This is about kids getting a second chance.

The dream of every child is a stable home with mom and dad, puppy dog, friends and a secure future. Unfortunately, not all dreams come true.

A 1997 study revealed that 114,152 children were reported as victims of abuse or neglect in North Carolina. That’s the tip of the iceberg. Ten times that many go unreported.

The dilemma transcends all class and ethnic levels, rich and poor, black and white. A small child who is subjected to beatings knows nothing about class. It not only injures the physical body, it leaves scars on the psyche. It alters, for life.

Then there are kids who are psychologically deprived, the ones who do not fall under clear classifications. They are the ones who are abused, de facto. The ones who are exposed to violence in the home, the children of alcoholics and drug addicts who never feel a hug or know about being nurtured.

Tommy and Misty were two such kids, growing up their first 10 years living in a three-sided Hawaiian shack with no plumbing or electricity, raised by a self-indulgent, drug-using welfare mother who thought grade school was nothing more than a government baby sitting service. Tommy was her punching bag, subjected to constant and bizarre punishments, forced to fetch her pipes and pot like a household lackey.

One day Mama got tired of kids, so she turned over custody to their drug-addicted father. From there, they were schlepped around the country, out of school, sleeping in parks, panhandling on city streets while he maintained a drug habit. Papa went into detox. The kids went back to the shack with Mama.
When Tommy was 10 years old, he phoned his grandfather saying his mother didn’t want him any more. He asked to come and live with him in Western North Carolina.

Tommy was a handful for granddad and his new wife. They had only been married for six years. The absence of nurturing and years of mistreatment left Tommy with behavioral problems difficult to handle for two retirees approaching the twilight years.

One day, granddad won a television set in a raffle. With a house already full of boob tubes, he sought a suitable place to donate the set, like a children’s home.

That was all it took. After a harrowing 16 months trying to rebuild a fractured soul, old granddad and wife discovered a virtual paradise for kids who are products of dysfunctional and problematic homes.

Little known among the general populous, The Broyhill Home consists of five cottages surround an idyllic lake in Clyde, and is one of 11 state campuses administered by the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina. Each cottage houses 12 kids who share six dormitory style rooms and enjoy a wholesome family environment. Besides the cottages, the kids enjoy an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, sports activities, music and much more.

That’s not all. Set on 300 acres in Macon County, just north of Franklin, The Baptist Children’s Homes administers the Moody Cottage for nine girls, ages 12 to 18. The Drake cottage for boys is scheduled to open in June.

For those of you who conjure up negative images of steel walls, cold hearts and frowning faces, perish the thought. These are no child prisons. Each cottage employs licensed child care workers who act as loving house parents while kids go about daily lives attending public schools, cheerleading, playing sports and maintaining a full social calendar. It is a family-style environment replete with love, guidance and security. They also ensure every child receives medical and psychological treatment, including a hug now and then.

These are the kids who got an unlucky break, the product of single mothers or fathers trying to hold down two jobs, or alcohol and drug problems in the home, abuse, neglect and, sometimes, outright abandonment.

Nothing is abdicated. Family members are urged to stay involved, most entering into a joint venture with Broyhill, interacting regularly to solve problems in the best interest of the kids.

Some children remain as long-term residents until adulthood, rarely seeing their natural parents. Others are temporary enrollments because of one family crisis or another. Many have gone on to college to fulfill ambitions they could never have dreamed of if it were not for the existence of this wonderful institution.

Sometimes the waiting list is two and three months from application to residency. But there is virtually no discrimination based on color, creed or nationality. While the program is operated with support from the Baptist community, and kids are provided teachings of the church, religion is not a sole criteria for acceptance. Tommy’s granddad is not even a Christian.

A year later, after some arm-twisting, granddad managed to wrestle Misty away from her decadent environment and secured her a place at Broyhill where she is now a high school sophomore and a happy cheerleader with a bright future.

Instead of a dismal life on welfare and no opportunities in their future, Tommy and Misty now stand a chance they might never have had otherwise. So do the other 58 children at Broyhill, and the 18 kids at the Drake and Moody cottages in Franklin. It sure beats panhandling on an smoggy urban street corner pretending you’re someone else’s off-spring, begging for a morsel of food.

So, if you wonder where the bucks go when you send contributions, have no doubts about the Baptist community and their children’s homes. They put their money where their mouth is.

And, they’re worth the plug.

(Marshall Frank is retired Miami-Dade law enforcement officer who lives in Maggie Valley. His second mystery novel, Dire Straits, was recently published. He can be reached at mlf283@aol.com)

 

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The Smoky Mountain News