‘Small’ Dream Creates Special Space for Medina County Children in Need
By Julie Anderson
Editor
Some thoughts are fleeting, while others burrow into our psyche until edged back to the surface by a person, place or thing. For Medina County Treasurer Debbie Southwell, the initial thought was inspired by a billboard.
According to the National CASA Association, more than 700,000 children experience abuse or neglect each year.
“Instead of playing with neighbors and making happy family memories, they’re attending court hearings, adjusting to new foster homes, and transitioning to new schools,” as explained on www.casaforchildren.org/. “That’s a heavy burden for a child to carry. With a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) or guardian ad litem (GAL) volunteer dedicated to their case, America’s most vulnerable children will have someone speaking up for their best interests.”
The above message was encapsulated on a highway billboard in Medina County, and one day as Debbie Southwell drove by the billboard, the call for CASA volunteers gave her pause for thought.
“I should do that,” she kept telling herself.
Some 12 months after seeing the billboard for the first time, Southwell was attending a meeting at church. The scheduled speaker had to cancel, and the replacement presenter was the volunteer coordinator from the local CASA program.
“After the meeting, I called John from the parking lot and told him I was going to do it,” Southwell recalled, referring to her husband. “He said he wanted to become a CASA as well.”
“I should do this” turned into “I must do this,” and the Southwells began a journey that would have a powerful impact on the neediest of children in Medina County.
Helping Abused and Neglected Kids
“Debbie and John Southwell have a passion for children,” declared Medina County Judge Chris Schuchart, who first met the Southwells when he was a local attorney and John and Debbie became involved in CASA.
The relationship has carried over into their current roles – Schuchart as County Judge and the Southwells as co-founders and directors of Helping Abused and Neglected Kids, (HANK), a
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that grew out of the Southwell’s CASA connection.
While going through CASA training, John asked CASA’s executive director about Christmas plans for the children. The director said the money simply wasn’t there.
“We sent a fundraising letter to our friends and family about the situation and were able to raise $10,000, more than enough for Christmas presents for each child,” Debbie recounted. On another occasion Debbie was visiting with some foster children when a little girl brought out her favorite toy to show Debbie.
“She proceeded to tell me that she had gotten it from a dumpster,” Debbie remembered. “It was broken, and it tore at my heart. I thought about the overabundance of toys the children in our families had, and this little girl was getting her toys out of a dumpster.”
Debbie visited with John about starting an organization to help these needy children, going a step beyond their CASA involvement.
“Our dreams were small in the beginning,” Debbie shared. “We simply wanted to help these unfortunate kids to have something ‘normal’ in their lives.
“Our idea was to pay for all the many things the state does not provide – band instruments, camp, graduation rings and photos – the kinds of things other children take for granted,” Debbie continued. However, the Southwells soon learned that beds to sleep in and clothes to wear were among the most requested items.
As they explored ways to help, the couple became aware of yet another plight these children often endured – removal from not only their homes, but also from their communities.
Abused children picked up by law enforcement and Child Protective Services (CPS) very quickly end up in licensed foster facilities or with relatives. At any given time during the year, Medina County has 160 to 280 children in foster care. Because of the lack of foster facilities in the immediate area, those children who aren’t placed with relatives are sent to San Antonio or other locations outside of Medina County, Schuchart reported.
“The loss of their friends, school, family, community – everything familiar to them – is very damaging to a child who is already physically or mentally damaged,” the Southwells stated.
The dream grew yet again, and boldly: Build eight group homes to allow the children to remain in familiar areas, attend their same schools, and stay close to non-offending family members and friends.
The first HANK home opened in Devine on April 28, 2016, and the second home is set to open this month in Hondo.
Here’s how it all began and continues to unfold:
- October 2009 – submitted application for 501(c)(3) to form HANK.
- May 2010 – received 501(c)(3) approval.
- Early 2013 – John suggests opening foster homes in Medina County to keep the children in their hometowns.
- April 2016 – foster home in Devine opened.
- June 2017 – foster home in Hondo opened.
- Current: Fundraising to begin for the third foster home to be located in Castroville. All homes are budgeted at approximately $150,000 each and are built to house foster parents and six children.
As the foster homes are being built, HANK also continues to serve its original purpose. HANK was designed to work very closely with the Department of Family and Protective Services and Bluebonnet Children’s Center, which includes the Tri-County CASA program and the Children’s Advocacy Center, to help provide items when other resources are not available – items such as beds, sporting equipment, band instruments, Christmas and birthday presents, school supplies, graduation invitations, etc.
“Every year since conception, we have fulfilled every request from CPS and Bluebonnet Advocacy Center,” Debbie detailed. “We have also provided school supplies and a Christmas party with gifts every year. HANK averages about $60,000 per year on all of this.”
Everyone involved in the HANK organization is a volunteer. The Southwells office at home with John running the organization and making purchases for the children and Debbie taking care of the bookkeeping.
County Connection
Schuchart had known the Southwells for years, and when he learned about the foster home initiative he found a way for the county to lend a hand.
Medina County purchased 3.5 acres located next to the jail from the city of Hondo and offered a long-term lease to HANK for roughly half an acre at a cost of $25 a year. A five-bedroom manufactured home is located on the site with ample space for a yard, parking and playground area.
“That’s our contribution,” Schuchart noted, “but the biggest part of the work is what the Southwells do and what their HANK board members do. They are all great people.”
These great people continue to boldly follow through on their dream for Medina County’s neediest, with two foster homes now established, a third in sight, and five more planned for the future.