Helping Hands was founded as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization and became Helping Hands, Incorporated on April 19, 1973. The prompt for such a facility arose after a group of Aiken citizens realized abused, abandoned, and/or neglected children were being temporarily housed in the Aiken County jail due to a lack of foster home space. The agency began with contributions from the Gregg-Graniteville Foundation and the Aiken County government and became a United Way agency in 1979.

The combination of distance between houses, increased operating costs and the difficulty of finding experienced house parents for three separate locations proved to be too much, so all locations were closed and children were moved to the current, and permanent, 58-bed facility on John Elliott Lane on March 31, 1988. This new facility eventually included two residential buildings, a Clothing Warehouse, Storage Warehouse, and a Development Center. In addition to providing shelter, food, and clothing, Helping Hands provides independent living skills instruction, medical and legal advocacy, mental health counseling, educational support, and activities that encourage healthy psychological and social development.

In 2012, Helping Hands acquired another nonprofit, Aiken Youth Empowerment (AYE), in order to extend our services to the Aiken community. AYE began as the Aiken County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Center in 1994 and is dedicated to providing programming to help youth reduce risk-taking behaviors and decrease teen and unintended pregnancies in our community. This is done through the provision of research-based programs with a record of success including Girls Circle, the Council of Boys and Young Men, and Stewards of Children. Other offerings include a year-round job readiness program, and parent empowerment courses.

When going out into the community for these services, our educators coordinate with local guidance counselors to help identify students that would benefit from our evidence-based curriculums. The AYE staff then facilitate groups in the schools based on these recommendations. AYE also coordinates with local youth groups to provide these curriculums to youth in the Aiken County area. AYE has had an open partnership with Aiken County Public Schools since 2015. AYE has also begun providing services in Edgefield County through one of the local charter schools. AYE has also worked with various youth groups in Aiken County to provide programming. Some of them include Salvation Army’s Boys and Girls Club, Police Athletic League Cheer, SuccessTeam Mentoring Program, Brothers and Sisters of Aiken County, and Horse Creek Academy in which we have worked since 2021.

During the month of October, the agency holds a free community event called Teen Life Maze. This event engages both youth and their parents/caregivers. This event gives the opportunities for engagement with area youth as well as parenting sessions for the parents/caregivers. The youth participate in a life skill maze which will help young people gain a greater understanding of the consequences of risky behaviors and improve the capacity and skills needed to make appropriate decisions. The adults also have a session to help gain a greater understanding of the importance of parent/child connectedness, learn valuable information to help guide their child through adolescent years, and be aware of the various risk adolescents face. Each year, hundreds of children, youth, parents, and other caring adults benefit from our initiatives.

Teen Life Maze 2026

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