95 Years of Rebuilding Lives… One at a Time It’s a bright and beautiful day in Crawford County as a group of children run and climb on a playground in the afternoon sun. Off in the distance, a group of teens gather around a wheelbarrow and potting soil, getting their hands dirty, as they busily plant and water flowers outside of their school. At first glance, you may think this is any schoolyard anywhere in America, but here on this sprawling 370-acre campus of rural farmland outside Meadville, children from across Pennsylvania have found a much-needed safe haven from the troubles of the world. For 95 years, Bethesda Children’s Home/Lutheran Social Services (LSS) — an outreach of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — has been giving children hope for the future by providing them with the resources to navigate the mental and behavioral issues they face in their young lives. Through proven counseling techniques and programs, coupled with an educational system that helps them become productive adults, Bethesda is rebuilding lives… one at a time. “Every kid is worth it,” explains Bethesda Chief Executive Officer Gene Wisinski of the nearly 445 Pennsylvania youth that the center serves in Crawford and Erie counties daily. “They’re worth the interventions. They’re worth the time. And we are thankful for all that people have shared with us to enable us to get to 95 years. We don’t do this alone. We do have an opportunity to rebuild lives — lives that present some of life’s most phenomenal challenges.”
Giving Back Since 1919
Bethesda Children’s Home has a rich history of giving back to the community since 1919 when it opened as the Orphans’ Home of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. At that time, administrators say, Bethesda’s role was primarily one of custodial care with the intent “to provide a home for orphaned, destitute, friendless, defective or delinquent children.” Girls were taught such things as housework and sewing, while boys worked on the farm, gardens and barn. Children from the local area also attended the school located on the grounds. For years, Bethesda’s operation flourished until financial problems forced the Children’s 14 < www.mbabizmag.com < July 2014
Bethesda Children’s Home has the important task of providing behavioral rehabilitation services to youth from across Pennsylvania. The Children’s Home executive team includes (front row, from left) Amy Bizjak, Beth Mallory, CEO Gene Wisinski, Caprice Hudson and Dave Johnson, and (back row, from left) Maria Elkady, Jerrad Rimel, George Trauner and Amy Helmer.
Home to close briefly in 1977. When it finally opened two years later, Bethesda shifted its focus to a diagnostic and residential treatment program, followed by shelter and specialized foster care services. By the 1990s, the newly revamped Bethesda added a day treatment program and partial hospitalization program to provide psychiatric and psychological testing and counseling. Eventually, administrators say, Bethesda opened a satellite office in Erie’s Little Italy in 1996, merging its services with the well-known local ministry, the Trinity Center, to form the Bethesda Community Place on West 18th Street. The community center — one of the oldest in Erie — is designed to build a drug-free community by providing youth with healthy opportunities such as drug and alcohol prevention programs, after-school programs, tutoring, community service, basketball and career readiness. Complementing these services is the new Bethesda Leadership Center, which recently opened in response to an urgent need to have a safe place where teens and young adults can grow and learn. The Leadership Center, located just one block west of the Trinity Center, offers youth, between the age of 14 and 21, a continuum of care at a critical time in their lives — and access to recreational, educational and therapeutic services, such as its recording studio, dance classes, leadership and mentoring programs, and an Independent Living Program. “Bethesda is always changing to meet the needs of the community,” explains Operations Director George Trauner, who has worked at the Children’s Home for 20 years. “That’s what we do both here in Meadville and in Erie as well. If there’s a program that seems to fulfill a current need, we’ll change that or we’ll incorporate new programs.”
A Leader in Innovative Treatment
Committed to providing children and youth with the best possible treatment options available, Bethesda is both accredited by the Joint Commission and recognized as one of the most prominent agencies in instituting innovative programming for emotionally and psychologically disturbed children and their families.