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In 1970, a young pediatrician named Dr. John “Kipp” Charlton arrived in Phoenix and began caring for children at what was then Maricopa County Hospital, now Valleywise Health.
He could not have known it at the time, but the work he began would help change the lives of thousands of children and families and become part of the foundation of Child Crisis Arizona.
Today, as Child Crisis Arizona celebrates 50 years of protecting childhood in Arizona, his legacy lives on at Kipp's Place, the Phoenix Emergency Children's Shelter named in his honor.
But the story of Kipp's Place begins with a much smaller place: two cottages on Fillmore Street, six children and a doctor who believed that families needed somewhere to turn when life became overwhelming.
A Doctor Who Saw Beyond the Exam Room
Dr. Kipp Charlton graduated from Cornell Medical School and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Ohio State University.
During a two-year stint in the United States Air Force, he developed a passion for pediatrics. He went on to complete a pediatric residency at Dallas Children's Hospital before bringing his family to Phoenix in 1970.
At Maricopa County Hospital, Kipp encountered children arriving in circumstances no child should have to experience.
He became deeply involved in the evaluation of suspected child abuse and neglect and developed a passion for preventing abuse before it happened.
But his concern went beyond treating children after something had gone wrong.
He kept asking a simple question:
Where do these children go when their parents are in crisis?
The question would become the beginning of something much bigger.
An Idea Takes Root
Around that time, Kipp met Barbie Perry, a Junior League of Phoenix member and hospital volunteer.
The two began talking about the need for a safe place for infants and children when their parents were overwhelmed by crisis.
Barbie brought the idea to the Junior League. With Kipp's medical guidance and the legal help of her husband, Lee Perry, the vision began to take shape.
It wasn't easy.
Child abuse and neglect were not always openly discussed, and many people were reluctant to acknowledge the scope of the problem in the community.
Kipp and a group of community volunteers worked to change that.
They launched a public education campaign to help people understand that child abuse and neglect existed in Phoenix and that preventing it was a responsibility shared by the entire community.
They weren't simply creating a shelter.
They were building awareness, changing perceptions and creating a place where parents could reach out for help before a difficult situation became a dangerous one.
Six Children. Two Cottages. A Beginning.
In 1976, Crisis Nursery opened its first shelter in two cottages on Fillmore Street.
It could care for just six children at a time.
Six children.
That was the beginning.
Kipp served as the Nursery's medical director and primary physician for nearly 20 years. Despite maintaining a demanding career as a physician and teacher at Maricopa County Hospital, he remained a regular presence at Crisis Nursery.
Over the years, he donated more than 10,000 hours of service.
But his impact cannot be measured only in hours.
He was a teacher. A mentor. A physician. An advocate. And a person who believed deeply in the power of community.
His family was part of the story, too.
His son, Paul Charlton, remembers being a teenager while all of this was happening. His father didn't share many of the difficult stories with his family, but Paul knew something important was happening.
Kipp would finish a long day at the hospital and head to the Nursery.
Paul's mother, Susan, was involved as well, volunteering countless hours, helping with fundraisers and rummage sales and supporting a hotline for abused women. Her experiences would eventually influence her own career as a social worker.
Looking back, Paul believes his parents understood something that remains just as important today:
Sometimes helping a child isn't about doing one extraordinary thing.
Sometimes it is about creating a place where a child can finally feel safe.
A place where someone will sit beside them.
Feed them.
Read to them.
Listen to them.
And remind them that they matter.
The Gold Star
There is another part of Kipp's legacy that has become especially meaningful to the Child Crisis Arizona community.
Kipp was known for giving out gold stars.
They weren't reserved only for extraordinary accomplishments. He gave them to recognize good ideas, acts of kindness, caring behaviors and small gestures that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
For Kipp, those moments mattered.
His gold stars were a simple way of saying:
I see you. What you did mattered.
That tradition continues today.
A gold star plaque hangs on the front door of Kipp's Place, the Phoenix Emergency Children's Shelter that now carries his name.
It is a fitting symbol for a man who understood that meaningful change often begins with recognizing and encouraging the goodness in others.
From Crisis Nursery to Child Crisis Arizona
The little Nursery on Fillmore Street was never intended to be the end of the story.
It was the beginning.
Over time, Crisis Nursery grew and expanded its work to support children and families in more ways.
The organization began helping families before they reached a crisis, strengthening parents, educating children, supporting foster and adoptive families and helping young people and families build greater stability.
In 2015, Crisis Nursery and Child Crisis Center East Valley, the organization that had grown from the efforts of the women of Mahnah Club in Mesa, merged to become Child Crisis Arizona.
Two beginnings.
Two communities.
Two groups of people who saw a need and decided to act.
One organization carrying that legacy forward.
Today, Child Crisis Arizona serves children and families in ways Kipp could never have imagined when he first walked into those two cottages on Fillmore Street.
But the fundamental idea remains the same.
Children deserve safety.
Parents deserve support.
And when a family is struggling, the community should be there.
A Legacy That Lives On
Dr. Kipp Charlton passed away on February 23, 2015.
He is remembered by his family, friends, colleagues and generations of people whose lives were touched by his kindness, wisdom and commitment to children.
His legacy lives on through the work of Child Crisis Arizona and through the countless people who continue to show up for children and families.
Doctors. Volunteers. Staff. Families. Donors. Board members. Community leaders.
People who see a need and decide to stand in the gap.
That is the legacy of Crisis Nursery. That is the legacy of Dr. Kipp Charlton. And that is part of the story of Child Crisis Arizona.
As we celebrate 50 years of protecting childhood in Arizona, we remember where this journey began: with a doctor asking a simple question about what happens when families are in crisis.
His answer was not just a program or a building.
It was a belief that every child deserves a safe place, and every family deserves someone to turn to.
Today, that belief continues to guide the work of Child Crisis Arizona.
And every time a child finds safety, every time a parent finds support and every time someone steps forward to help, Kipp's gold star shines a little brighter.
