Unassumingly tucked away off Highway 287 outside Longmont sits a haven for troubled children of all backgrounds. Pulling off the smooth pavement onto the satisfying crunch of gravel, peace enfolds your senses as you step out of your car and hear the sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling through the trees. Cows bellow low moos from the pasture and dogs bark from the five family homes that form the quaint, county neighborhood, complete with a playground, basketball court, and an onsite school.
Welcome to Mountain States Children’s Home (MSCH), a residential care program for youth founded in 1960 when five men (John Lewis, James Sims, Sr., Elmer Richards, James Harris, and Bernard Byerley), took out second mortgages on their homes in order to buy a 155-acre plot with the vision of helping children find a better life during troubled times.
Divided amongst these homes resides twenty-four children and six couples who provide round-the-clock care and love to the kids (and cats and dogs) inside. MSCH offers an incredibly comprehensive treatment program to wayward young people who might otherwise face homelessness, foster care, placement in residential youth homes or further interventions in the court system.
Walter Williams, Director of Capital Advancement for the organization, points out a lovely two-story home next to the administration building. This house is the newest addition to the other five that surround a small street lined with a sidewalk and trees. As in all of the homes, inside lives a married couple and six children between the ages of 12 and 18. MSCH is licensed to care for children as young as three. Of the five homes, four are in operation at all times, allowing each couple a week off every month.
A sixth home is in construction currently, with future plans for a seventh and eighth, which would allow MSCH to expand their current number of children and teens served from 24 to 42. “We have to expand to meet the needs of all the children that need this program,” Williams explains. In Colorado, approximately twelve children enter the foster program daily, according to the Colorado Department of Human Services (co4kids.org).
The families “shop” for their meals, toiletries, cleaning products, pet’s food, and any other necessities in the warehouse-style facility onsite, with products coming from donations from individuals, churches, and local businesses. MSCH also raises cows and pigs for meat, all-natural, and grass-fed. The children help care for the animals and especially love the baby piglets. Meal plans are provided, but each family cooks and eats together in their own homes.
Williams explains the programming at MCHS compared to a typical residential program, “We provide a deeper level of care. Most group care homes are meeting basic needs: ‘food, clothing, shelter’. They don’t have a counseling program, an onsite school, a farm, and don’t get the love that these people give. These people live here and the children become their children. They don’t clock in and out.”
A statistic MSCH takes great pride in is the success students find in high school. According to Williams, “In foster care in Colorado, the graduation rate is 25%. Here, it’s 100%.” In fact, The Denver Post reports a slightly lower graduation rate amongst Colorado foster children: “The four-year graduation rate for foster kids in Colorado last year — 23 percent — was lower even than among kids who are homeless,” (https://www.denverpost.com/2018/05/24/colorado-foster-kids-graduation-rate/).
When a new child begins their time at MCHS, which could be as little as a year or as many as ten or more if needed, they are assessed academically as well as emotionally. Each child receives both individualized counseling and education at their level, and the average growth the onsite school sees students achieve is upwards of four grade levels each year.
The end goal for each child is unique to them: some will reunite with their families, while others require extended care. Something else that sets MSCH apart from other programs is its new Transitional Living Program, (TLP) meant to support older teens during their bridge from MCHS into society, especially important in cases where the parents are not involved. This support might include a life coach, tuition assistance, and help in finding a job.
Funding is another part of what sets MCHS apart. Williams points out, “we’re not state or government-funded. We’re the only residential group care program in the state that does not accept state or government funding.” Additionally, no child is refused for the inability to pay.
The money necessary for running this vital operation comes directly from donors, charity events such as the Annual Sporting Clay Tournament, and from sales made at their thrift shop (818 Coffman Street, Longmont). Additionally, over 500 volunteers help the facility run, including individuals and families, as well as church groups and those completing community service requirements.
Visit their website at msch.org to learn more, donate, and/or volunteer.