Our Story
Trauma-Informed Care for Michigan’s Foster Youth and Families
Wildflower Youth & Family Services began with founder Lilly Martinez, LMSW, LCSW. Lilly has worked with children and families since 2016 and leads Wildflower Therapy & Wellness, a private practice in Wayne County. Through that work, she saw a growing need for ethical, caring, research-based services for children affected by the foster system.
The need is real. Michigan has around 10,000 foster children, and the number of beds in Child Caring Institutions has dropped from about 1,200 in 2020 to about 400 in 2025. A University of Michigan study found that nearly 40% of Michigan children with mental health needs received no treatment. Wildflower exists to help close that gap.
Our Mission
We provide trauma-informed mental health services and support for youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance and those involved in the foster care system, so they can achieve stability, permanency, and long-term well-being. Our work is rooted in faith and open to every family.
What We’re Building
We are starting as a Community Mental Health Center in Wayne County. It will offer therapy, family support and training, case management, respite care, and community living supports, and it will help families through the SED Waiver application process. Within five years, we plan to open a Child Caring Institution: a home of cottages where foster children are housed, fed, educated, and emotionally nurtured.
What We Stand For
Safety, respect, integrity, accountability, compassion, and trauma-informed care. We consider what a child may have lived through before we decide how to respond.
Get Involved
Whether you are a family seeking support, a clinician who wants to join our mission, or a community partner, we would love to connect.
Mission, Vision and Values
OUR MISSION
Wildflower Youth & Family Services is rooted in a simple but urgent belief — that healing is possible for everyone. Grounded in faith, we are on a mission to provide trauma and mental health resources for churches, children, teens, adults, and families who need them most.
Wildflower Youth & Family Services envisions a future where every child touched by Michigan's foster system — especially those carrying the weight of Severe Emotional Disturbance — has access to trauma-informed care that helps them find real stability, permanency, and long-term well-being. We see a Wayne County where children no longer sleep in shelters or office lobbies for lack of a placement, where families are supported rather than overwhelmed, and where healing is built on trust, not just treatment. In time, our vision extends beyond the therapy room to a home: a Child Caring Institution where foster youth are housed, fed, educated, and nurtured as they deserve.
At the heart of everything we do are the values that guide how we show up for every child and family we serve. We believe in Safety — that every youth deserves to feel secure in our programs and in every interaction with us. We lead with Respect, treating youth and families with dignity, professionalism, and care, and with Integrity, telling the truth and doing what's right even when it's hard. We hold ourselves to Accountability, keeping our word and addressing problems directly, and we meet every person with Compassion — patience, understanding, and grace. Above all, our work is Trauma-Informed: we consider what someone may have lived through before deciding how to respond.
OUR VISION
OUR VALUES
Leadership and Board
Don Francis
Founder & CEO
Ashley Jones
Tech Lead
Tess Brown
Office Manager
Lisa Rose
Product Manager
Kevin Nye
HR Lead
Alex Young
Customer Support Lead