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June 21, 2017
Have Car, Will Travel
The first rule in helping families stay together is meeting them where they are. Janice Sanders is part of our family preservation team in New Hanover County | Wynona Benson Photography It was a rash, inexplicable decision. The 19-year-old single mother had no reliable childcare for her son while she worked. Sometimes she’d get help from the child’s father and his family, but when she showed up at their home one Tuesday morning, expecting … [Read more...]
June 15, 2017
The Power of Fatherhood
There stands a young teen at the podium, a 6th grade boy. The ballroom is filled – over 700 people are here. On the dais next to him sits Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s dad, and, so close they could brush arms, is poet and rapper Common. The teen reads the first sentence of his essay, then stops. Silence. He struggles to compose himself and a few seconds later, voices from the audience call out. “You’ve got this.” “You can do it.” “Take your … [Read more...]
May 25, 2017
The Game of Life
Thad Hodge "sells" a 2014 Dodge Challenger to Montrell during Methodist Home for Children's Real World Remember your first paycheck? How shocking it was to see the deductions? How little was left after paying rent? Welcome to MHC Real World – a simulated life experience. Think of it as a crash course in adulting, a daylong adventure designed to give teens a taste of what it’s like to be all grown up. But not just any teens. These are kids who, … [Read more...]
May 18, 2017
Someone to be there
Teresa Oakley is a therapeutic foster parent. She and Steven, parents of 13-year-old Nathan, set out to foster young children (under the age of 5) but realized they most enjoyed parenting young teens. Teresa shares what she’s learned from being a foster parent. Fostering children is really, really hard at times. You think you are not getting through to their hearts. Steven and I spent many hours letting our children know that we are not … [Read more...]
May 3, 2017
Foster & Adoption Sessions
Wake and Pitt counties | Are you interested in fostering or adopting? We have information sessions to answer your questions about fostering and adopting through Methodist Home for Children. RSVP is required: Call 888.305.4321, ext.6, or email FosterandAdopt@mhfc.org. On the agenda: • What it means to be a foster parent. • What the training & licensing process is all about. • What types of children are referred to our foster … [Read more...]
April 19, 2017
Wheels4Hope drives opportunity
Tyanna is the most recent MHC alum to receive a car from Wheels4Hope. We’ve watched Tyanna grow up and now she’s a student at East Carolina University. (Dean’s List, no less!) She’s always had a drive to achieve great things, and this Toyota Camry solves her logistics challenge of getting to school and work every day. We are so grateful for the ministry and partnership we’ve found with Wheels4Hope. Success is often linked to opportunity. And, … [Read more...]
April 17, 2017
Meet DeMikael
DeMikael was in elementary school when he started running with the older guys in his neighborhood, breaking into homes for money to buy clothes and shoes. He was a follower, and he found himself in the juvenile justice system by the time he was 10. His charges stacked up over the years, but nothing else changed. DeMikael could not imagine a life other than what he saw on the street, outside his front door. By the time he was 15, he was on his … [Read more...]
April 5, 2017
Experts in Care | Lighthouse Certification
Congratulations to our staff and foster parents who’ve shown through rigorous testing that they are adept in our model of care and equipped to train others. Besides skill, they have modeled perseverance, grace, and determination in their work to earn Lighthouse Certification. Not photographed: Ella and Julius Henry, foster parents … [Read more...]
February 23, 2017
Raise the Age: What we believe
If you believe that 16- and 17-year-olds who commit misdemeanors should be handled in the juvenile justice system, add your name here. In popular imagination, juvenile crimes occur in darkness and on the weekend. But, in truth, the majority of our juvenile complaints – 44 percent – are from schools for disorderly conduct, aka acting out in class. Here in North Carolina, if you’ve had your 16th birthday and you act out in class, you can be … [Read more...]
January 31, 2017
Frank’s Favorites
Frank is donating two elaborate handmade toys, below, for A Winter's Tale auction on Feb. 4. You can view and bid on Frank's toys in the silent auction here | At age 95, Frank Mansfield has built hundreds of his signature trucks, trains, and earth-moving toys. He took up woodworking in the late 1940s after serving in World War II, and through the years he’s donated some of his most elaborate pieces to raise funds for Methodist Home for … [Read more...]
