Partners Lunch & Learn at St. Mary's Home for Boys

On November 18, 14 Partners and staff went to St Mary’s Home for Boys to tour and learn. We met with Lynda Walker, St. Mary’s Director of Development and Community Relations to talk about the boys they serve and their treatment protocol. We then toured the site, went into classrooms, sat for lunch with the youth and finished with questions and discussion.

It was a powerful experience where our eyes were opened to the horrific realities that these boys have lived. St. Mary's cares for Oregon's most damaged young men. Their license calls for them to treat adjudicated male offenders between the ages of 10-18. Typically, the boys have failed at a dozen places before they get to St. Mary’s. Most of the boys have low I.Q.’s because mom used so many drugs while pregnant, and most of the boys have endured terrible abuse. They have not succeeded at, or in some cases even attended, school. Lynda says, “I think it is a miracle how they can get up each and every morning and move through another day of treatment and work with such grace and pure courage”.

In our Partner’s words:

I told someone else that the stories of these kids were something the sane mind cannot grasp, but the redemption of their spirits through this school overfilled my heart. It left me with two lessons: 1) there is always hope 2) prevention is free. Thanks for arranging this.

That was a truly profound experience. I had the sense that I was floating through, not totally grasping the reality of those boys' former lives in contrast to what is offered to them now. Later today I remarked to Larry how they all seem so well-adjusted and "together." This is especially noticeable when we know what incredible obstacles they are overcoming. It speaks to the value of structure and set, defined boundaries in making us all feel safe. When we know the rules, we can comply and be comfortable in our own skins and in wider social settings.

I'm so impressed. The statistics were amazing, too: 83% success rate. Wow!
Thanks for offering us this wonderful opportunity to visit a program that's working well.

I don't really know how to express my reaction to our visit. It was truly a moving experience that I have shared with friends and that I find myself thinking about. The life experiences of those boys go beyond comprehension and understanding. The program and the teachers/ counselors/administrators that are involved at St. Mary's Home deserve our utmost admiration and support. They were a very dedicated and impressive group of people.

It was an experience that I wish more people could have participated in.

To further support St. Mary’s and thank everyone there for hosting us so warmly we’d like to help out by sending some needed items. They would like ping pong paddles and balls, as well as frizbees. And if anyone has any foosball tables to donate, the boys would cheer!