Broyhill provides family setting for foster kids
Linda Morgan, executive director at Broyhill Children’s Home in Clyde, said she’s seen the pendulum swing many times during her 42 years working in the system. Some years the cottages at Broyhill are sparsely occupied, but the children’s home has been at capacity with 50 children for a solid two years.
“Over the past two years demand has increased by 40 percent, so there’s definitely more children being placed outside of their home,” Morgan said. “We’re taking in more younger children now, which is evidence that there is a lack of foster homes in the area.”
While Broyhill does take in children younger than 8 if they are trying to keep a group of siblings together, the goal is typically to place younger children in a foster home instead of a group home. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Broyhill is currently housing two sets of siblings with younger children, including a 14-month-old.
Broyhill, a Baptist Children’s Home facility, is a group home meant to temporarily house foster children until they can return home or be placed in a more permanent foster home. Even though the home is a private agency, it’s an important emergency resource for social workers all over the region in immediate need of a bed for a child in the middle of the night. Broyhill also is a good option for a group of siblings in foster care who don’t want to be separated.
Morgan said Broyhill works closely with departments of social services in 17 counties to place foster children. Because Broyhill is privately owned, it can also accept children who are still in custody of their biological parents. It’s not uncommon for a parent to take their children to Broyhill while they deal with a family crisis like finding a job or housing.
“If there is an immediate crisis situation and they need to place children here spur of the moment, we provide that service until they can develop a permanent plan,” she said.
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The five cottages on the Broyhill campus are just like homes with large living, kitchen and dining areas and shared bedrooms. Each cottage has a married couple acting as residential childcare workers or “house parents.” Morgan admits it isn’t an easy job to deal with a house full of children who are dealing with the trauma of being removed from their homes. Despite the challenges, several of her couples have worked there for 20 to 30 years.
“I look for people who have life experience and feel called to the ministry,” Morgan said. “It has to be a passion and a calling — it’s the hardest job you’ll ever love.”
Tom and Rita Leonard have been at Wall Cottage for two years and are currently caring for 12 girls ages 8 to 16.
“If you’re not called, you can’t do this job,” Rita confirmed. “Keeping up with 12 kids and trying to love them all and give them all the same attention can be hard.”
Even with a full house, the Leonards do their best to make it feel like home. The cottage is nicely decorated with Christmas décor, and the Christmas tree reached up to the ceiling. A few days prior, about eight of the girls and Rita were busy in the kitchen cooking a Thanksgiving meal to eat together.
“The holidays are especially hard for them — only two of them may be able to go home to see their families on Christmas day,” Rita said.
One of the hardest things for the Leonards to deal with is seeing the hurt on the children’s face when they don’t get a phone call or a visit from their parents. Seeing their disappointment can be heartbreaking for the temporary parents, but they are there to provide a constant in the children’s lives.
“The most difficult part is to see the hurt, trauma and neglect these children experience at such a young age,” Morgan said. “That’s why we want to give them a loving and nurturing environment here.”
Sonya and Bobby Dalke were watching a 14-month-old baby in Carolina Cottage as they spoke about the challenges and rewards that come with their work. They’ve spent four years as childcare workers at Broyhill and have eight children age 12 and younger in their care at the moment.
With six children and 17 grandchildren of their own, they have had plenty of experience in parenting, yet nothing quite prepares you for helping foster care children cope with a number of issues. And when they are too young to express their feelings, it’s even harder to decipher what they are dealing with.
As a Christian-based ministry, Bobby said they teach the children about a loving heavenly father in addition to teaching them what a loving family is supposed to act like. They sit together as a family to eat, they talk about each other’s day and they all have chores and responsibilities in the home.
“We’re a substitute family and we’re trying to show them what a family looks like so one day they’ll know how to have their own family,” Sonya said.
Morgan is very proud of the success stories that have come out of Broyhill. Many children end up finding forever homes or stay at Broyhill through the transitional living program and go on to college. One former Broyhill resident went on to earn a master’s degree in social work so she could give back to the system that helped her through foster care.
“We try to encourage them that they can do whatever they want to do and give them hope,” Bobby said.
