The Fifth Commandment is about honor and our relationship with our parents. As we reflect on Mother’s Day and look forward to Father’s Day, we think about the importance of helping our students develop healthy family relationships.
Most people learn honor and relationship behaviors from their parents, but many of our students endured abusive environments. Our proven Teaching-Family Model of care consistently proves to be successful in helping break the cycle of abuse. Family Teachers at the Children’s Home use evidence-based practices to model healthy relationship behaviors, teaching respect, effective relationship-building, and self-advocacy to the
students on our campus. Most importantly, they reach into the hearts of these young people in crisis to show them God’s grace and love, instilling hope for the future.
That’s why we’re here … and why you’re so important to us.
Heartbreaking abuse in Kylie’s family led to her placement with a foster family. Not surprisingly, she acted out and displayed aggressive behavior toward that family and her peers, so her social worker placed her at the Children’s Home a year ago.
Meet Kylie today, and you’ll immediately be taken with her lively spirit and outgoing personality. In one of her first conversations with her therapist, she said people treated her like she wasn’t worthy or valued. A year later, there’s a marked change in her attitude and sense of self-worth.
“I feel better about myself and where I am heading” — Kylie
“After being at the Home for a while, I feel like I am part of a family, which is a new feeling for me,” Kylie tells us. “The other seven girls I live with are like sisters and the Family Teachers treat me like good parents should.” She’s making straight A’s in all of her classes at our James E. Davis School. Proud of her progress, Kylie’s confidence has grown. She continues to work on anger management techniques, coping strategies, and self-control. In addition to continued therapy, her Family Teachers help her strengthen her social and emotional development skills with every interaction.
Having found the guidance and support she so desperately craved, Kylie’s focus has shifted from daily survival to envisioning a brighter future. “I would like to go to college but I’m not sure what I will major in,” she says. “I feel better about myself and where I am heading.”
Her journey benefits other students, too. “When kids first come to the Children’s Home, I tell them to go with the flow,” Kylie explains. “I tell them to be yourself and respect the staff. The Family Teachers are just trying to help you and they want you to feel better when you leave the Home.”
When you wonder how much of an impact your generous gifts have, Kylie is a prime example of how you’re making it possible for students like her to find new opportunities, expand their hopes, and receive positive guidance … often for the first time in their young lives.
Students like Kylie remind us that the Children’s Home’s impact extends far beyond our campus. What they learn here will forever influence their family relationships and the parents they’ll one day become, breaking the cycle of family abuse. Simply put, your support today is helping us transform lives for generations to come, and we thank you for being our partner in this critically important work.
PS: Please make a meaningful gift in Honor of your mother or father or someone who has a positive influence in your life. We also accept gifts of appreciated stock, donor advised fund gifts, IRA distributions and gifts of life insurance. Our children need all of us. And we need you.