A new treatment facility in Fulton will provide mental health services, educational support, and job training to at-risk children in the foster care system.
The Cornerstone Treatment Center, which opened Wednesday, also creates about 150 new jobs in the Fulton area.
The center will include a residential area for children displaced in the foster care system and trauma beds for victims of child trafficking.
"Most importantly, we want to ensure that these kids will have the opportunity to restore their childhood," Cornerstone Treatment Center CEO Margie Barilla said.
Barilla planned the opening of the facility in November. Since then, she has been able to raise over $5 million in awareness funds.
"In November of last year, I declared war," Barilla said. "I'm going to end child human trafficking in the United States."
By the end of this year, Cornerstone said she will have a safehouse located in all 50 states. There are more than 400,000 U.S children in the foster care system and over 220,000 children who are trafficked, according to Cornerstone.
The opening of the facility in Fulton is part of a larger goal to help kids in need on the national level.
"While the facility will focus on serving the state of Missouri, this is national in scope," Cornerstone Treatment Center said in a statement. "The need for similar treatment centers across the country is growing."
