Future Expansion Plans
The James Storehouse Therapeutic Day Ranch
We are happy to announce that exploration is underway for a Therapeutic Day Ranch. The James Storehouse Day Ranch will be a transformative, healing space where children and families impacted by foster care or considered at-risk can rebuild trust, develop resilience, and break generational cycles of trauma. Through equine therapy, family and individual therapy sessions, and hands-on restorative experiences, we will offer an innovative, empowering alternative to traditional therapy- one that helps youth and families process their past, develop healthy coping skills, and envision a hopeful future. *The images are AI-generated… just a creative way to help you imagine the feel of the future Therapeutic Day Ranch.
Therapeutic Day Ranch
In the face of California’s foster care crisis, the need for holistic, trauma-informed services has never been more urgent. Currently, there are no free, therapeutic day ranch options designed specifically for those impacted by the child welfare system. The James Storehouse Day Ranch will fill this gap, offering accessible, nature-based healing in a supportive, community-oriented environment. All programs at the Therapeutic Day Ranch will be supervised by a licensed clinical supervisor/therapist to ensure they are delivered with the highest standards of clinical oversight and trauma-informed care. This initiative has the power to transform lives- restoring dignity, rebuilding families, and helping the next generation thrive.
What Makes It New and Different?
Healing Through Experience – Our approach uses hands-on, sensory-based therapies like equine therapy, art, and farm-to-table experiences which help children overcome trauma more effectively than traditional talk therapy.
Safe, Home-Like Environment – The Day Ranch offers a welcoming setting that promotes comfort, trust, and engagement, contrasting with sterile clinical offices.
Family-Centered Approach – We support both children and their caregivers, equipping families with skills for long-term healing and stability, rather than focusing solely on the child. We want to walk alongside families facing addiction, while empowering them to build healthier futures.
Breaking Generational Cycles – Our goal is to disrupt cycles of trauma by providing intervention and life skills.
Addressing Service Gaps – Many at-risk families and aged out youth lack access to holistic mental health support. The Day Ranch provides accessible alternatives for these underserved groups.
Open concept kitchen... This space can also be used for milieu therapy.
Why It Is More Effective:
A sense of community and belonging counters the isolation that most foster youth and at-risk families experience.
Equine therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety, build trust, and improve emotional regulation in youth with trauma histories.
Art therapy and hands-on creative expression allow youth and families to process complex emotions when words fall short.
Gardening, cooking, and working with animals foster a sense of responsibility, purpose, and connection—key protective factors against negative outcomes.
Workshops for children, youth and their caregivers address bereavement, trauma recovery, communication, and life skills, ensuring a family-centered approach to healing.
Empowering families ensures the child’s healing extends beyond their time at the Ranch. This innovative model meets youth where they are, offering a path to healing that feels natural, safe, and effective—far beyond what traditional systems provide.
This innovative model supports children and youth in care, those who have aged out, youth survivors of trafficking, and families who have been identified as at-risk… offering a natural, safe, and effective healing path beyond traditional systems.
The James Storehouse Day Ranch is shaped by individuals with experience in the child welfare system, focusing on the needs of youth and families. Executive Director Stacy DeWitt, a former foster mom, biological mom, as well as adoptive mother, has spent 30 years assisting vulnerable populations. Her experiences have influenced a trauma-responsive, community-based alternative to traditional therapy that supports youth and caregivers. The James Storehouse team, consisting of adoptive and foster parents, brings firsthand knowledge of service gaps, barriers to healing, and the necessity for innovative, accessible solutions.
Designed with Input from Foster and At-Risk Youth
Our program is shaped by youth voices, including those who aged out and faced homelessness, incarceration, addiction, or trafficking.
We found that:
Traditional therapy can be sterile and intimidating.
Non-verbal, experiential therapies (like equine therapy, art, farm-to-table experiences, and nature activities) help youth process trauma more effectively.
Youth thrive in safe, familial, and community-driven environments.
This is why the James Storehouse Day Ranch is unique. It understands that healing occurs through experience, relationships, and belonging.
Why We Are Ready to Launch the James Storehouse Day Ranch:
Unlike many organizations that rely on theoretical models, James Storehouse has a decade-long track record of hands-on, frontline experience with the exact population the Day Ranch will serve.
• We already serve thousands of children and families each year.
• We already have strong county and state partnerships to scale the program successfully.
• We already understand the urgent need for alternative, experiential healing methods that go beyond traditional therapy.
We have the trust, expertise, and infrastructure to make the James Storehouse Day Ranch a reality. This project is not just an idea—it is the natural next step in our mission to rewrite the future for youth and families. If you would like more information or to give a gift to James Storehouse to make this vision a reality, please reach out to Stacy DeWitt at Stacy@JamesStorehouse,org.