youth villages new heights - middle tenn. edition, spring 2011
DESCRIPTION
Magazine chronicling the work of Youth Villages in Middle Tennessee.TRANSCRIPT
HOLIDAY HEROESMiddle Tennessee helps ensure children have happy holidays
page 4
FAMILY FINDERProgram locates family for children page 3
Right at home
page 6
Family Victories from Youth Villages Middle TennesseeSpring 2011
Transitional living program part of national trial...3
Community, staff support youth’s education goals...7
Youth Villages supports inauguration parade...8
2
At Youth Villages, we constantly seek ways to reach more children and families
to help them live successfully. Our values are exhibited daily through the efforts
of our staff and volunteers who work tirelessly, doing whatever it takes to create
stable, supportive homes for children.
Examples of this are featured in this newsletter, including volunteer and
donor-supported events like Holiday Heroes, where community members and
organizations take time and money to purchase Christmas gifts for youth in our
programs.
But we also have begun a new effort in Middle Tennessee to help youth.
Read about Garrett McDill, who works to find family members for young
people who have been in foster care or group homes for an extended period of
time. For these young people, she finds family those youth didn’t know they could
count on. Her first success in this role found an aunt willing to adopt her niece
who had been in foster care and group homes for five years.
Also read about the national trial Youth Villages is participating in for our tran-
sitional living program.
Through this trial, we seek to identify more effective and efficient ways to help
young people aging out of the foster care system and ease their successful transi-
tion to independent adult living. Our TL program has experienced rapid growth
during the past several months. We help more than 300 young people in Tennes-
see and our new program in Alabama helps six youth.
There are many ways in which you can change the life of a child in Middle
Tennessee. Some of those ways are highlighted in this newsletter, but there are
many, many more. Thank you for all you do to help our children and families live
successfully.
A Message
from Our CEO
More ways to help children and families
Mike Bruns, ChairmanRonnie Randall, Vice ChairmanPaul Bower, TreasurerJimmy Lackie, SecretaryJim Barton Jr.Eric BoltonKenneth CampbellMarietta DavisLewis HollandJohn HutchinsJoanna JacobsonRev. Robert Earl JonesBryan JordanKarole LloydMark MedfordJim ParrishJohnny PittsRay PohlmanJennifer QueenMatthew TarkentonDavid TylerBetsy WalkupGeorge WhitePatrick Lawler, CEO
Bill Hamburg, Co-ChairmanBetsy Walkup, Co-ChairmanKaren BakerJudy CaplanGeorge Cate Jr.Tarsha ClemonsMary CooperVaughan DePilloBob GrimesMary GrochauJeff HarmanJulia Ann HawkinsChris KimlerElena PerezLaura PerkinsLouisa PruittLisa SmallKevin ThompsonLele ThompsonPat WallaceJeremy Werthan
YOUTH VILLAGES BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MIDDLE TENNESSEE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Patrick W. Lawler
[email protected](901) 251-5000
ClarksvilleNashville
Cookeville
Columbia
Dickson
Linden
3
MIDDLE TENNESSEE PROGRAM SUCCESS
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD
The graph above represents status at one year after discharge. Figures include only youth who received at least 60 days of service and reflect a response rate of 56 percent. Youth Villages in Middle Tennessee is finding family for
many children who believed they had none.
How important is family? At Youth Villages, we know it’s
everything.
Roots, a sense of who you are and where you came from,
are important as
children mature into
young adults and
strive for indepen-
dence. In addition,
family ideally brings
a sense of trust, a
person or group of
people who can be
counted on.
Children who have
been in foster care
or at a group home
for some time need
that crucial support. Many times, children are ready to live
at home after finishing their Youth Villages program, but
they have no identified family – and no means of support or
security.
For such children, Garrett McDill can be an angel. She is
part counselor, investigator and genealogist and full-time
locator of family members and supports for many of Middle
Tennessee’s youth. She’s been with Youth Villages for more
MCDILL SEARCHES FOR FAMILY TO HELP FOSTER CHILDREN
Each story is unique,
but all of them likely
wouldn’t have
happened without
someone like McDill
devoting full attention
to the case.
continued on page 8
Garrett McDill
Program Success
outcomes of children and families participating in its programs since 1994.
Backpack Heroes: Many children in Youth Villages’
programs live well below the poverty line and most can-
not afford a backpack or school supplies for the upcoming
school year. Youth Villages will be collecting donations which
will help provide these items to more than 700 children in
Middle Tennessee.
Friend in need: Support the basic needs of children year
round by providing things such as clothes, baby items and
many other household goods.
Job skills training: Share your knowledge of the busi-
ness world with a teenager just beginning his or her entry
into the workplace. Work with individual students or small
groups on interviewing skills, job applications or computer
skills.
Teach a talent: Use your talents — photography, arts and
crafts, cooking, music, sports, and singing — to broaden the
experiences of an interested young person.
Become a volunteer. It may be the most rewarding thing
you ever do!
For information, contact Greg Schott at 615-250-7262 or
e-mail [email protected].
Middle Tennessee organizations stepped up to help Youth Villages during the holidays by helping to ensure
more than 700 children received Christmas gifts. These children are in such YV programs as foster care, residential
treatment, intensive in-home programs and the transitional liv-ing program for young adults. Holiday Heroes in Middle Tennes-see include Healthways, Bridgestone Firestone, Turner Universal, NFIB, AT&T, Dell Inc. and Unity Hair Salon.
HOLIDAY HEROES
4
A great time helping children in need
5
More than 700 children receiving help through
Youth Villages’ foster care and residential programs,
along with families helped through intensive in-home
services and young adults participating in the transi-
tional living program, had much to celebrate in 2010
thanks to generous donations from Holiday Heroes in
Middle Tennessee.
“We thought last year couldn’t be topped,” said
Patti Bryan, development director for Youth Villages
in Middle Tennessee. “But once again, we were over-
whelmed by support from the community.”
Many local organizations, including Healthways,
Bridgestone Firestone, Turner Universal, NFIB,
AT&T, Dell Inc., Tennessee State University,
Ingersoll Rand and Unity Hair Salon,
provided more than money — they also
helped make the holidays a happy
time for many young people.
Students from Grassland Middle
School, Father Ryan High School
and many other volunteers helped
out by wrapping gifts.
“Because of the support we re-
ceived, we were able to bring joy to
more children
than ever be-
fore, including
many who came
to us at the last
minute,” Bryan
said. “We can’t
thank everyone
enough.”
As Tina discusses a school English
paper with one child, another stands
at the kitchen sink washing dishes
from the evening meal. Another sib-
ling deals with one of several dogs that
live in the home, while Darryl and a
third child inspect a coin collection.
There is a lot going on in this big
family; and the family just got a little
bigger. For Blake and Robert, two
teens shuffled through the foster
care system over the past few years,
Tina and Darryl’s home has become a
permanent one — the first one either
of them has ever known. Blake and
Robert are the newest additions to the
family, having been recently adopted
with the help of Youth Villages.
Darryl and Tina know the impor-
tance of good foster homes, each
having spent part of their childhood
in one. Tina was put into state custody
following problems with her father at
age 16 and was eventually in a juvenile
detention center. Darryl’s mother be-
came ill in Arizona and was declared
unable to raise her seven children
when he was only 9. Perhaps it was
these experiences that led them to
better understand how foster children
should be treated.
“We don’t treat a foster
kid any different than
we do our own,” Darryl
said. “We talk to them
the same, get onto them
the same and we expect
the same out of them.”
In addition to the two teenage boys,
Darryl and Tina have three biological
children: two who still reside in the
home and a third in the Air Force in
Texas. But it’s difficult to tell which
are the biological children if you don’t
already know.
“They brought me in and treated me
like their own,” said Robert, 15. “In the
seven months since I’ve been here,
I have never once considered this a
foster home.”
Blake has similar feelings.
“When I came here it didn’t neces-
sarily feel like a foster family,” he said.
“I realized they were going to treat us
all the same whether it was a foster
kid or a biological. I saw that as soon
as I got here, and I thought, ‘I’m going
to be here for awhile.”
This is a welcome change for both
children. Blake never felt like part of
the family at all in his previous foster
home, Darryl said.
“When we first got Blake on respite,
they [the previous foster family] were
going on vacation,” Darryl said.
“And it wasn’t just the vacation,”
Blake said. “If they went to town or
something, they left me at the house.
It’s never been that way here.”
Amy Hawkins, the two boys’ Youth
Villages counselor, says they were an
easy match for Tina and Darryl.
6
A GOOD HOME ALWAYS HAS ROOM FOR A FEW MOREFormer foster children treat young people as their own
Tina and Faith stand behind the rest of the family. Robert, DJ with dog Ricky Bobby, Blake with dog Sierra, and father Darryl join them.
continued on next page
7
“I had worked with Blake
previously in another foster
home, and when they began
having some problems I imme-
diately thought of this family,”
Amy said. “And one day after we
returned him from respite here
they called and said if he was
available they would like him to
stay. And it was the same with
Robert.”
Robert liked being with the
family so much that he request-
ed to be adopted by the family
after a brief respite visit last fall.
“I never felt set apart from the
family here,” Robert said.
Today the two boys are en-
joying their new lives. Blake is
outgoing and energetic, is filled
with school spirit and plays in
the defensive backfield for the
local high school football team.
Robert is also getting into
football as a defensive lineman
for his middle school team,
although sports is a new experi-
ence for him.
He enjoys working out and has
put on 30 pounds of muscle since
arriving in the home. He is also
fond of cars, which plays right
into Darryl’s favor.
“If you look out in the yard,
you’ll notice it looks like a car lot
out there,” he said, laughing.
Darryl and Tina are now con-
sidering adopting a third child.
But this time they think it’s time
to bring in a girl to balance out
the family’s 5-2 male majority.
TEENS FIND HOME WITH FORMER FOSTER CHILDRENfrom page 6
INAUGURATION DAY Youth Villages staff marches in parade
More than 40 staff members from Youth Villages’
Middle Tennessee offices and their families took to the
streets of Nashville to participate in Gov. Bill Haslam’s
inauguration parade. Haslam became Tennessee’s 49th
governor and was inaugurated in January. In addition
to Youth Villages’ staff, young people participating in
Youth Villages’ programs donned black and red and
walked the parade route to spread the message of YV’s
presence in Tennessee.
The Nashville office is seeking foster parents
for children in our care.
Youth Villages provides free foster parent
training, monthly reimbursements to help offset
the costs of adding a child to your household and
ongoing, 24-hour support.
Youth Villages offers free orientation and
training sessions at the Youth Villages offices in
Nashville.
Learn more about our foster care program, in-
cluding dates of the next orientation and training
sessions or to schedule a private orientation class
by contacting Youth Villages.
In the Nasvhille area, contact Wendy Lun-
sford at 615-250-7282, or e-mail
In the Mid-Cumberland area, contact Lauren
Johnson at 615-250-7318 or e-mail
FOSTER PARENTS ARE NEEDED IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE
8
than three years, and leads an effort to
solve these unique cases.
Youth Villages’ family finders pro-
gram is modeled after the St. Louis
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition’s
Extreme Recruitment, which seeks
out the foster children who are the
hardest to find homes for and matches
them with permanent adoptive fami-
lies in a fraction of the time it usually
takes. The group hosted Charmaine
Kromer, Youth Villages’ Middle Ten-
nessee director of programs, and she
believed the program could possibly
help many of the Nashville area’s
young people.
“Finding a permanent home for
these youth requires more resources
and more investigation,” Kromer said.
“It’s critical to their identity to find
family members. Even if the family
member isn’t able to adopt, visita-
tion and communication with a family
member help that youth make a con-
nection with family they didn’t know
they had.”
In about four months, McDill has
been able to find family placements
for six youth. Each story is unique, but
all of them likely wouldn’t have hap-
pened without someone like McDill
devoting full attention to the case.
McDill’s first successful case in-
volved a girl who had been in and out
of foster care and group homes for
five years. She’d managed the turmoil
of her uncertain future well, and had
previous behavior issues under con-
trol. But she had nowhere to go.
“She had no interest in being
adopted and no one had looked at
her case for some time,” McDill said.
“Then, I got involved and met with her
and identified family members she
knew of.”
With the assistance of private
investigators, McDill identified many
extended family members interested
in helping the girl. After interviewing
everyone, McDill identified an aunt
who had been previously overlooked
as a placement option. That aunt is
going through the process to adopt the
girl.
In another case, McDill located a
barber in Shelbyville who was identi-
fied as a possible father for a youth
whose mother had recently been
released from jail but wasn’t able to
take care of the child. After many
phone attempts to reach him failed,
McDill drove to Shelbyville and found
his business.
“I walked in and said who I was,” she
said. “I spoke with him for a while and
found out he’d never been contacted
before. He told me he wanted to be
a father to his son. A paternity test
confirmed it and now, the 13-year-old
spends weekends visiting a father he
didn’t know he had, which is awe-
some.”
Finding families involves a lot of trial
and error right now because there’s
no set model that works every time.
“I use what’s effective,” McDill said.
“Each case is unique. We never set out
looking for a placement option; we
start out looking for supports for the
youth. They need to feel a connection
to relatives and family members, espe-
cially if there’s a past there.”
After being successful with six
children, the program recently added
another staff member.
“The program is really taking off for
us so far,” Kromer said. “With the addi-
tion of another staff member, we’ll be
able to look into more cases and help
more young people.”
It also exemplifies one of Youth Vil-
lages’ values: children are raised best
by their families.
“Before we go to work on a case,
these children are known only by their
names,” McDill said. “But when we
find family help for them, they be-
come someone’s cousin or someone’s
nephew. They become someone a
family member cares about. It makes
a huge difference.”
MCDILL FINDS FAMILIESfrom page 3
Youth Villages’ transi-
tional living program is part
of a national clinical trial to
measure its effectiveness.
Conducted by MDRC
through grants from the
Edna McConnell Clark
Foundation and the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation,
the study will evaluate the
difference between the TL
program and usual services
available in the community.
Participants will be inter-
viewed periodically to track
their progress.
The study will involve
about 1,600 young people
who will be randomly
assigned to TL or other
community resources dur-
ing the next two years. TL
services are available for
young people 17-22 who are
aging out of state custody
and have little or no sup-
port. TL specialists help
young people secure hous-
ing; pursue educational
and employment goals;
access health and mental
health services; learn such
independent living skills
as budgeting, cooking,
cleaning and shopping; and
create and maintain healthy
relationships with family
and others.
“To my knowledge, there
are very few evidence-
based programs for this
population,” said Sarah
Hurley, director of research
at Youth Villages. “We hope
the evidence produced by
this study will help us con-
vince states and others to
increase resources to meet
the needs of young people
entering this critical transi-
tion phase.”
TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM PART OF NATIONAL TRIAL
9
MANY PITCH IN TO HELP AUTUMN AT DAVID LIPSCOMB
Last spring, Autumn lived at Youth
Villages’ Wallace group home for
girls.
She was a junior in high school and
making excellent grades while work-
ing a part-time job to save money for
college and a car.
She visited the Dell facility, where
she learned about the many differ-
ent positions that Dell offers and
was inspired to focus on computer
engineering for college.
She also found out about David
Lipscomb University’s two-week
summer engineering course.
Autumn had the money and sent
a letter to the university on why she
would be a good fit for the program.
She wrote about living in 14 differ-
ent foster homes in the course of five
years, and how she overcame vari-
ous obstacles to become a straight-A
student.
The university approved her ap-
plication and things could not have
been better. That’s when tragedy
struck.
Just before the beginning of the
summer, Autumn’s mother unex-
pectedly passed away. Because she
had no family support, Autumn
used the $2,500 she’d been saving
for school to pay for her mother’s
funeral.
Autumn continued to work and fin-
ished school with straight As, but she
now faced a much bigger challenge
of paying for the summer engineer-
ing course, college and a car.
Word of Autumn’s
situation spread,
and both volunteers
and Youth Villages’
staff quickly acted
to help. Youth Villages’ Friend In Need
campaign raised more than $750 in
cash, and the balance was given to
Autumn through money raised by
YV employees in the organization’s
Our Family Campaign.
The Our Family Campaign also
provided an additional $500 to cover
the cost of the summer engineering
program.
While attending the program, Au-
tumn was eating lunch one day and
the dean of admissions sat down next
to her, asked her who she was and
what brought her to the program.
Autumn told him her story. Short-
ly after, the dean of admissions met
with her again and told her David
Lipscomb University would cover
the cost of whatever her financial
aid did not for her tuition for all four
years.
Autumn received her check for
$2,530 at the Our Family Campaign
kick-off last September; she asked
if she could keep the big check and
put it in her room as a reminder of
all the wonderful things everyone
has done for her.
Autumn begins David Lipscomb
University this fall thanks to the
generosity of volunteers and Youth
Villages’ staff.
Autumn, center, in yellow, with Youth Villages staff during a reception for her where she received money to continue an engineering program at David Lipscomb University.
Y V staff, college
and community
ensure Autumn
continues her
educational dreams
10
CONTRIBUTIONS Thanks to our many supporters
YV Visionary ($50,000+)
Dell Inc.
YV Pillar ($25,000 - $49,999)
Healthways Inc.Dan and Margaret Maddox
Foundation
YV Builder ($10,000 - $24,999)
Clarcor FoundationCatharine D. SmithHCA Foundation
YV Family Champion ($5,000 - $9,999)
Cracker Barrel Foundation
Panera Bread FoundationBetsy S. Walkup
YV Champion for Children ($1,000- $4,999)
Best Buy Store #172Paul Bower
Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc Mike Bruns
Dale Family FoundationDr. M. Catherine Dundon
EBS Foundation
FoundationGannett Foundation
Geny Insurance Agency
Julia Ann HawkinsPage and Rodes Hart
Pam Mueller-Fluent
Candy and Bill PhillipsRogers Group Inc.
Lisa S. Small and Elise Steiner
Chapter #212
AssociationWal-Mart FoundationReid and Linda Ward
YV Leader($500 - $999)
AIG Matching Grants Program
Capitol Consultants Inc.Dee and Jerald Doochin
Linda and Miles EzellFutons, Futons, Futons LLC
Gay GreerJeff Harman
Patricia and Rodes HartHaygood Realty Company
J. Reginald Hill
Brent LautenschlegarFrancis Martin
Meridian Surgical PartnersNFIB
Panera Bread CompanySandy Swofford
Walmart FoundationSimone Wright
YV Friend (Gifts up to $499)
Brian AndersonMr. and Mrs. John S. Andrews
Ascend ManagementAsh Street Music
Susan BakerDiane Balciar
Nanci M. BarksdaleAngela Barcelona
Mollie Bird
Anne BlankenshipJoann Bostic
Bonnie BouldingCharlie Blunt
Ryan BrownFrances and Allen Bryan
Sheila CallowayChristopher Capitani
George Cate Jr.
Mary Ellen CheatwoodClassic Cleaners
Christy Cohen
Community Health Charities
Mary CooperJane CorcoranCarla Cotton
Martha Curtis
Betty and Marty Dickens
Brett Donner
Renee DrinnonBill Earthman
Susan EmoryERG General
FCE Betheda GroupJohn Fertitta
Royce and James Fishel
Cathey and Wilford Fuqua
Jeffrey Good
Johnny GregoryMary Grochau
HCA Healthcare FoundationDeeDee Hall
Grayson W. HarrisRodney HarrisAnthony Hayes
Senator Douglas Henry
Warren Hannas
Ginger HickoxGary James HowellLinda H. Jameson
Joann JenkinsBrandt Johnson
Anna LaCostePatricia Lane
Melinda Lankenau
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lenderman Jr.
Bruce Lichius
Ross LucasJohn G. Lucas
MadhusoodhananMikal Malik
Harriet MannSarah Martin
Lynn and Jack MayJulie McCall
June McHughBetsy McInnes
Glenda Merhoff
Nissan
Lucy OwenCathy and Josh Owsley
Paragon
Christopher Patterson
James PendergraftJere and Al Phillips
Betty PlankLouisa Pruitt
Jason W. Reed
Linda RockJanice RodriguezSara L. Rosson
Jo RothApril Sackos
Stephen Scott Joan Shayne
Sigma Gamma Rho SororityAndria SitarEric Smith
Frank SmithEsther Smith
M. Jo SpaldingPershing Stahlman
Mack Sweeney
Dr. Mary Ellen Clinton WadeMr. and Mrs. William
WadlingtonBill Wallace
Patricia WallaceAnne WhetsellJennifer White
Joe Whitt
Amanda Williams
Sunny and Jim WilliamsonJohn Wilson
Dorothy WincenciakAnthony Winkle
United Way of Williamson County
Christopher YoungMarilyn Young
Jian Zheng
The following donors
made gifts to Youth Villages
between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31,
2010. The board of directors
and staff of Youth Villages
gratefully acknowledge
these thoughtful contribu-
tions. If you made a contri-
bution during this time but it
is not listed, please call the
Youth Villages development
department at 615-250-7207.
Join our networks
www.facebook.com/youthvillages
www.twitter.com/youthvillages
www.youthvillages.wordpress.com
11
MEET THE YV LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
A native of Harriman, Tenn., Tarsha Clemons-
Davis is a manager in client pro support ser-
vices at Dell Inc. as well as a business process
improvement mentor and champion. Clemons-
Davis has spearheaded teams of Dell volunteers
in helping the youth in the transitional living
program, making improvements to the Wallace
group home and supporting the Back-to-School and Christmas
Holiday Heroes programs.
Tarsha Clemons-DavisWhether you’re planning a gift through
your writing a will or by setting up a trust for
Youth Villages or another non-profit, Youth
Villages can help.
The Youth Villages website has information
on donations and planned giving that may be
valuable to you.
Simply visit youthvillages.org and click
Donate, where you’ll find an introduction to
planned giving. A category titled “How Can
I…,” lists all the vehicles included in a plan,
including wills and bequests, gifts of ap-
preciated stock and gifts of real estate with
examples.
In addition, there is a section on “why
everyone needs a will,” a glossary of terms,
an estate intention form and even a planned
giving calculator to see what a planned gift
would mean in your unique circumstances.
For more information, contact Marler
Stone at 901-251-4820 or e-mail
NEED INFORMATION ABOUT PLANNING A GIFT?
JOIN OUR EFFORTS Become a force for families
Bob Grimes is the director of staff and commu-
nity development for Turner Universal. Grimes
began his career with Turner Universal in 2000
after completing 12 years of active service with the
United States Army. He was appointed director of
staff and community development in 2006. Bob has
led the team of Turner volunteers for more than 6
years in filling the wish lists of hundreds of Middle Tennessee children
through the Holiday Heroes program.
Bob Grimes
Louisa Pruitt, a Nashville native, works as
community and corporate relations coordinator
at Bridgestone Americas Inc. in Nashville. She re-
cently returned to school and is on track to earn a
sociology degree from Tennessee State University
this year. Pruitt’s teams of Bridgestone employees
have generously supported the Friend in Need
and Holiday Heroes campaigns and have provided on-site training
opportunities for the youth in the transitional living program.
Louisa Pruitt
Youth Villages welcomes Kevin Thompson
from the Young Leaders Council as an intern
on the Middle Tennessee Leadership Council.
Thompson is an attorney specializing in provid-
ing legal services for startup direct sales organi-
zations. In addition to his professional experi-
ence, Kevin brings an understanding and real
passion for helping Youth Villages’ children and families.
Kevin Thompson
3310 Perimeter Hill Drive
Nashville, TN 37211
Alabama:Arkansas:Florida:Georgia:Massachusetts:Mississippi:New Hampshire: ManchesterNorth Carolina:Tennessee:
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NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDYOUTH VILLAGES
Founded in Memphis, Tenn., in 1986, Youth Villages has built a national reputation for offering the most effective pro-
a fully integrated continuum of services, including residential treatment, in-home services, foster care and adoption, mentoring and a transitional living program for young adults aging out of foster care.