[dropcap]E[/dropcap]xpanding to 31 acres was all that was needed for the Burke Center for Youth in Driftwood to continue helping at-risk boys prepare for adult life.
With the addition of two transitional homes, the Burke Center hopes to help boys aged 18 to 22 learn the skills needed to succeed beyond the foster system.
Steve Fournier, executive director at the Burke Center, said the expansion continues the mission of the treatment center, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that opened in 1975, which helps boys cope with past trauma.
“It’s the adage that you can’t save all the starfish beached on the seashore, but if you try throwing them back one at a time, you can make a dent in the system,” Fournier said.
Fournier said Rosemary Burke and Charlie Campise created the center “to help the most lost child in society."
It was deemed that adolescent boys from the ages of 11 to 17 would be the focus of the center.
“It’s the adage that you can’t save all the starfish beached on the seashore, but if you try throwing them back one at a time, you can make a dent in the system.” –Steve Fournier, executive director at the Burke Center
“These are boys from the foster system that have been neglected, abused and have had some major traumas in their past and they’re struggling to make it work in a foster home or an adopted situation,” Fournier said.
Fournier said the Burke Center helps boys from all over the state. Those living in Driftwood at the 24-hour residential treatment center receive therapy and treatment necessary to develop coping skills that help them adapt to less restrictive environments.
“We have 24-hour care for the boys,” Fournier said. “We have five therapists in areas like mindfulness, drug addiction, sexual issues, anger management, an equine therapist and a pediatric psychiatrist.”
Fournier said boys at the center can stay for any length of time and said some boys are at the center for nine months to a year and a half. Boys at the Burke Center attend school on-site with the University of Texas Charter School.
“UT has done a really good job and helps them (students at Burke Center) catch up and sometimes surpass other kids their age when they are getting help here,” Fournier said.
Fournier said the center saw a great need for boys who turned 18 and were pushed out of the state foster system to live on their own. Most of them lacked the skills needed to thrive and prosper in society.
“What we saw was a disconnect when the kids turn 18 and they are put out on the street and don’t have a whole lot of help,” Fournier said. “I heard someone quote that there’s a 30 percent success rate if they don’t have a social structure to help them.”
The Burke Center is hoping to meet those needs by building two transitional living homes, or supervised independent living homes. The residences house four boys each and allow the occupants to learn important life skills, such as getting and keeping a job, managing bills and housework and buying food.
Fournier said the new transitional homes are intended for boys aged 18 to 22. Each boy will be given assistance to find a job in the local community and is given a donated car. The boys will also be required to either attend a college or trade school to qualify to live in the house.
Fournier said a member of the Care Counselors staff would check on the boys at the transition house daily. They will also serve as a resource if they have questions about work or school issues.
Fournier said the center will cover the costs of property taxes on the two transition homes, but the boys will be responsible for paying the electricity bill as well as rent of $100 a month.
The cost of rent will go into a savings fund for them once they transition out and into an apartment.
Fournier said one transition house is already built with the help of the local community and houses one boy.
The house itself cost around $200,000 to build. Thanks to donated services and materials from within the community, the Burke Center spent approximately $90,000 out of pocket.
“Everybody needs somebody as a social background or structure to help them get through these times, and these boys are lucky to have one of our staff to be able to do that for them,” Fournier said.
Fournier said the construction of the second transition house on the newly purchased property has not yet begun. He said the center is waiting on a rural development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for funding.
Once funding is established, Fournier said the second transition house should be completed within a year.
