Fall 2012
volume 17 | number 2
Fall 2012
MAGA ZINE volume 17 | number 2
Board of Directors Palmer Home for Children Charles Berry Columbus, MS
Dewitt Hicks Columbus, MS
Dr. Robert Black Tupelo, MS
Rev. Tom Kay, Jr. Aliceville, AL
Dolph Bryan Starkville, MS
Tom McCann Peach Tree City, GA
Karen Carlisle Memphis, TN
Charles McElroy Meridian, MS
Harold Clark Starkville, MS
Rev. George McKee Faunsdale, AL
Robert Clark Starkville, MS
Rick Powell Memphis, TN
Doug Davis Hernando, MS
Jon Reeves Olive Branch, MS
Kirby Dobbs-Floyd Memphis, TN
Donny Sanders Aliceville, AL
Larry Edwards Ridgeland, MS
Sunny Stuckey Olive Branch, MS
Gray Flora, III Columbus, MS
Lisa Turner Memphis, TN
Jack Forbus Starkville, MS
Lee Tyner Oxford, MS
Dr. Hugh Francis, Jr. Memphis, TN
Jim Walker Germantown, TN
Charles Guest Starkville, MS
Alan Walters Jackson, MS
Daryl Guest Starkville, MS
David E. White Meridian, MS
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ROAD TRIP - PALMER STYLE ...And a Bite of the Big Apple, too! From Columbus, Miss., to Boston, Mass., one Palmer cottage takes a summer journey.
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LEARNING LOVE A WORLD AWAY
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EMBRACING A WORLD OF HEALTH
One of 20 teens chosen nationwide for this mission trip, Amber received more than she gave the children.
President & CEO: Drake Bassett Executive Vice President: Robert Farris VP Business Affairs: Carol Wright VP Development: Josh Whelan Director of Social Services: Alicia McGee
Director of Marketing & Communications: Katharine Hewlett Executive Director Columbus Campus: Steven Scott Executive Director Hernando Campus: Matthew Nasekos
Palmer Home Magazine is published biannually and is available to individuals by writing Palmer Home Magazine, Palmer Home for Children, P.O. Box 746, Columbus, Mississippi 39703-0746, or calling 1-662-3285704. Any donation for Palmer’s children is appreciated. Palmer Home Magazine is published by Palmer Home for Children, a Mississippi not-for-profit corporation that is recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity.
Her goal of becoming a nurse was falling into place when the opportunity to add some international exposure presented itself. 5
PERSPECTIVES: A SEASON OF CHANGE
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RYAN’S RECIPE
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FAMILY ALBUM
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I AM PALMER
20 THANK YOU: PALMER HOME FRIENDS 22 NEWS, NEEDS, & UPCOMING EVENTS 23 HISTORY QUICKIE RECENT STATS I AM A PALMER FRIEND FALL 2012
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A SEASON OF CHANGE
BY DRAKE BASSETT
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elcome to the Fall Issue of the Palmer Home Magazine! Since 1895, boys and girls have come to us for safety and new beginnings. Along the way, these children have become our treasures and they now carry our hopes and dreams for all that is good. When Palmer Home opened its doors, Grover Cleveland was President, we traveled by train, and the phrase ‘World War’ was not in our vocabulary. It was a different time, and our needs were relatively simple. Thirty-one U.S. Presidents later, the world has changed, and our needs are more complex. But one thing remains unchanged: our mission to help children who need a home. Each child that comes to Palmer Home has a different story, but they all receive stability, love, and spiritual guidance. Whatever the year, the work at Palmer Home is a combination of highs and lows. The children in our care are burdened with abandonment, confusion, heartache, and, more frequently, severe abuse. On any given day we can celebrate one child’s breakthrough only to end the day in prayer for another who is struggling to hang on. At times, it’s a heartrending business. Providing excellent residential care requires focus and a constant evaluation of the services we offer. I have enjoyed the larger conversation about our history and our future. Every aspect of our work is interesting to me and nothing is too small to review. In all of these discussions, especially if change is required, my thoughts are guided by one question: What’s best for the children? One of my favorite stories involves NFL Head Coach Herman Edwards. As a boy, he was responsible for mowing and cleaning the yard around his family home. On one occasion his father took him to a corner where some debris still remained. Herman explained that what was there was too small to worry about. His
father told him that nothing was too small to worry about, and if he couldn’t learn to handle the little things, he’d never master the big things. Details matter. In Luke 16:10, Jesus taught that “He who is faithful in a very little thing, is faithful also in much.” I firmly believe that if we continue to take care of the small things, the Lord will entrust us with larger opportunities to serve more children. Somewhere tonight a child we have yet to meet is in desperate need of Palmer Home. As God provides, we will be ready to help when He sends that child to us. The journey forward will be long and fruitful, and I invite you to remain engaged in our mission. One child at a time, I know we will make a difference.
Somewhere tonight a child we have yet to meet is in desperate need of Palmer Home. As God provides, we will be ready to help when He sends that child to us.
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Palmer Style
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PALMER HOME MAGAZINE
BY GLEN ALLISON
From Columbus, Miss., to Boston, Mass., one Palmer cottage takes the summer journey of a lifetime.
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hey stream out of the 16-passenger van on this misty spring day in Boston, all eight of them, and come through the subway turnstiles like they are old pros at mass transit. Today’s destination is the Museum of Science. It is day three of the trip and already the girls of Phillips Cottage know the tricks of big-city travel. “Just slide the ticket in here and the gate swings open,” said Macey, eight years old and probably fifty pounds packed with curiosity and energy. It works and I trail in with the young ones of the group while the teen girls roll their eyes at the total uncoolness of the young girls’ exuberance. Housemom Damaris Arroyo continually counts heads and monitors the distance between the train tracks and her girls. “Behind the yellow line, girls. Stand behind the yellow line.” Her girls. We’re at the Wood Island substation of the Green Line of the Boston subway system. Housedad Tito has finished parking the van along a crowded Boston side street nearby. He joins the group and we all pile on to the train. He already has stories to tell. “First time on the subway, this guy says to Macey, ‘You got to be Irish. Where is your daddy?’ She points to me, and the guy, who was tipsy probably, says ‘What? So, you married to an Irish girl?’ I point to Damaris and shook my head. He says, ‘And these is your kids?’ I laughed and told him, yeah, these are all my girls.” His girls. His offhand story explains why the Arroyos decided to pack up eight children and two dogs and drive from Columbus, Miss., to their native Boston, Mass., on a 13-day road trip. This is their family and this is what families do.
A week earlier
“I could tell that some of the other houseparents at Palmer Home thought we were crazy when I told them we wanted to do a road trip,” says Tito as he carries a bag of groceries into the bedroom where Damaris has assembled all the supplies and snacks for the trip. Stacks of chips and maps and games surround a 50-gallon crate on the floor. This is the last group of items to be packed for the trip. The girls have just arrived home from the last day of the school year. The van pulls out at 3AM.
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“I could tell that some of the other house parents at Palmer Home thought we were crazy when I told them we wanted to do a road trip.” –Tito Arroyo
On one wall is a small chalkboard with this scripture verse neatly lettered: “He gives childless couples a family, gives them joy as the parents of children.” Psalm 113:9 Along the back of the sofa in the living room are eight stacks of clothes and sandals. The traveling clothes. All the rest of each girl’s clothes and accessories have already been vacuum sealed into bags and packed into another pair of large plastic crates. Everything is neatly placed in a living area that is as neat as I’ve seen anywhere. “We have to keep it this way to maintain our sanity,” jokes Damaris. Even with the wrapping up of details for the trip, the young couple answers questions, assign chores, and apply minor disciplines for small infractions, all while preparing supper for their charges. Life hasn’t slowed down. After the meal, a dare is thrown out by the girls that their houseparents can’t perform a certain popular dance. Someone cranks up an iPod and the dance begins. Before it’s all over the entire group is convulsed with laughter. To watch the Arroyos here tonight, you’d think they were born for this work. It’s actually a set of circumstances they never foresaw for themselves. They met as teenagers back in Boston and were truly high school sweethearts. Both had been raised early on in singlemother households. While Damaris had one sister but a large extended family in the area, Tito had six siblings. “We were like the Puerto Rican Brady Bunch,” Tito says. When he was 11 years old, his mom married Carlos Martinez, and Tito learned the value of a father in a home. “My stepdad helped raise me and made me the man I am today. He was such an important role model for me.” Tito wanted to be an architect. After getting his education, the
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pair married in 2001 and the next day they moved to Miami. He worked in architecture and construction management, supervising the building of telecommunication buildings for five years before moving to Fort Myers, Fla., to continue his work there. It was at that stop they became involved in a church with the goal of planting a church in Columbus, Miss. After much prayer, the Arroyos volunteered to move with the fledgling mission church a thousand miles away. Tito got a job in the construction services department of a large home improvement store. Damaris became the manager of the kitchen at the Columbus campus of Palmer Home for Children. “From the start, we could feel the Lord tugging at our hearts about these children,” remembers Damaris. Tito visited the campus often to see his wife. The children knew his name and he began to learn theirs. By the beginning of 2011, the couple wondered if there was more for them at Palmer Home. “We began praying about it. We could see that these children needed people in their lives to give them stability and lead them. And we saw what a tremendous blessing it would be for anyone to actually have an impact on their lives.” By summertime, the Arroyos felt that a big change was coming in their lives. They prayed more earnestly, and one day Tito pulled aside Matthew Nasekos, who was then director of the Columbus campus. “Are you still looking for houseparents?” he asked. A series of discussions ensued, followed by interviews and more prayer by everyone the young couple could entreat to pray. By August, the decision was made and the Arroyos moved in as houseparents at Phillips Cottage. “From the start, it felt right. We fall into bed exhausted every night but we are so thankful every day to be a part of these kids’ lives. I learn every day about myself and how the Lord meets our needs,” says Tito.
“In some ways, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like we are being paid to live a wonderful life.” How did the idea for the road trip to Boston originate? “One day, months ago, one of the girls asked me if I’d ever ridden a train. I told her, yeah, I grew up in Boston and rode the subway train all the time. Her eyes got big, and then I told her maybe one day we’d take the whole group in our cottage up to ride the train. As you can imagine, from there, it was all downhill.” Tito and Damaris joke about the monumental task of preparing for the trip but, in truth, the excitement built as the end of school drew near. “Hey, you only live once, and if we survive this trip…” Tito’s words are overtaken by a chuckle. “Really, Boston has so much history, and it’s a chance for the kids to be exposed to it. We have a lot of family and friends there. It will be fun.” Throughout the spring of 2012, the logistics of the trip fell into place: The group would stay at one of Damaris’s uncle’s home. They’d ride the train to wherever they wanted to go. As people in their families heard of the trip, they insisted on being part of the journey. One after another, the Arroyos’s aunts and uncles and sisters and friends volunteered to cook meals for the Phillips Cottage family. They scoped out discounts for trips to museums and other attractions.
Day 5 of the trip
The train comes out of a tunnel and glides through the Boston neighborhoods, past houses jam-packed along narrow streets flooded with a never-ending stream of cars. Nothing is slow here. Add to the usual rush three facts: 1. It’s Memorial Day weekend. 2. The Red Sox are playing at Fenway. 3. The Celtics are hosting game 7 of the NBA division playoffs. (Tito was surprised with a ticket for the game by his wife.) The subway doors fling open and out pour the Palmer kids. Tiffany, 15, has been put in charge of two-year-old Samantha. “Sammy” alternately wants to be carried or wants to push the stroller in which she should be riding. Both Tito and Damaris are constantly scanning the group and counting heads. “Are we all here together?” the houseparents ask one of the older girls. The crowd rushes past us. We make our way to the sidewalk. Next stop: the Boston Museum of Science. “This is going to be sensory overload for these kids,” says Damaris as we pause outside the museum. She is right. Inside the revolving doors awaits a huge lobby which branches off to several exhibit halls. More gigantic rooms full of hands-on exposure to the world of science lie at the tops of broad staircases leading up from the lobby area. The two houseparents rove among the groups of kids, who break off and explore the rooms as we go. The concentration on their faces is intense enough to ward off any smiles. When
I point out that I’m not getting any photos of them that include smiles, they grin sheepishly. “I guess we take this seriously, huh?” The girls, however, have no compunction about showing their excitement. “Hey, come here, you can pet this stuffed bear!” one girl squeals. Another calls out, “Did you see this gyroscope? It spins you around!” The girls grab the two adults, and the entire group piles on a giant teeter-totter, Tito on one end and most of the rest on the other end. On cue, the girls jump off, and their housedad bounces his tailbone to the floor. Peals of laughter spread throughout the Kinetic Energy Exhibit. Occasionally, one of the children is taken aside for a brief talk and timeout. “These are just like any kids in any family. Sometimes,
AND A BITE OF THE
BIG APPLE TOO
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ast year, the Arroyos were on another trip, this time to Czechoslovakia. On their flight, they spied a man who looked familiar. “Isn’t that the guy on the Food Network?” Tito whispered. They introduced themselves, told them about their Palmer family, and received a standing invitation to come visit the network headquarters in New York one day. That day came on the group’s way back from Boston. “We didn’t even tell the girls,” says Damaris. “We just told them we had to make a stop in New York.” The van pulled up in Damaris’s mother’s home in Brooklyn, and they were off and running in another big city. They rode the subway up and down the island of Manhattan, stood in Times Square, saw the Statue of Liberty, stood at Ground Zero. Tito even befriended a pizza shop manager and introduced the girls of Phillips Cottage. The result? Free pizza for the entire group. “We love New York,” the Arroyos laugh. When it came time to see the Food Network, they were ushered through the kitchen sets where some of the TV shows are shot. “You could still smell the bread they’d been cooking that day. Everyone was so gracious and friendly to us. The girls really just soaked it in.”
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“We have to keep it this way to maintain our sanity…” they need a little attitude adjustment. We are all in this together.” Afterward, however, the family time continues. The Museum of Science is just one stop among many the Palmer group has made during their stay in Boston. They’ve strolled around historic Fenway Stadium in the middle of downtown Boston, visited Boston Commons, experienced the aquarium and the Boston Children’s Museum. They’ve traveled to Gloucester, just south of the city, to visit the zoo there. The sun has burned away the usual haze in the New England sky above the zoo. The temperature approaches 90 but the girls don’t slow down. Giraffes and snakes and birds and lions all get their attention. With the group are longtime friends, Brian and Silvia, who along with their daughter Layla are hosting the entire group for lunch after the zoo visit. “I love it that they are doing this,” says Brian, a social worker. “What Palmer Home is doing is exactly what I envision is best for juvenile residential care.” His wife has a bit of awe in her voice as she speaks. “It is very adventurous and brave of them to do this. It shows how invested they are in these girls.” Back home in their living room at Phillips Cottage, a
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moment of quiet settles over the Arroyos. The journey is history, and they are left with memories and photos of their times on the famous road trip of 2012. A hard dose of the reality that often confronts a houseparent has hit their Palmer family. The four sisters – Macey, Chloe, Chelsea, and Justina – have been reunited with their mom through the Mississippi Department of Human Resources. They moved out of Phillips Cottage the day after the Boston trip ended. Of course, they can always come visit, but other girls in need of a home will likely have filled their beds at Palmer Home. The Arroyos were aware of the court order during the entire trip. When they speak of it, their voices crack a little. I don’t press them to divulge the torn parts of their hearts. I have enough trouble keeping my throat from tightening up. As they keep talking, the bigger picture of God’s sovereignty in a hard world comes into view. “We just have to trust Him and do the best we can for these children. He has put us here. All we can do is the very best we can to see these girls succeed in life.” These girls. Their girls.
Roasted Pork Loin Sandwich with Corn Relish and Fresh Mozzarella
Serves: 6 Sandwich Ingredients: • Your Favorite Rustic Style Artisan Bread or Onion Bun • Roasted Pork Loin, Sliced Thin • Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced Thick • Corn Relish • Mayonnaise (optional) Ingredients for Roasted Pork Loin: • Pork Loin 1 ½ lbs • Olive Oil 2 Tbsp • Onion Powder 1 tsp • Garlic Powder ½ tsp • Paprika ½ tsp • Herbs de Provence 2 tsp • Salt, to taste • Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste Preheat Oven to 400°F Trim the pork loin of excess fat and silver skin. Coat the loin in olive oil followed by all herbs and spices. Rub the herbs and spices evenly onto the pork loin and place onto a wire rack in a shallow roasting pan. Add a ½ cup of water to the bottom of the roasting pan. Place uncovered in the preheated oven and roast at 400°F for 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 155°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove cooked loin from the oven, add another ½ cup of water to the pan to break up pan drippings, and let the loin rest before slicing. Slice thin.
Ingredients for Corn Relish: • Butter 1 Tbsp • Frozen Whole Kernel Corn 1 ½ Cups • Medium Tomato, Diced • Lemon Juice 1 ½ Tbsp • Sugar 1 Tbsp • Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped 1 Tbsp • Salt, to taste • Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste • Corn Starch ½ Tbsp • Water 1 Tbsp Melt butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add corn and sauté until tender. Add tomato, lemon juice, sugar, parsley, salt and pepper and continue to sauté until the tomato begins to break down and a light sauce is formed in the pan. Mix corn starch and water together to make slurry. Stir slurry into corn/tomato mixture and continue to heat until the sauce thickens, approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Composing the Sandwich: If using mayonnaise, spread an even layer on the inside top and bottom layers of bread. Then assembling from the bottom bread piece, pile on the thin-sliced roasted pork loin followed by the thick-cut fresh mozzarella. Top with corn relish followed by the top bread piece. If using an Artisan bread loaf or focaccia, you can now slice the sandwich into portions. Serve warm with your favorite chips and enjoy.
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PALMER
family scrapbook
One of 20 teens chosen nationwide for this mission trip, Amber received more than she gave the children of Uganda.
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LOVE a world away BY GLEN ALLISON
he summer heat of Mississippi probably feels different to Amber now. She leans on the white fence separating her from the horses she loves, an African blanket on her shoulders. A quiet girl of 18, the words do not come easy for her. Since she was two, this has been her home, here at the Columbus campus of Palmer Home. “Now part of me is still back in Uganda,� she says. Her smile is wistful. Her eyes mist. She is remembering the upraised arms of a tiny fatherless boy back in an orphanage an ocean away.
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“It’s like I could hear God saying, ‘I want you in on this.’”
“I don’t guess I’ve ever cried more in my life than the day we had to leave,” she says. Amber arrived at Palmer Home at age two with her four siblings. Hard circumstances, including, by her own account, “abuse in every way,” caused her to land here. Withdrawn as a small child, she realized she was hurting. “I
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didn’t believe in love, because of my birth-family history,” she says. Her Palmer family, especially her association with Natalie Langston, director of Palmer’s therapeutic horse riding program, eventually brought her out. As she grew stronger in her relationship with God and others, she became interested in missions work. Over a year ago, when she heard about a three-week trip to Uganda through her church, she wondered if it was something the Lord had for her. “It’s like I could hear God saying, ‘I want you to be in on this.’” The trip, however, was limited to only 20 youths nationwide through the denomination of her church, Beersheba Presbyterian in Columbus. “We had to fill out an application to even be considered. And people at the church had to be references for me.” Church elder Charlie Studdard said he was glad to be part of Amber’s support team. “She’s a special young lady. It’s so gratifying to see her use her abilities and gain fulfillment like this. This is the kind of happy ending you love to see in any child’s growth, especially the Palmer kids.” And then there was the challenge of raising money for the trip—a whopping $5,000 for travel and supplies for the work in Uganda. The church and Palmer Home kicked in to raise the money. “Someone even put this big jug with ‘Amber’s Mission Trip’ on it, and put it in the dining hall for kids to put change in it. When they counted it up, that jug had $170 in it,” she says. After a year’s worth of planning and instruction by email from trip organizer Lynndon Thomas, devotions were sent out to the participants, aged 17-21, who were spread out across the United States. Finally the group assembled in Birmingham, Ala., in early June for a two-day training session. Amber was impressed with the immediate cohesion of the group. “We were from all over but there were no problems and no cliques. Everyone just worked together and prayed together and got along great.” The group flew to London and then to Entebbe, Uganda. The dozen girls and eight boys on the trip then drove to the town of Kampala, where they would be staying in a duplex next to missionary housing. The next day they drove to Katali, in a more remote area of the country. They would be working with school-age kids there. In spite of all the preparation, they were overwhelmed
with the attention of the children there. “When we got out of the van, they came running, grabbing our hands. Three or four kids holding on to each hand, smiling at us.” Every day, they worked with the children, teaching them in a vacation bible school setting and even learning songs in their language. “At the end of the week, every one of those kids ran after our bus, waving. Every last one of us was crying our eyes out.” The group of short-term missionary teens spent time with other groups including a foot-washing ceremony for the children to show the love of Christ using his own example of washing the feet of His disciples. “The children were shocked at first and refused. They considered us so much more worthy than we were. They insisted on washing our feet, too.” For not the first time in our interview, Amber wipes her eyes as she remembers her time in Africa. The trip has touched her, a fact that shows on her face in spite of her natural reserve. One of the most surprising things I hear about the trip is that Amber spoke before the entire group at one of the vesper meetings. Her topic could have been entitled “How I Started to Believe in Love Again.” “I just shared how God had showed me, through Palmer Home, and through this trip to Uganda, how He loved me and what it should mean in how I serve others.” One of the group’s leaders, Dianna Wolf, saw growth in Amber during the trip. “She first shared her testimony just with our group during training in Birmingham. It was hard for her. But by the time she shared her story with all the children at the vesper meeting, she spoke beautifully.” The single most moving experience was yet to come. The group spent a day at an orphanage. The children there had been stricken with diseases such as malaria and measles in a country lacking in the vaccination that might have lessened the disastrous effects. Amber gazes out at the horses again as she remembers the children: a five-month old boy, still skeletal in appearance after his premature birth; a three-year-old girl whose convict father refused to release her for adoption, thus removing hope of adoption that the others shared. “Very sad,” are the only words this young woman can voice. But another, a 15-month-old boy named Joekie, still haunts her. “When I walked into the room, he was asleep in a crib. He
woke up, saw me, and raised his arms. I picked him up, and for hours he wouldn’t go to anyone else. I just held him.” All the misery of a nation full of needy children were symbolized in that one room, it seemed to Amber. “They cried and cried when it was time for us to leave, and the main thing we did there was just hold them.” The group shed as many tears on their way back to the duplex where they were staying. As part of their experience, the group witnessed the exotic animals of Africa in their natural habitat during a safari. The elephants and giraffes, however, weren’t the most memorable part of their trip. About five years ago, Amber saw her birth-mother for the first time since she came to Palmer Home at age two. “She explained to me the whole thing, the abuse as a child and how she felt powerless. She was crying and saying ‘so sorry’ over and over. And she told me she loved me.” It was the beginning of healing for Amber. Her mom explained how hard it was for her to give up her children to go to Palmer Home but that it was the best thing for them. “And she was right,” says Amber. “But now I have her and I have my experience at Palmer.” She fingers the edge of the African blanket as she gazes at the horses grazing under the oak trees on the back part of the Columbus campus. She is seeing more than the past now, and more than the present. She is seeing the small lives she touched, for a few days, a few moments, across the ocean.
“I just shared how God had showed me, through Palmer Home, and through this trip to Uganda, how He loved me and what it should mean in how I serve others.”
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a world of health
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Her goal of becoming a nurse was falling into place when the opportunity to add some international exposure presented itself.
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BY GLEN ALLISON
hasity Nguyen feints as if to mess up her brother’s hair as he passes by. Johnny Nguyen dodges his college-aged sister. Another sibling squabble foiled. All in good fun. The jet lag from the flight back from Switzerland doesn’t seem to be affecting Chasity at the moment. She’s just been back a couple of days though. “Wait a couple hours,” she says. “Right now, it’s like 11:30PM over there (in Geneva). It will be hitting me soon back here at home.” Home. As with most Palmer children, that concept has been molded by their experience. Chasity and two of her brothers live here on the Hernando campus of Palmer Home. Her mom and two other brothers and a sister live in Memphis, about 40 minutes away, and she maintains contact with them also. One day she hopes to travel the world. Chasity probably first heard the word “international” as a child. She was one of the children in midtown Memphis who attended Opportunity Camp, an outreach of Multi-National Ministries. David and Laurie Morris, who worked with the Memphis Leadership Foundation’s multinational ministries program, took a special interest in the Nguyen children. ”We just worked with them closely, and eventually came to look at Chasity like one of our own children. We love her dearly,” David says. Chasity remembers her first exposure to the world of nursing. “I was in the eighth grade, and I was a helper at camp by then. I was helping Elisha Turner, the camp nurse.” The campers had nicknamed the camp nurse “E.T.” One torrid summer day, a camp counselor collapsed. “The guy had an enlarged heart (which we found out later on) and E.T. sprang into action. She was yelling out directions to me and I was running to bring her things. She saved his life. And I was thinking, ‘Wow, I might like this kind of work!’” Through junior high and high school, Chasity helped out at Opportunity Camp. And she shared her dream of being a nurse with E.T. “She was honest and she said nursing was a tough degree in college but that if I worked hard, I could do it.”
The young woman took her advice to heart. She applied herself to academics and graduated from high school ninth in a class of 200. Her next step—nursing school. She had put Vanderbilt University on her list. A Palmer Home employee, Lisa Langley, said she might want to consider another school in the Nashville area: Belmont University. “I checked it out and found that Belmont had a great nursing program. I could declare nursing as my major even as a freshman instead of having to wait until my junior year like other colleges required. They mix the general classes and nursing classes. I was able to do a clinical during my sophomore spring semester, so I didn’t have to just take general courses before declaring a nursing major.” Though warned about the demanding nature of the nursing program, Chasity was eager to begin her studies. She describes her first months in college as “daunting.” “It was as tough as I thought it would be and more. I had moments when I didn’t know if I could do this.” But she persevered and, while the coursework remained challenging, her regimen of study and practice kept her in step with her class. One of her nursing instructors, Dr. Ruby Dunlap, noticed her hard work. “It’s very competitive to even get in the nursing program at Belmont. And the program itself is very challenging, but Chasity hung in there. I’m actually very proud of her.” Little did Chasity realize her education experience would include the view from a patient’s eyes—in the emergency room. “My roommate and I were goofing around and being stupid, play fighting while wearing socks on a tile floor. I slipped, my head banged on a step ladder.” When the E.R. nurses found she was a nursing student, they explained all the medical “whys” for the procedures during the examination for a possible concussion. “So, now,” she says with a laugh, “I’ll know what to do with patients if I’m working in the E.R.” Last fall, during the first semester of her junior year at Belmont, Chasity heard of a three-week study-abroad trip to Switzerland the college was planning. It was the first of its kind at Belmont and included a specific course of study for nursing students. Chasity, whose career goal includes becoming a travel
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“It is true that I want to travel the world. But I also want to meet needs. I think the trip to Geneva made me realize that I can do both and that is where my heart is.” –Chasity Nguyen
nurse who can work internationally, liked the idea of it but didn’t think the money would be available. At the end of the fall semester, a set of circumstances changed her mind. “I had to repeat a class, and because of Belmont’s strict schedule, that put me behind to graduate. So, I needed another course to stay on track. Suddenly, she became very interested in the Geneva trip, which included exposure to the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross, the International Council of Nursing, and the World Health Organization. She talked to her housedad, Rich Hawkins, who arranged a meeting with Matthew Nasekos, director of the Hernando campus of Palmer Home. “He asked me why I needed the course in Geneva and how it would benefit my education.” After prayer and consideration, the money came through for the trip. Twelve students, six of them nursing students, made the trip along with two professors. One of them was Dr. Dunlap. “People think these study-abroad programs are like vacations, but these students worked hard. It’s an actual course credit in Community Nursing. There were exams and a big presentation at the end of the course. Chasity and her project partner made a study comparing the effects of obesity in Vietnam and Switzerland.” In addition to attending lectures from representatives of the international healthcare organizations, the Belmont students were able to tour Geneva and the surrounding countryside. They visited Chamonix, where the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelly, once lived. And they toured the castle at Chillon, which was featured in the Lord Byron poem, “Prisoner of Chillon.” “And, yes, we visited the lakes and mountains. What a beautiful place.” One interesting—and unsettling—feature of the trip was the ongoing experiment to recreate the Big Bang by CERN, an acronym for the French name of the European Council for Nuclear Research. “They had built a long circular tunnel under
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part of the city. I don’t know the scientific details but we all thought, ‘Wow, what if it happens and they create a Black Hole! We’d all be sucked into it.’” The students were uneasy about visiting that part of town but eventually overcame their reluctance, Chasity recalls with a chuckle. They returned home with memories packed with meaning for themselves and their future. And Chasity received high marks for her work in the program by Dr. Dunlap. “I have such admiration and respect for Chasity and how she has persevered. She is going to make a great nurse. God has a lot of things in store for that young lady. I’m privileged to know her.” Chasity strolls by the lake at the Hernando campus and talks about what the trip will mean to her. She speaks of her goal to work for a company that supplies nurses to help with healthcare shortages worldwide. “It is true that I want to travel the world. But I also want to meet needs. I think the trip to Geneva made me realize that I can do both, and that is where my heart is.” In the meantime, she will occupy part of her time giving back to a place that helped her as a younger girl. She will work as camp nurse for the Multi-National Ministries “For the Kingdom” camp in Memphis. David Morris, who proudly points out that he received a Father’s Day card from Chasity, sees great things ahead for the young lady. “We are so proud of her and just thrilled with the impact Palmer Home has had on her life and on her siblings. She makes a huge impact on us every time we see her.” Drake Bassett, president of Palmer Home, sees God at work in Chasity’s experience. “What more could we hope for? Chasity was the recipient of kindness at an early age, and after a life at Palmer Home, will now spend her life giving to others. This is the work and promise of Palmer Home. Chasity is a role model for all of us.”
I
PALMER
{
with Meg Hanson Barclay, M.S.
}
What is your position at PH and what do you do on a daily basis? I am the assistant director of social services, and I am in charge of all social services matters on the Columbus Campus. On a daily basis I assess behavioral situations in cottages and make recommendations for houseparents, assess emotional status of all children on Columbus Campus, and report to the campus director and president. I then make recommendations based on those assessments. I also collaborate with other therapists/psychiatrists on appropriate treatment and referrals for our children, collaborate with the campus director on any issues that may arise with children/staff, monitor sponsorship/big brother/big sister programs, attend meetings at DHS, and educate staff on emotional issues in children and on psychotropic medication concerns. What is your favorite part of your job? Interacting with the children. I play with them on the playground and the older kids come into my office to hang out and share what’s going on in their lives. I love it! Sometimes I go to their school events and I love that too. Kids are in/out of my office all day…from young ones that can barely walk to teenagers. We have a set of twins that just turned 3 and I love when they come running in my office calling me “Maggie!” How do you feel you and others can make a difference at PH? The biggest difference I can personally make is just to advocate for these children no matter what the cost. I can be their voice when others can’t. This is huge for them, especially, because they lost so much control of their lives merely by being placed at Palmer Home. So it’s especially important for our children to be heard. How others can make a difference probably depends on who you ask! There are many ways a person can help out, and they are all valuable in one way or another. I would personally love to see more couples volunteer to sponsor our older children. Everyone, of course, wants to bring home cute, young kids, but our older children need families to sponsor them as well!
How does PH positively affect its children? We raise them in a Christian environment. Palmer Home teaches and encourages our children to attend church and worship God. This foundation oftentimes makes the difference between choosing the right or wrong path in life, which is so important for our children. Most come from less than desirable situations in life, making it even more difficult for them to make the right choices. What is the biggest need for these children? Family—it is their biggest and greatest need always. The need to feel a part of a family, to feel wanted and safe. We provide that as much as we can; however, for some, it is just not enough. That is where our sponsorship program steps in. Sponsors can provide that one-on-one family time that they just can’t get here when there are eight other children to share parents’ time. How does your job affect you personally? It is so hard to go home and leave [the children] here sometimes. I want to take them with me and sometimes, I do—those who have no family or sponsors, I will take home with me for the weekend. I bring my own kids whenever I can and let them play together. I am constantly on call so I often feel like I really NEVER leave. If an emergency happens on the weekend, I will come in to help.
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NEWS, NEEDS, Upcoming Events
Palmer Home on ABC’s Good Morning America Columbus, Miss. | August 16, 2012
Palmer Home in Top 100 Non-Profits Columbus, Miss. | August 21, 2012
3rd Annual Panther Creek Ranch Dove Hunt Hernando, Miss. | September 2, 2012
Palmer Home featured on ABC’s Good Morning America in their “Unclaimed Money” segment to receive an unexpected gift.
In honor of their 100th anniversary celebration, Liberty Mutual Insurance selected Palmer Home for Children as one of the top 100 non-profits supported by Liberty Mutual employees.
Kirby and Glenn Floyd hosted their 3rd annual Dove Hunt, a benefit for Palmer Home for Children. The hunt was a success, the weather cooperated, and the doves were abundant!
HERNANDO APRIL
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Palmer Home Works Across Borders Hernando, Miss. | September 11, 2012 Palmer Home hosted Joyful Journey, a group of Ukranian orphans. This three week program is a time of sharing, caring, and hopefully — adoption.
KEEP IN TOUCH See more news, receive updates, and donate at
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PALMER HOME MAGAZINE
ninth
ANNUAL
COLUMBUS APRIL
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2013
HISTORY QUICKIE
1968
Camp Palmer Comes to Life
27% more child victims of abuse and neglect since 2006
14.6% more children living in out-of-home care since 2006 (a total of 3,582) Camp Palmer Kids Today
A
s with most great ideas, it’s hard to pinpoint how it started. But most folks at Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC) in Memphis, Tenn., believe that Camp Palmer was the brainchild of Dr. Hugh Francis. Lisa Turner, a Palmer Home board member and Dr. Francis’ daughter,
STATE STATS remembers the early days. “It was during the early years of the church, and it was discovered that the houseparents at the then-only Columbus campus rarely had relief, days off, or vacation. So, it was learned then that one of the greatest gifts the church could give to Palmer Home was to take the children for two weeks. This enabled the exhausted houseparents to take a much needed vacation. That was the beginning of what is now called Camp Palmer.” Dr. Francis and others worked it out for IPC to rent Camp Desoto in picturesque north Alabama for an entire week in the summer of 1968. The church would staff the camp. In fact, Dr. Francis himself served as the camp director. Now, 44 years later, Camp Palmer is thriving still, with the support of IPC, which continues to provide manpower and resources to give Palmer children an experience to remember every year.
73,000 young adults ages 18-24 were not enrolled in school, were not working, and had no degree beyond high school
55,503 grandparents in 2010 had primary responsibility of caring for their grandchildren
5,925 children enrolled in Medicaid in 2009 on the basis of being in foster care, and zero received targeted case management services, and zero received rehabilitative Services Source:www.cwla.org
I A PALMER FRIEND How do you know about Palmer Home? “I grew up in Columbus and played sports with Palmer Home kids, but my primary connection is that one or two of the cottages attend the same church.” Also, Galloway -Chandler-McKinney Insurance has a great business relationship with Palmer Home for Children and is a part of the team to help further the mission. What inspired you to support Palmer Home? Jimmy Galloway “The mission and character building they provide. I was blessed to come from a family-oriented Christian upbringing, and I see Palmer Home instilling the same values in their children.” How do you see your support in action? “The satisfaction of seeing the kids grow up in a Christian environment and seeing them grow up as givers and not takers. It isn’t perfect and can’t replace a parent, but Palmer Home comes close. I also get satisfaction from promoting health in the workplace through Blue Cross Blue Shield and am proud to provide property and casualty insurance for the organization.” Another way the Galloways have showed their support is through sponsoring a Palmer Home child, Randall, since he was 8 or 9, now 23 years old. Although he has moved, they still speak 2-3 times a week. Mr. Galloway believes you have to have a father figure in your life, and he and his former housedad are that for Randall. What is your favorite aspect of Palmer Home? “I like being a small part of something bigger. For example, I like building relationships with the cottages that we go to church with and helping them to send one of the Palmer Home children on a mission trip.” What sets Palmer Home apart from other charitable organizations for you? “The board, staff, and volunteers all share the same goal and are dedicated to the mission. Their spirit is energetic and focused on building character in kids.” FALL 2012
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P.O. Box 746 Columbus, MS 39703-0746