This article is written by WOWT 6 News. It was posted on wowt.com on December 13, 2017.

Joni Wheeler loves taking time to be close to her daughter Destiny. The distance between them now seems small but there was a time when it felt like an unbridgeable gap.

"She was diagnosed with a number of mental health issues when she was six and so there were always behavior problems destructiveness and she didn't have any empathy. So she didn't know how to relate to others," said Joni.

"My relationship before Boys Town with my mom was constant arguing throwing stuff kicking walls not listening to her at all," said Dest

After years of struggle the family turned to Boys Town. Destiny entered treatment for six months and then spent a year in a group home. Destiny says it changed her life.

"Before I didn't know where I was going. I wasn't paying attention in school. I wasn't getting along with my family and I didn't have a lot of friends and through Boys Town they taught me how to be sympathetic and have empathy for other people and just getting along with people in general," she said.

It all payed off – today Destiny is heading for college and her relationship with her mom is much better.

"After Boys Town I was able to talk to her and care a lot for her. More than I did before," said Destiny.

"It's amazing. This is what it should look like, a mother and a daughter. So I love it," said Joni.

Destiny is now studying at UNO. Her goal is to become a physician's assistant.