Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one of them. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? – Luke 15:8

To love a person is to see all of their magic and to remind them of it when they have forgotten.

Ruby* was floundering. All of her Houseparents’ attempts to help her were failing. What do you do with a teen who’s depressed, acts out and refuses to participate in life? What do you do when she screams at you that she wants to leave, but her eyes beg you to talk her into staying. What do you do when the tried and true isn’t working and one child’s behavior is threatening the success of the other seven in the home?

Well, first you thank God you’re at Amarillo Children’s Home, not facing this alone. You’ve got a crack team of professionals and invested people on your side pulling together to explore the situation, look at it from all angles and, not only come up with a plan, but partner with you to put it into action.

The team formulated a strategy for motivation in which Ruby could be successful, but she’d have to work for it. As Ruby saw the effort put in by so many people to keep her part of Amarillo Children’s Home, her sense of her own value grew.

Staff members and friends of Amarillo Children’s Home jumped on board and began to spend time with Ruby through various avenues… and her sense of her own value grew.

Her skill with little ones was recognized through her job at the church and as she babysat for staff and board members… and her sense of her own value grew.

Board members, church members, donors took time to encourage Ruby… and her sense of her own value grew.

Her Houseparents continued down the difficult path with her: expressing tough love as they communicated her worth and held her accountable… and her sense of her own value grew.

Ruby had, through the circumstances of her life, forgotten who she was. What she needed was people to remind her. She needed to rediscover her own worth, but it was a bigger task than those closest to her could accomplish by themselves.

The journey our Houseparents are on can be overwhelming as they travel hard roads with each of the kids in their homes. Thankfully, they don’t have to go at it alone. They can count on the community of support found at Amarillo Children’s Home, and on YOUR support! Working together, we can restore our kids’ identities.

*name has been changed