NATCHEZ — When it comes to caring for at-risk children, the cost is rather expensive.

Nancy Hungerford, executive director at the Natchez Children’s Home Services, said when people think of the children’s home, most think it’s an orphanage run by the city. In fact, the NCHS is a non-profit agency with a mission to intervene in the lives of children and families in crisis by providing education, counseling, advocacy and support services in a Christian environment.

“About 30 years ago when I first got here, we had children living in the building, but they were not orphans,” Hungerford said. “They were being removed from bad situations at home, and the goal was to get them back home.

“About four years ago, for a lot of reasons out of our control, we stopped doing residential, but I call NCHS a strip mall for kids.”

Hungerford says this because of the several programs offered to kids at one location.

“In 2014, we’re looking to add more,” she said. “We’re going to look like a mental health center for children more than anything else.”

NCHS programs are based out of the ABC (Academic, Behavioral and Counseling services) preschool learning center.

The ABC preschool educates 3 and 4 year olds and also provides transportation, breakfast, lunch and a snack.

The Children’s Advocacy Center and the Thrift Shop are a few of the other centers the NCHS uses to help children.

The advocacy center is a child-focused, community-based program in which a representative from law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical and victim advocacy work together to conduct joint forensic interviews and make decisions about the investigation, treatment, management and prosecution of child abuse cases.  These professionals comprise the Multidisciplinary Team.

The way the process is done is through an interview in a room consisting of just the child and an interviewer.

“The child will come in a room and there’s a microphone behind a (standing) drawing pad and there are cameras in the room,” Hungerford said. “We tell the children that we have cameras and we have friends in the next room that will be watching. We’re not trying to trick them.”

Hungerford said there are several ways they try to interact with the child so that they can explain what happened to them in any sexually abusive scenarios.

“We have anatomically-correct dolls with clothes and body parts so they can show what happened in a scenario rather than a young child trying to say it and not knowing the words for it,” she said.

The Thrift shop is located right across the street from NCHS at 901 North Union St., and Hungerford said it is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Donations are accepted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and given to thrift shop manager Ira Baker.

Donations can include clothing, furniture, appliances, electronics, toys and more.

Hungerford said proceeds from the thrift shop help fund NCHS programs.

All monetary donations can be sent to 806 North Union St. P.O. Box 2028 Natchez, MS 39120.

For more information, call Nancy Hungerford at 601-442-6858.