We caught up with Jessica Knudsen, President and CEO of Clarity Child Guidance Center, to learn more about their new Crisis Assessment Services department and their plans for the future. Clarity is one of Impact SA’s 2025 Support Grant recipients.
Tell us about your organization:
Our history began in 1886 when thirteen women in Bexar County formed the Protestant Home for Destitute Children. These women provided a home to children who could not be cared for by their families. Over a century later, Clarity Child Guidance Center is the only nonprofit children’s mental health facility in South Texas dedicated to exclusively treating children ages 3-17. Clarity’s 8-acre campus in the heart of San Antonio’s Medical Center is home to our programs and services where we provide care to more than 6000 underserved children annually. Our programs include:
- 24/7 pediatric mental health crisis assessment services
- 74-bed inpatient hospital for children in active mental health crisis
- Partial hospitalization program for children who need intensive therapy during the day, but are safe enough to go home in the evenings
- Outpatient services which include individual, group, and family therapy along with art, play, music, and movement therapy
- Multi-systemic therapy aimed at keeping children with behavioral challenges in their homes and communities
- Clarity Southside Clinic providing mental health treatment for children attending school within Southside ISD
How does this project help the community?
At Clarity, we ensure that every child and family that needs our services receives our services by never turning a child away based on their family’s ability to pay. We accept all major insurance plans and offer sliding scale payment options for underinsured and uninsured families. When payment is simply not an option, we provide families with access to our charity care program.
What is coming up that you want to tell Impact San Antonio?
Construction starts this summer on our Crisis Assessment Services department. The renovations to this service line will (1) add two observation rooms/patient beds to increase capacity, (2) expand the main lobby to allow more seating for patients and families awaiting evaluation and (3) create a dedicated family waiting room. Once completed, we anticipate assessing an additional 60 children in crisis per month.
How do you feel about Impact San Antonio and what they do for our community?
We are thankful for Impact San Antonio’s support of our mission! Your investment in hardware and software upgrades has made a meaningful impact in strengthening services for children and families in our community. Thank you for your partnership, generosity, and continued commitment to making San Antonio a stronger, healthier, and more compassionate community!
