At the Idaho Youth Ranch, equine therapy is available to children and families who participate in any of our programs and services, not only kids in residential care. That includes family therapy, group and individual counseling, short-term crisis relief, even adoption services--because it gets such great results.
At last July’sWine, Women & Shoes fundraising event in Coeur d’Alene, IYR clinician Amanda Smith shared an amazing story with hundreds of generous guests, all gathered to support promising futures for Idaho kids and families. With her permission we're glad to have the opportunity to share this story with you. The story is true, but we've changed the hero's name to protect his privacy.
To say that Nicole had a rough start in life is an understatement. As an infant, Nicole’s diapers would go unchanged so long that she remembers the pain of having urine burns all over her tiny body and once watching her older brother and sister try to eat cat litter while their mom was sinking into meth addiction.
When Katie first came to the Ranch Campus, she had no intention of ever returning home. Adopted as a teenager, she feared that her parents loved their biological kids more and the resulting conflicts had torn the family apart. Her intention was to complete the Ranch program, move into independent living, attend college, and never look back.
When Koda came to the Ranch Campus at 16, he was so full of fight that the staff seriously considered discharging him early, for the safety of the other residents. “I had a whole bunch of anger problems,” he said. “It kind of ran in the family.” His early home life on a rural ranch had revolved around conflict with his mom and brothers. But fortunately it also instilled in him a fascination with horses and cowboy crafts. Koda credits the Ranch’s equine specialists with helping him understand for the first time that anger was something he had choices about.
Here it is- the Spring 2015 issue of The Maverick newsletter, full of success stories about Idaho kids and families whose lives have changed for the better, thanks to your generous support.
During a visit to the vet in December, we learned that Bear, our beloved Hays Shelter Home dog, had a birth defect which would cause him to go blind without surgery to correct it.
At Anchor House, we’ve helped many a teenager turn his life around, even some who came to us a last resort, after other agencies had given up. On paper, some of these boys looked like lost causes, but given a chance, their stories turned from tragedies to triumphs.
Turning one child's dangerous path into a promising future often takes a combined collaborative effort. And supporting that new direction means involving the whole family, not just the child. For Justin, the transformation involved IYR's Ranch Campus program, family counseling services, and reintegration services, along with his school and his family's church.
We couldn't make promising futures happen without you!