Canopy Village's not-so-sudden 'Impact'

Vanessa Moos has long wanted to highlight the influence of Canopy Village because she believes many are unaware of its reach. 

Consider it done. 

The nonprofit children’s residential care and family support facility recently released an “Impact Report” that looks at its crisis respite, emergency shelter, residential treatment and family support programs.

It saw a 479% increase in youth served last year compared to 2023 with the addition of its Family Support Center that opened in January 2024. 

“We have had a lot of families asking for help,” said Moos, Canopy Village chief executive officer. 

In its first year of family support services, 184 at-risk children were referred to the center, with “hard behaviors in school” and “risky decisions” cited as reasons why. 

Sixty-two percent of Family Support Center youth were referred by their own families.

“Which we’re really proud of,” Moos said. 

With the addition of family support services, Moos said, Canopy Village focused on breaking the cycle of generational trauma. 

It was a success. Canopy Village saw a 12% decrease in the need to use respite and shelter services more than once in a year compared to 2023, the report said. 

But Moos said that behavioral issues with youth are becoming more complex due to social media and kids having the world at their fingertips. 

“That can be a very scary thing,” she said. 

On average, kids lived at Canopy Village for 119 days at a time. In its short-term crisis respite program, the average stay was two days. In the emergency shelter, the average stay was 134 days and in residential treatment, the average stay was 222 days, the report said. 

Overall, it served youth with the average age of 10.

Moos said all of their respite and shelter youth live in Kootenai or Benewah counties, and 8% of those youth were homeless. 

But the cost to run Canopy Village is “exorbitant,” the report said. 

It is funded partially through state contracts, while the Canopy Village Foundation, also led by Moos, raised $900,000 to fund operations last year.

“That’s a pretty big number,” Moos said. 

Even then, at the end of 2024, it had to close one of its two homes due to financial challenges, including the loss of an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare contract, and lay off about 15% of its workforce, leaving it with a staff of nearly 40. 

“It was the hardest day of my career,” said Moos, who has been CEO there almost five years. 

The plan is to focus “on sustainable paths forward for youth who need us the most,” the report said. 

“We’re focusing on keeping kids successful in their own homes,” Moos said.