What is Family?
For the boys and girls who are clients of Youth Homes the answer is heartbreakingly simple: adults who care enough to show up.
This story is about a family who, for more than 30 years, opened their heart and home to people in need. One of those people was a boy who considers his acceptance into Youth Homes to be the life-changing event that led him to the family that effectively became his own. The matriarch of this exceptional family is Youth Homes’ Board President, Gerriann Smith. The young boy, who is now a man, is Aaron Scott, board member, and former foster youth.
As a young teen, Aaron didn’t have a safe place to call home or a network of support to keep him off the streets he and his older brother walked every night, selling drugs to make a living. Aaron knew he wasn’t on the path to achieve his goals and that his life was in crisis. He felt stuck, hopeless, and unable to break from the negative cycle. “It was the best thing to happen when we got busted because then I was sent to juvenile hall where a representative from Youth Homes came and interviewed me,” Aaron said. “Even before I met Gerri, it was Bob Duffey, the Cherry Lane house supervisor, doing that interview that made the rubber hit the road for me to go out for Youth Homes.”
When Aaron got to Cherry Lane, he had a serendipitous meeting with another resident, Dawn, niece of Norman Smith, who at the time was married to Gerriann. Dawn’s Aunt and Uncle showed up each weekend to take her on outings. “By driving down that long driveway at Cherry Lane and showing up every weekend for Dawn, the Smith family showed me what a supportive family could look like.”
Gerriann recalls her upbringing of being brought up in a typical “nuclear family” — usually defined as two parents and their biological children. But that standard structure got tossed into a blender when she married Norman. “I married a man who had the biggest heart on the planet and probably the biggest family on the planet as well,” she laughed. “All of a sudden, I was in this big family, so big that I couldn’t even draw up the family tree! I think that’s where I learned to accept whatever came my way. From the time we were first married, Norman welcomed those in need into his home.”
As Aaron and Dawn’s relationship progressed, he was invited to join his girlfriend on family visits to the Smith’s home. Aaron describes his experience at Youth Homes as receiving “outstanding personalized care” and recognizes that his experiences with the Smith family enhanced his growth and healing.
After graduating from Youth Homes’ residential program, Aaron began working at Norman’s circuit board factory. One of the jobs assigned to Aaron was using the “chipper” — a heavy pole used to break apart old flooring, during which he learned about applying the ‘chip as you go along’ method. “‘Chip as you go along’ is about focusing and developing a rhythm, so don’t start something and then stop when you hit one little snag,” Aaron said. “Keep going and develop a rhythm with whatever you’re doing. By developing a rhythm, the work will become easier and more accomplishable.”
Aaron chipped a path to graduating high school and a college degree and kept chipping to eventually become CEO of Diamond Ridge Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility. “I can look back and say that Youth Homes gave me the foundation that set me the path toward achieving my goals: go to school, become a father, and have a family.
Gerriann felt the same way about joining the Youth Homes board. [My joining the board]” is a testament to Aaron’s will and his ability to break the cycle. He has the most incredible willpower of anyone I’ve met to achieve. What we gave him was stability, positive role models, and a place to be safe. When I connected with Youth Homes, it was because I wanted to give back to this organization that made such an incredible human being,” she said. “They provided the resources needed to launch himself toward success!”
Aaron’s story, and his path to success with the help of the Smiths and Youth Homes, resonates with Shatae Jones, LCSW, Youth Homes VP of Residential Services. “Our Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) exists in a constant state of self-evaluation to address the questions: what is our organization’s stance about how we want to show up on behalf of young people, and what we believe about who we serve? We serve youth who are bold, resilient, and who may also have had long histories of trauma that have made them interface with the child welfare system. Youth Homes strives to support these young people with family reunification, harm reduction techniques due to substance use, and behavioral strategies to avoid incarceration or re-entry into the juvenile justice systems.”
“We are the solution for providing the support needed for our young people so that they can be successful,” Jones said. “So, with people like Aaron, who said he got caught, just think about … the question I ask our clinicians through the intake process, ‘How long does a label stay with a young person? Are you mindful of that when you’re thinking about a fit for the program? If we had only thought of labeling Aaron, and not focusing on empowering him through healing and positive experiences, his story could be quite different.”
Thanks to Gerriann Smith, Aaron Scott, and Shatae Jones for their interviews, and volunteer Jacob Rayburn for his assistance and contributions to this article.
