Crittenton Centers

Established with a social justice mission in 1883, The National Crittenton Foundation and its family of agencies support girls, young women, and their families living at the margin of the American dream overcome major obstacles rooted in circumstances not of their own making. Through no fault of their own, the majority of these girls and young women have experienced child sexual, physical and emotional abuse or persistent neglect. Many grew up in homes marked by domestic violence, substance abuse and poverty.

These girls and young women bear the life-long burden of healing from trauma and face significant challenges like profound social isolation, addiction, depression and low educational achievement. They tend to live in rural and urban poverty; to be disproportionately young women of color; and many are young single mothers. Moreover, many are in foster care, juvenile justice, are homeless or have experienced sexual commercial exploitation and domestic trafficking.

It’s a sad but true fact that we allow girls and young women @ the margin to remain largely invisible in our families, communities and even to the systems responsible for supporting them. With the right supports they can heal from the violence they have experienced.

The National Crittenton Foundation and the 27 members of the Crittenton family of agencies uses a social justice approach to support young girls and women at the margin to thrive, build skills, break destructive cycles and become powerful agents of personal and social change. At the core of our work is the mandate to address the profound impact of root causes, such as sexism, racism, poverty and violence in the lives of girls and young women.