This is a pilot program.

Supporting school supplies

If you would like to get involved with this initiative, please contact us at give@hikekidzfoundation.org. You may also read more below on the ways to help.

This program reaches our McKinney-Vento Students, Foster children and our unaccounted for.

UNBURDEN THE TEACHERS. UNBURDEN THE CHILDREN._edited.jpg

UNBURDEN THE TEACHERS UNBURDEN THE CHILDREN PROGRAM

The Hike Kidz Foundation, Unburden The Teachers, Unburden The Children Initiative was established to provide ongoing financial and community support for teachers to directly assist the local children facing poverty and lacking basic necessities. This program reaches our unaccounted for population that are in need, directly.

Inspired by the teachers who we trust with our children daily. This Initiative makes immediate help possible for the teacher and child in need of relief.

When you continue to donate to this initiative, your funds will go directly to the local Elementary schools to distribute to the teachers within the established program. This continual support will help in many ways, providing encouragement and empowerment to the teachers and children.

HIKE KIDZ FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH
DR. MATHEW ROSARIO.
Together with our community leaders we will help address the mental health crisis and fill the gaps with his trauma and youth focused leadership.

Dr. Matthew Rosario, PsyD., M.S., CSOTP, CSAC, LRIC, C-DBT, CH-C, A-CRA

LOCAL YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Hike Kidz Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with Dr. Matthew Rosario as part of the launch of the Safe and Sound Initiative in Front Royal, Virginia. As a trusted advisor and respected mental health advocate for change, Dr. Rosario will work with our team and partners to confront the growing crisis affecting mental heath, emergency housing, and foster care reaching our McKinney-Vento Students, Foster children and our unaccounted for. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to creating safe, responsive, and supportive environments for children and families by bridging gaps.

We are developing a trauma-focused response plan that prioritizes crisis stabilization, safety planning, and emotional support for children experiencing distress or uncertainty. This approach will involve working closely with educators, caregivers, service providers, and child advocates to ensure that all children—especially those impacted by trauma—receive timely, culturally competent care in times of crisis. In Warren County and across Virginia, youth mental health needs are rising at alarming rates. According to recent statewide data, 38% of high school students reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless, and more than 20% seriously considered suicide. Rural areas like Front Royal often face added challenges in access and resources—making local solutions more critical than ever. The Safe and Sound Initiative will roll out in phases, beginning with the formation of a local task force for the development of community-based crisis support services, led by Dr. Rosario and our partners who represent and advocate for the well-being of our children.

LOCAL FOSTER CARE AWARENESS

LOVE WINS

WHEN YOU FOSTER A CHILD

WE HAVE A LOCAL FOSTER CARE CRISIS

The ballooning number of foster children in Warren County has reached the level of crisis. There are 52 children in foster care in Warren County, nearly double 2021-2023. The rate of foster children in Warren County is two times higher than the state average. The increased number of children has far outpaced the number of foster parents. This forces the Department of Social Services to ship these children to Therapeutic Foster Care homes all over the state at nearly quadruple the cost (NVD). Having local children spread across the state creates multiple problems. It adds to an already traumatic experience for the child, removing them from their home, school, teams, friends and families. The added distance between children and their parents/caretakers also hinders the likelihood of reunification. It adds more burden on an already overburdened system with social workers having to follow up on and keep tabs on the welfare of these children who are spread across the state.

There are 52 children in Warren County Foster Care, twice the rate of the STATE average.

54% of Children are under the age of 9 years old.

14% of children will spend 3-4 years in the Foster Care System.

Only 3 children put into the foster care system were able to placed with relatives.

SAFE & SOUND:
EMERGENCY HOUSING CRISIS

We do not have an emergency shelter for teens, for foster children, or for the teens that cannot go home and have no place to come forward to stay in crisis/shelter.

The Crisis

There are currently 73 children that we know of that homeless and enrolled in the Federal Mckinney Vento program. That number is likely double that when accounting for those who may scared or ashamed to communicate their circumstance. There are 52 children in foster care, a number that is double the amount of previous years. That number has overwhelmed the current capacity forcing children to be sent all over the state. It is disheartening when considering the number of children in troubling situations to no fault of their own, and the countless more only a circumstance away from trouble. Unfortunately for these children there is little support. In Warren County there are no family shelters or transitional housing options, there are no foster or group homes, and there are not enough foster parents to answer there call.

The Solutions

Market hard to potential foster parents
Add incentives and support for foster parents
Support efforts to create well run shelters that can house children, and families with children
Educate families on the resources that are available. Only 1 in 5 households who qualify for Housing Choice Vouchers take advantage of them (housinginitiative.org)
Support partnerships between Virginia Housing and Developers to bring transitional and affordable housing to the area
Develop supportive transitional housing units that educate on budgeting and help support families getting back on their feet

Hike Kidz Foundation is Partnered with Hike Construction, Rockledge Developers, Faith Works & Family Promise to help with the local housing crisis immediate needs and critical planning.