Letters: Children's crisis center is known for excellence

Re: "Barnes move to oust center on Callowhill," July 3:

It is troubling that the mayor's spokesperson would minimize the services the Children's Crisis Treatment Center provides by characterizing our Callowhill Street facility as providing no value.

The CCTC is the largest community-based children's-only mental-health agency in Philadelphia and is universally recognized for the excellence of the services it provides. Our work goes beyond treating about 2,500 children a year who have been physically or sexually abused to also providing psychological evaluation, therapy, and family-inclusive services. Over the years, our organization has raised millions of dollars and invested in improvements to our current Callowhill facility. At a time when the city is under tremendous financial pressure and in search of creative ways to obtain more assistance from the private sector, the CCTC is a sterling example of a public/private partnership in which private-sector resources, both financial and managerial, augment public resources.

Our challenge now is the uncertainty created by the city's shifting positions and distancing itself from a long-standing commitment that a major facility renovation plan and capital campaign were built upon. The "different direction" that the administration apparently wants to move toward has not been shared with us; only an eviction notice.

Jim Hennessy

Board chairman, CCTC

West Chester