Category: Residential Treatment
*Originally published in Kentucky Today.
At Sunrise, we do our very best to let our kids know they are loved and cared for by all of our staff. Recently, however, one of our residential boys discovered that there are many people outside of our agency who also love our kids.
Each year, the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington take a trip to the Kentucky State Fair. Because it is considered a school activity, the boys are assigned to write a paper on something they learned, liked or found interesting during the trip.
One of our boys shared his paper:
THE FAIR
What I found interesting at the fair were the adoption and child welfare stands.
It was interesting ’cause they were there trying to find foster parents for people like us in Sunrise.
They didn’t even know the people that needed homes, but they cared, and they were there for hours. At first, no one in the middle school class wanted to go to this section of the fair, but I kinda made them, and I asked the lady there if she could explain what they’re doing and told the group that there are people that care abut the future and welfare that they don’t even know.
I thought it was cool to go there because it was a good learning experience for me and the group because it was beneficial.
I also liked the fact that at the fair, there were goats. I love goats, and seeing goats made me happy and made me feel like I was home.
I also liked how there were a lot of respectful people there. So, when you treated people with respect, they did the same. And they were helpful.
Also (one of the other Spring Meadows boys) told the cup guy that he only had $20, and if he can get the cup for $15, he can get food. The guy agreed. It was very generous of him even though he didn’t have to. And it shows that people are kind.
This paper basically brings my reason for writing it is ’cause people are kind and caring and want you to know that they want you to be happy and feel welcome.
Your continued support to Sunrise allows all of our boys and girls to have these kinds of experiences. Your support throughout the year truly makes a difference in the lives of our kids.
Written by David Lyninger, director of communications for Sunrise Children’s Services.
I met Chuck* when he first arrived at Sunrise’s Spring Meadow Center (SMC) in Mt. Washington. As I began the admission process with him, I noticed he was a friendly, talkative boy who was – as most are at first – anxious about what his new life at SMC would be like. He seemed determined to get through the treatment program here, and he applied himself to his therapy work for a time. However, as time went by, he seemed to lose hope and motivation to keep moving in a healthy direction.
As a treatment team, we had considered starting a mentor program to help the boys with their motivation to work hard in the program, especially those that have little to no family involvement and support. We were able to partner with Orphan Care Alliance’s Life Coaching program in March 2022 to recruit and train several life coaches.
Chuck was the first to receive a life coach. After he began meeting with his life coach in October of 2022, he got much more serious about finishing his therapy, and he actually graduated the program in January of this year! He continues to meet with his life coach each week while he waits for a good foster family placement.
His life coach, Wade Pritchard, has this to say about him: “In the few short months I’ve been meeting with Chuck, it has been inspiring to watch him increase in his desire to get well. Chuck professes faith in Christ. As he looks to the future and earnestly desires life beyond Sunrise, I have encouraged him to ‘leave behind’ the attitudes and behaviors that have led him to this place in his life.”
Pritchard shared with Chuck a portion of the scripture verse from Philippians 3:13: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on. “Chuck and I both enjoy getting together and have expressed interest in continuing our relationship beyond his time at Sunrise,” said Pritchard. “I look forward with great anticipation how God is going to help, guide, and bless this young man as he and I press on together.”
*Name has been changed for privacy.
Written by Suzanne Pritchard, Sunrise senior administrative assistant at Spring Meadows Center
Today was bittersweet as I moved one of our young ladies from Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center in Elizabethtown to her own place. She has been a very special, sweet, kind soul and has left a lasting impression upon many staff and children during her stay.
She has shown us that no matter what challenges life brings, you get to choose your path. She has reminded me that your family is whoever you choose to be a part of your family.
I’m so proud of this young lady and so happy for her to start her new journey.
In addition to her new home, she adopted a senior dog named King. This dog has not had an easy life either and doesn’t warm up to people easily at all. He bonded and took up with his new dog mama so quickly!
I’m so happy for both of them! Please remember her in your prayers as she gets settled in.
Written by Rachel White, program director of Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center, Elizabethtown
It all began with a conversation between Reuben Watson, regional advancement director at Sunrise Children’s Services, and Jeremy Teall, director and owner of Paul Mitchell The School in Lexington and Louisville. The two started talking a year ago about what it would be like for their organizations to form a partnership and together help serve the children of Sunrise by providing free haircuts and styles. By the time their conversation ended, Teall and Watson decided that they should help not just Sunrise kids, but any child from any foster care organization in the state of Kentucky. And that is how the WayMaker Project was formed.
A year later, more than 200 kids have been served in the Lexington and Louisville communities through the partnership of Sunrise Children’s Services and Paul Mitchell the School. Organizations which include Kentucky United Methodist, All God’s Children, Home of the Innocents, Boys and Girls Haven, St. Josephs Children’s Home, Strengthening Transformations, LEX Project Prom, and others have all benefited from this program.
“The WayMaker Project has given our kiddos at St. Joseph Children’s Home the opportunity to be pampered while improving their self-worth,” stated Mary Horton, residential supervisor at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Louisville. “The stylists are so personable and patient with our kiddos as well!”
“This is how it works: An agency will request tickets and a Sunrise care worker will deliver the tickets to the requesting agency,” explained Watson. “We are all in this together.”
Earlier this year, a foster parent from All God’s Children (AGC) was extremely grateful to hear about the WayMaker Project. “Having one child to get school-ready as a single mom is a challenge. Imagine having four!” she said. “A week before school started, a sibling set of three joined my family. When I received an email from AGC that we could get hair cut vouchers, I responded immediately. Making the appointment through Paul Mitchell’s website was super easy. The ladies who cut my boys’ hair took their time and made sure the boys walked away with smiles on their faces. Thank you AGC for taking care of my kiddos!”
Strengthening Transformations, Inc. has partnered with Paul Mitchell over the past five years with events such as the Father/Daughter dance held at the Woodford County Detention Center where they provided hair, makeup, and manicures for the daughters; and the Friendship Fest in 2019. “We were so ecstatic that stylists from the Paul Mitchell School gave of their time to do free quick styles for the girls in attendance at Friendship Fest and last year provided us with vouchers for free haircuts,” said a representative from Strengthening Transformations. “Through their partnership with our organization, we have been able to make young girls recognize their beauty both inside and out.”
The Paul Mitchell organization believes a haircut can be the catalyst for children to understand how special they truly are. “It has been an honor and pleasure for Paul Mitchell The School to partner with Sunrise Children’s Services. Fundraising and supporting the local community has been the foundation and cornerstone of Paul Mitchell Schools since their inception,” said Teall. “Partnering with Sunrise Children’s Services has given Paul Mitchell The School the opportunity to reach the most needed, and in many cases most well-deserving people, in our community. It always has been and will continue to be the mission of Paul Mitchell The School to serve our local community, and the creation of the WayMaker Project will continue to help us achieve that mission. Thank you to the many people at Sunrise who have aided us in our mission to serve.”
LEX Project Prom is another agency who has benefitted from Paul Mitchell The School and the WayMaker Project. “LEX Project Prom is a non-profit organization that serves under-resourced students to attend their senior prom with no financial obligation. With partners like Paul Mitchell, our students are able to complete their full Prom look,” stated Asona McMullen, executive director at LEX Project Prom. The staff (at paul Mitchell The School) is always welcoming and attentive to our students’ needs. Without them, we would not be able to provide a full service for our attending students. They have been a joy to work with, and we are honored to have them support our mission and work alongside us.”
And of course, the kids at Sunrise Children’s Services have also benefitted from the WayMaker Project. Last month, 15 girls who live at Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center in Elizabethtown were given free haircuts and styles by Paul Mitchell the Louisville School. The night did not end there. Paul Mitchell The School purchased pizza and had a pizza party for the Sunrise kids while investing in the young ladies’ lives. “The Sunrise girls felt so good about their new looks and themselves. They couldn’t stop smiling, which is sadly rare for some of these girls,” said Jake Pelfrey, development director at Sunrise. “Paul Mitchell The School is the type of entity that understands that it takes a village to care for these kids.”
Wanda Sullivan, former Administrative Assistant at the New Hope Pregnancy Center, had heard of Sunrise Children’s Services but hadn’t yet made any real connection with its ministry. That changed in 2018 when she retired from her job. “The Lord just kind of put a burden on my heart for Sunrise,” Sullivan said. “So, I told my pastor, Brother Robbie Fairley at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, that I would be reaching out to Sunrise.”
Sullivan did just that. And then she waited. And prayed. Her specific prayer was: “Lord, I’m putting out the fleece. If our church or myself were supposed to connect to Sunrise, just have the person that I talk to contact Brother Robbie and say this is the place.” God answered. But not exactly in the way she asked.
Shortly after her talk with her pastor, and while she was eating out with some of her friends, Brother Robbie Fairley called her. And missed her. Sullivan called back. But he missed her call. Finally, they connected. “You know that fleece you put out about Sunrise?” Fairley told her over the phone. “Well, the person that you wanted to contact me didn’t, but Stewart stopped by here and wanted to know what you all are going to do.” (Stewart Haag is the activities and volunteer coordinator at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington). “I think you got your answer,” Fairley concluded.
That began four years ago. From the very start, Sullivan wanted to find a mission at Spring Meadows that no one else was fulfilling. Stewart Haag suggested coming once a month to celebrate birthdays because a lot of the boys had never had a birthday party. Sullivan loved the idea. “The first Sunday of every month, regardless if there’s a birthday or not, we come over and have cake,” Sullivan shared. “It’s a birthday cake if there are birthdays; if not, we just do some kind of cake.” Since then, Sullivan and her church have added Christmas. But for Sullivan, the birthday celebrations will always be her called mission. “Our birthdays are our thing,” she explained.
Along with a cake, Sullivan and a small group of three other church members lead a one-hour party with all the boys and leave behind a gift for the birthday boy. Four years ago, the birthday gift was actually a two-dollar bill. “The two-dollar bill got started with our first group,” said Sullivan. “They enjoyed getting the two-dollar bills. They got it, and they were like, ‘I got a two-dollar bill!’” Today, Sullivan and her group give the birthday boys at Spring Meadows gift cards or other items, adapting to the new boys in the program and to their interests.
But what Sullivan hopes most to give to the boys is something long lasting and even life changing. “We share the gospel with them; that’s our main goal,” she said. One young man from Spring Meadows accepted Jesus as his savior and was baptized in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church the first year of the birthday parties. “I want (the boys) to take away that there are people in the world that care about them, and there is a church in Bullitt County that has been faithful to them,” Sullivan continued. “These boys have been let down by the very people that should love them the most. And they get forgotten . . . . Our main thing is that somebody out there cares about them.”
Sullivan understands that there are many misconceptions about the boys who live at Spring Meadows Center. “Yes, there are some here because of bad choices that they made, but there are groups here that have different needs; they are the victims,” she said. “So, it doesn’t matter why they’re here; this is our opportunity. You know, either be a part of the solution, or you’re a part of the problem.”
It is clear that Sullivan is passionate about her ministry to the Spring Meadows boys. “Those boys have stolen my heart.” she stated. “It just makes my heart happy to be around them. They lift me up. I enjoy they’re company; I enjoy they’re honesty. And, I don’t know, I just love being around them.”
One of the many boys at Spring Meadows who captured Sullivan’s heart is Josh.* “He wanted to be a chef – a chef!” Wanda exclaimed. “And this kid, every month we would go, it would be like, ‘Miss Wanda, I have a new recipe for you.’ We were talking about hot chocolate. ‘Put some peppermint in that hot chocolate.’ And every time I do that now, I think about (Josh).”
For Sullivan, these monthly birthday parties are truly a mission given to her by God alone. “My prayer is that whatever God wants to do with Pleasant Grove in this ministry – if it’s to do the birthday party once a month until He calls us home, or in another way – then I want Him to lead this ministry,” she explained. “I thank Him for giving it to me, but I don’t own it.”
And all of us at Sunrise thank you, Wanda Sullivan, along with your church group and everyone at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville for consistently and genuinely caring for the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. You are helping our kids know they are valued, much more than a two-dollar bill.
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On August 4, 2020 Andy* was placed at Sunrise’s Cumberland Adventure Program (CAP) in Bronston for beyond-control behavior that made it impossible for his mother to keep him safe. From the day he arrived until just a few months before he left, he literally shook from head to toe with anxiety, daily.
The staff at CAP dealt with the usual beginning issues: Andy was angry that he was not at home; he resented being away from family and friends; and he was having issues adjusting to the program. With time, he began to acclimate to the program and build relationships with peers and staff. Thus, his transformation began.
Andy worked very hard in individual and family therapy to build a more positive relationship with his mother and brother and replace negative thoughts and behaviors with positive, more appropriate responses.
On June 8 of this year, a young man with a very different mindset discharged and went back home to his mother and brother. “Yes sir,” and, “No, ma’am,” were now his normal responses when asked to do something. He had learned consideration for what was best for the other boys living in the Sunrise cabin as a whole rather than just what was best for him personally. Andy now has a stronger belief in himself that will help him when others try to control his thinking and actions. These positive thoughts and behaviors have become second nature to him.
Susan Hicks, Andy’s therapist at CAP, received a call from Andy’s mom a few weeks ago. She cried as she thanked Hicks and the other staff members for returning the son she once knew back to her. Hicks thanked her but explained that all the hard work and positive choices were done by her son, and Sunrise only provided him with skills that Andy chose to utilize to bring about those positive changes. Some days in the cabin are hard, but this particular day went a little bit easier for the staff at CAP because they knew our program had helped this young man return to the home and bright future he so rightly deserves.
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
After completing her second year of Sunrise’s independent living program and continuing her education at Bluegrass Community & Technical College (BCTC) – Danville Campus, Sara* has completed three housing applications for programs to assist with living upon her transition from independent living later this year. She has developed an online crafting business to aid in her income throughout the pandemic when she was working reduced hours at her place of employment.
Sara has actively participated in Kentucky’s Health Access Nurturing Developing Services, also known as HANDS, and Haven Care Pregnancy Resource Center since giving birth in 2019. She plans on continuing her education at BCTC in the summer of 2021 and graduating with an Associate’s degree. Sara successfully navigates being a first-time mom to a healthy 18-month-old girl, while going to school and working as a young mother.
Sara is on her own path to success after overcoming obstacles during her first years of independent living and previous years in foster care.
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
At the age of five, Madison* and her three sisters were living with a mother who deeply loved them, but was not able, because of her own drug and mental health issues, to take care of the children.
So social services stepped in and removed all four children, placing them in foster care. After Madison had turned six years old, she was placed back with her mother, along with her sisters. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the movement from home to home.
When Madison was 10 years old, she was placed in a loving Sunrise foster home for a time due to the poor living conditions in her mother’s home, coupled with Madison’s continued deterioration of performance and behavior in school. Back and forth she moved from foster care, to mom, to foster care – but now it was with the same Sunrise home each time.
Even when Madison went home, her foster parents befriended her mother, helping to buy clothes and shoes and food. But by the time Madison was 12, she came to live with her foster parents and would never go home to live with her mother again.
Four years later, Madison is approaching her 16th birthday. Her foster parents have recently become her adopted parents, and Madison is doing better than ever. Her grades have improved at school. Her behavior is also improving at home and school with each passing month, and Madison is in the process of expanding her skill set by getting a job in her local community.
While Madison misses her mother and sisters, she is very grateful that her new parents have loved her unconditionally for the last six years, and will be her forever family for the rest of her life. Madison is truly blessed, and so are her parents! Another Sunrise adoption. Another life changed!
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of individual.
