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| Three-year-old Justin Summers winks to the crowd after participating in a ribbon cutting ceremony dedicating four new residential homes on the Boys Town Washington D.C., site. Justin is the son of Family-Teachers Renaldo and Larissa Summers. |
Boys Town Washington, D.C. Opens Four Residential Homes to Help District Children
From an open field at the Boys Town Washington, D.C., site, sprang a home for children -- and on Oct. 5, it opened.
Much like the open field 10 miles west of Omaha where Father Flanagan's dream evolved into his famous home, Boys Town Washington, D.C., began its metamorphosis.
Four new 6,000-square-feet brick homes are now filling with children, the laughter from their fun, and the pride of success.
"The skills I've learned here is to be assertive. At one point in time, I wasn't able to speak in front of group of people, but now I can speak in front of hundreds of people," said Frank, a 16-year old Boys Town Washington, D.C., youth. "I would like to thank Boys Town for accepting me because I didn't have a family, and now I have a family."
For the change to occur, the District had to embrace Father Flanagan's first home -- the one in his heart, said Father Steve Boes, Boys Town National Executive Director.
"Everything we see around us and across this great nation that has been built by Boys Town began there in the heart of Father Flanagan," said Father Boes (click here to read Father Boes' speech in its entirety). "Clearly, the miracle of Father Flanagan, who made a place in his heart for kids, has come true. What I ask you today is to make that miracle happen in your heart - To make a place for kids in your heart."
The homes will provide help, healing and hope to help at-risk, abused, abandoned, neglected and minority handicapped children in the district - something the site has been doing for the past fourteen years through its Long-Term Residential Program, Short-Term Emergency Center, specialized treatment foster homes and Common Sense Parenting program. These new homes expand the site's mission.
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| Frank, left, a Boys Town Washington, D.C., youth leads a tour of his new home dedicated Oct. 5, along with three additional homes on the site. |
"This is a long-awaited event for us," said Lyn Corbett, Boys Town Washington, D.C., Site Director. "These homes will bring the family environment we strive to provide our children to this site and give us a great sense of community."
"These homes are a symbol of Boys Town's commitment to children in our nation's capital," said Father Boes. "Let us pray that these homes will be filled with help, healing and hope and for the spirit of Father Flanagan, who never gave up on kids. Kids, we're not going to give up on you. Don't give up on yourself. We promise to always have a place in our hearts for kids."
Full-time, highly trained married couples called Family-Teachers will staff the four homes. Each home will provide a safe, nurturing treatment environment for up to six children. Two of the homes are for girls, two for boys. Children will be placed by social service agencies in the District of Columbia.
"It is in these homes that our children learn the social skill necessary to be successful in life and just as in most households, the kids do their homework, they learn to share, they sit down to discuss the days events over evening dinner, and they learn how to care," said Corbett. "Most importantly, they learn how to be cared for."
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| Cutting a ribbon of dedication for four new residential care homes on the Boys Town Washington, D.C., site are Father Steve Boes, Boys Town National Executive Director; Frank, a Boys Town Washington, D.C. youth; Monsignor Joseph Ariano; Pamela Mantis of J.C. Watts Company and a member of First Lady Laura Bush's advance team; Minister Angel Catagena, Jr., Bridgeway Community Church; Claude Bolton, Assistant Secretary of the Army and Boys Town National Board of Trustees Member and Lyn Corbett, Boys Town Washington, D.C., |
Boys Town has been operating in the District of Columbia since 1993. In 2005, 408 children, many of whom are handicapped, minority children, received treatment and care through its programs.
Nationally, Father Flanagan's Boys Town has 19 program sites in 14 states and the District. Last year, through its youth care and health care programs, Boys Town provided direct treatment and care to more than 46,000 girls and boys. Its proven programs and partnerships to help children led to Boys Town's selection last year by America's Promise as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People. An additional 500,000 children received direct assistance through the Boys Town National Hotline. More than 15,000 of those calls came from the District of Columbia. Another nearly 1 million children and families were assisted through the organization's national outreach and training programs.
