Success Stories
Since 1966 over 6,000 boys and girls have benefited from the residential care and treatment provided them at Attention Homes. Here are some of their stories.
Rick
In 1968, 16 year-old Rick came to Attention Homes in its second year. Raised by an abusive father, he had been drinking since grade school and had recently been kicked out of home. At Attention Homes, he began attending AA meetings. He received counseling and learned how to live with adults that treated him kindly while holding him accountable for his behavior. Today, Rick is sober, has a wife and three kids, and is a successful engineer in Boulder. Can you imagine what Rick’s life might have become if Attention Homes had not been there to help him more than 40 years ago?
Scott
Scott had a tumultuous family life. From a very young age he witnessed domestic violence and chronic substance abuse by both parents. He missed the majority of his freshman year of high school and began experimenting with substances himself. He came to Attention Homes angry and protective of his parents—validating that they did nothing wrong.
During his stay, Scott’s parents continued to use drugs, which meant that he could not go home. He continued to blame the others and refused to believe that his parents didn’t want him at home. Phone calls and visits were painful for him.
Scott began attending school at Justice High, an alternative charter school located in the justice center. Meanwhile his mother left his dad and made the attempt to start fresh – clean and sober. He enjoyed Justice High and started playing basketball for the school team. Although he didn’t like admitting it, Scott liked the rules and expectations that he had to follow at both Attention Homes and Justice High. Finally, his life felt safe and stable. After attending individual and family counseling, demonstrating improved behavior, and staying clean, Scott was able move back in with his mom. Although she had moved outside of Boulder County, he continued his education at Justice High and went on to excel at sports.
Faith
Seventeen year-old Faith lived at Attention Homes for six months. She had come after a long history of abuse made it impossible for her to continue living with her family. While living at Broadway House, Faith wanted to stabilize her life and learn about what it meant to make healthy choices. Through the support of Attention Homes’ staff and Chafee, an independent living program, she was able to find a job. During her stay she went to Justice High, worked several days a week, was committed to an exercise routine, and developed a plan to live independently. By the time she moved out, Faith had saved up money, found a place to live, graduated from high school, and figured out how she was going to make it on her own. Perhaps most importantly, she had learned the skills and tools necessary to successfully manage her life. Faith still checks in to let us know how well her life is going.
Stephanie
Imagine for a moment stepping into your new home and being greeted by eleven peers you have never met before. You are soon informed that you will be sharing a room, going to school, and living with all of these people until further notice. This is what happens each day at Attention Homes. One prime example is a 15-year-old girl named Stephanie. She walked through our doors anxious and shy. Stephanie’s first two days were spent on the outskirts silently observing. It was within the next four weeks that Stephanie began to grow and change.
Stephanie came from a home where she was often teased by her siblings and blamed by her family. Only hours before she came to us she was in the hospital receiving stitches on her head from a blow given by her father. Her mother explained to the doctors that Stephanie “asked for it” and that the father should not be held responsible. Her siblings said nothing and they too were removed from the unsafe home situation.
When she came through our doors, Stephanie’s peers took her under their wing and showed her around the house. From explaining the rules to showing her where the laundry detergent is kept, Stephanie attempted to acclimate to her new situation. Each morning when Stephanie came downstairs to the living room others could see her anxiety melt from her face. She became more confident in the routine and with herself.
Within days Stephanie was opening up to peers and staff. She was able to participate in groups, therapy, household activities, and began connecting with others. She would initiate game time in the house and loved to dance in the living room. Stephanie would often play basketball in the driveway in between having increasingly constructive, healthy conversations with her family and friends.
Trevor
The first time Trevor smoked marijuana was in 6th grade. He was attempting to “fit-in” and find approval from a group of older boys. His parents were drug addicts with limited capacity to care for their son.
As Trevor entered high school, he found himself fitting in by becoming involved with a gang. He also began using drugs more frequently. After several run-ins with the law, Trevor was sent through an intensive treatment program for his drug use. Though he had completed the recovery program, he was not ready to go home. His mom was in jail, his dad was still using drugs, and Trevor was not ready to handle the stress of his everyday life while trying to remain sober.
Trevor was sent to Chase House to learn responsibility for his sobriety and new ways to deal with the everyday stressful situations he faced. During his first two months at Chase House, Trevor acted out on a regular basis. He was verbally aggressive towards staff and other residents, he left the house without notifying staff, and he punched a hole in one of the walls. Because of his conduct, Trevor was put on a behavior contract at Chase House. If he didn’t follow the rules, he would not be allowed to stay at Chase House and would have to go to a detention center.
Chase House staff worked daily with Trevor to provide coping and anger management skills. He began to realize that he was angry with his family for using drugs while he was doing his part to stop his drug use. He started to learn to express these and other frustrations to staff. He also enjoyed cooking and found that it was a good activity to help him calm down when he was frustrated.
Trevor started acting out less in school, to the point where his school called the staff at Chase House to tell them how well he was doing. He began participating more in AA groups at Chase and was willing to show his true personality. For the first time in his life, Trevor began to make friends who approved of him for who he was.
Trevor graduated from Chase House after living there for seven months and completing his treatment goals. He now lives with his grandmother in her sober and supportive home.