NATCHEZ &8212; A partnership between a local shelter and the Boys and Girls Club has inspired imitation.

A program designed for the center provides more than activities for abused children. It provides stability and positive reinforcement they desperately need, Sunshine Shelter Director Matilda Stephens said Thursday.

The shelter hosts a unit of the club, and the partnership is unique to the state, maybe the country, Stephens said.

After-school tutors, music and art appreciation are all part of the program, and children in foster care or group homes often attend, too, she said.

It has worked so well, she said, that the state attorney general&8217;s office, which oversees and funds the club, is looking at duplicating the arrangement at other shelters and facilities across the state.

&8220;They were very interested in what we were doing partnering,&8221; Stephens said. &8220;They set up a meeting with the Boys and Girls Club and shelter directors across the state. (Boys and Girls Club director) Faye Minor and I presented the benefits for each entity, what investments each has to make and how it benefits the children.&8221;

Before she worked at the Sunshine Shelter, Stephens worked with the Boys and Girls Club.

&8220;I noticed when I came to the shelter, so much of the (club&8217;s) programs could be adapted to abused and neglected kids we have here.

&8220;So many things our therapists and staff were already trying to work on with our children, but they didn&8217;t have a set curriculum to do it.&8221;

It was a natural fit. The Boys and Girls Club curriculum is aimed at at-risk children to begin with, Stephens said.

&8220;We deal with kids who are not only at risk because of their poverty level, but these are the most at-risk kids in Mississippi,&8221; she said.

The specialized club program they developed features activities to teach children survival skills and self-esteem, she said.

Now shelters, group homes and psychological facilities across the state are looking at gearing Boys and Girls Club units to their needs, too.

Even the national level of the club showed interest, Faye Minor, director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Miss-Lou, said.

&8220;We talked to the national office of the Boys and Girls Club, and they thought it&8217;d be a great idea,&8221; Minor said. &8220;We were really proud of what we&8217;d done.&8221;