Bellewood Provides Safe Haven for Neglected Children
One of the toughest questions to answer is, “Can you tell me a success story?”
Stories are all around, and everyone defines success differently.
Since starting as a small home for Kentucky’s orphans in 1849, Bellewood Home for Children has played an integral part in countless success stories.
Today, Bellewood provides a home and care for Kentucky’s abused, neglected and homeless children from infants to young adults.
Zoey (her name has been changed to protect her identity) is a 21-year-old Lexington-area native.
She is one of the many Lexington successes that begins at Bellewood.
Why? Because Zoey considers every day since she entered Bellewood a success.
When she was 18, she entered Bellewood’s Independent Living program after exiting the foster care system – with two young children of her own.
Zoey’s main desires through the program were to focus on her educational goals and to offer a better life for her children.
Zoey followed Bellewood’s program that included developing independent living skills through one-on-one sessions with her case managers.
She also attended regular group meetings and continued to mature and develop herself as a young mother.
Zoey com-mitted to gaining em-ploy-ment and continuing her education, all while being a single mother.
And today she is continuing her schooling while holding down a job.
Zoey is just one story of young people overcoming obstacles that could have caused them to make poor decisions – choices that could have jeopardized their ability to grow.
Instead, these courageous folks benefit from life lessons to mold a positive outlook and pave a path to success.
Bellewood supports those efforts by providing a continuum of care with start-to-finish programs that help ensure the safety, stability and success of each individual.
Those supports include residential treatment, foster care, independent living for young adults who have aged out of foster care and prevention services for unstable families.
Bellewood serves abused, homeless and other troubled youths with offices in Louisville, Bowling Green, Lexington, Owensboro and Paducah.
Info: 1815 Nicholasville Road, Lexington. 294-7080 or www.bellewood.org.