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Assurance Home helping troubled teens almost 30 years
Editor's Note: This story is part of a series of articles on United Way of Chaves County partner agencies designed to better educate readers about local organizations receiving funding from the United Way.
Lauren E. Toney
Record Staff Writer - Roswell Daily Record
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Roswell's Assurance Home has provided a safe, therapeutic refuge for thousands of teenagers in need for nearly 30 years, and has been a United Way agency for 28 of them.
Since the facility first opened its doors in 1979, Ron Malone, the home's executive director, has been there every step of the way, ensuring that homeless and at-risk teens receive the guidance and support they need to pursue bright futures.
Previously, Malone worked with the Chaves County Boys Home, which he explained was a halfway house where teenage boys resided after leaving or before entering a juvenile correctional facility.
The home was eventually shut down, and Malone worked to create a different type of facility for troubled teens.
"I felt like somehow we were missing the needs of troubled kids in the community," he said of the boys home. "There wasn't a lot of community support for the facility, either."
In 1975 Malone and other began raising money and later opened Assurance Home in an old airport terminal building at what is now the Roswell International Air Center.
In 1982, the facility was moved to its present location at 1000 E. 18th St.
"I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life," he said. "I wanted to run a home for kids that could make a huge impact on their lives."
Malone explained 18 to 20 children at a time are placed at Assurance Home "because they need a therapeutic environment where there are adults who support them, guide them, and love them."
Teens are referred to the group home in a number of ways, including through the state Children, Youth and Families Department, court systems and schools, and some even find their way to Assurance Home on their own.
Currently, 18 boys and girls ages 13 to 17 reside at the home.
Malone reported teens typically stay for a few months to a few years, depending on their individual situations.
He said the James Ranch Youth Shelter, which is located on Assurance Home's 16 acres, is intended to house those children who need assistance for shorter periods of time.
"There are a lot of ways children become homeless," Malone explained. "For some, parental rights have been terminated, or their parents have died, or their parents are incarcerated."
He continued, "Usually their lives are very chaotic, and they're surrounded by drugs and alcohol. There are all kinds of situations where these kids end up without families."
But through Assurance Home, Malone said children have a chance to process the trauma they've experienced and make significant progress.
Since its inception, the home has grown to include three on-site therapists, an art therapy program, horsemanship program, a chapel and a ropes course. Assurance Home also provides on-site apartments to older teens working to become emancipated so that they can learn skills necessary to live on their own.
Malone said these programs help children cope with separation and trust issues they may have.
"We have an extremely high success rate with the kids who come here," he said. "I'm not aware of another program with as high a success rate."
Malone explained he's not bragging as much about Assurance Home itself as he is about the Roswell community. "We get support from all over the nation, but the Roswell community is especially supportive of our program," he said. "That support allows us to do things for kids that a lot of other programs can't."
"We're grateful for the support of the United Way. They provide the one piece of funding we can always count on," Malone said.
To this day, Malone said former residents of Assurance Home, who are now successful adults with families of their own, keep in touch with the people who helped change their lives.
"It's such a reward to see these kids turn their lives around," he said. "I feel honored to work with these kids who have all the odds stacked against them, but once their receive some love, guidance, and support they go on to do really amazing things.
For more information on Assurance Home, visit www.assurancehome.org.
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