Chester Street Foundation
Shining a light on childhood trauma
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
More than ever before, mental health researchers and professionals are finding that untreated trauma from child abuse is at the core of a significant number of chronic health issues. Mental health issues have become a widespread problem as evidenced by the rising numbers of stories of suicides and other tragic events that appear daily in our news feeds. However, far too many illnesses are being incorrectly attributed to various conditions when, in fact, they were caused by the untreated trauma of child abuse. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), almost half of the nation’s children have experienced at least one or more types of serious childhood trauma. Even more alarming, nearly one in three U.S. youth ages 12-17 years has experienced two or more types of childhood adversity that are likely to affect their physical and mental health as adults.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
TraumaTALKS: Could it be Trauma? Supporting Kids on the Road to Recovery
This three-hour in person training is designed to provide professionals with the unique opportunity to learn how to identify the effects of trauma in children and help them on a path to healing. It is applicable to anyone working directly or indirectly with children and youth including educators K-12, mental health professionals, foster parents, healthcare workers and staff with child-oriented agencies.
The training is also available as a web-based an on-demand course which additionally includes Trauma and Developmental Disabilities. The course includes: 3 videos, 2 presentation guides, PD Certificate.
3 PD credits are available for both trainings through the Texas Psychological Association.
TraumaTALKS Annual Conference
This one-day symposium focuses on the impact of trauma on marginalized youth populations and best practices for supporting recovery. It is an ideal gathering for for students, educators, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and advocates.
TraumaTALKS: An Introspective Look at Trauma and the Need for Self Care
In this two-hour training, you will discover how trauma may be preventing you from being fully available for others, identify multiple ways to complete the stress response cycle, learn healthy tools to manage your thinking and emotions, and create your own self-care plan to help you stay on track.
The training will also be available as a web-based an on-demand course in the Fall of 2023. The course will include: training videos, a presentation guide, and PD Certificate.
2 PD credits are available for both trainings through the Texas Psychological Association.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Teachers, Caregivers, Foster and adoptive parents
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Educational trainings (In person, virtual, conference, and on Demand videos)
Number of clients reporting increased knowledge after educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Teachers, Foster and adoptive parents, Children and youth
Related Program
TraumaTALKS: An Introspective Look at Trauma and the Need for Self Care
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The mission of the Chester Street Foundation (CSF) is to educate the community about the insidious impacts of trauma during childhood and adolescence. In Texas, almost a quarter of youth have been exposed to at least two or more adverse experiences (i.e., domestic violence, abuse, loss of a parent, a caregiver with chronic substance abuse concerns) annually, with over 60,000 cases of abuse and neglect confirmed statewide (Texas Kids Count, 2018). The physical and emotional scars of abuse and neglect are profound, resulting not only in the immediate expression of disruptive behaviors, post-traumatic stress symptoms, poor school outcomes, toxic stress, or the prolonged activation of the stress response system in the brain and body.
We established the Chester Street Foundation to provide a voice for traumatized children and educate our community, particularly those on the front lines of the issue. No child should have to live a life imprisoned by panic, rage, and helplessness.
We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our education programs for the community at large and professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including educators, healthcare professionals, and organizations working with children.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategy to fulfill our mission is to educate our community on the science behind trauma and the ways to help traumatized children heal and recover. It’s not just about hurt feelings and troubling emotions; it’s much deeper and is rooted physiologically. Trauma remains wired in the body and brain. Whenever it triggers its victims, it causes them to relive the panic and terror of their original trauma over and over. These wounds are not visible to the human eye, but they are very real and left untreated can cause chronic health issues which last a lifetime.
Our education programs include TraumaTALKS for the community, TraumaTRAININGS for professionals, and our inaugural TraumaCONFERENCE. All education programs are given by Chester Street Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Shawn Alex Nemeth’s personal story is filled with the trauma of child abuse, shame, and deep internal conflict.
As an ordained minister, he did everything he was taught to do while attempting to help others heal. For years, he spent countless hours in prayer, pastoral counseling, and hard work to forgive his abusers.
In 2009, Shawn had to be hospitalized with chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the severe trauma his therapists said had been encoded in his brain and body when he was a boy. But even though he was traumatized by a tumultuous childhood, Shawn found the strength to recover and to thrive.
This experience ignited him on a quest – not only for his own wholeness – but with a new passion and purpose to help abused children heal and recover. That’s why he established the Chester Street Foundation.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
-We believe education is a critical component to helping traumatized children on their road to recovery and have designed our TraumaTALKS programs for the community at large and professionals who are on the frontlines of this issue, including, mental health professionals, educators, and organizations working with children.
TraumaTALKS are high-quality trauma-informed-training and professional development presentations, featuring Chester Street Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Shawn Alex Nemeth (a trauma survivor), along with other licensed mental health professionals. TraumaTALKS are offered as live presentations and through On Demand videos.
-We started a partner's initiative-- partnering with organizations and individuals who provide direct services to help traumatized children heal and recover.
-We produce a quartely newsletter to educate the community about childhood trauma and keep our readers informed about our programs and how they can get involved.
-We've also expanded our reach through two popular podcast interviews
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Chester Street Foundation
Board of directorsas of 08/04/2023
Shawn Alex Nemeth
Chester Street Foundation
Term: 2026 - 2023
Leah Adams
Institute of Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center
Marian Cabanillas
United Healthcare Community & State’s South Texas Health Plan
Kathryn E. Hayden
Raymond James
Katie Jackman
Hey Jackman Marketing
DeJuana Jernigan
Arms Wide Family Services
John M. Lewis
United States Attorney's Office
Melissa Goldberg Mintz
Private Psychologist
Albert M. Sanchez
Central Houston, Inc.
Danielle Stafford
Werlinger Law Group, PLLC
Meghan Tibo
The Tallest Trees
Marlen J. Trujillo
Spring Branch Community Health Center
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/04/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.