In 1956 Shults-Lewis Children’s Haven was founded in order to provide shelter, Christian hope and education for children at risk. In the course of time it became apparent that our kids needed more; they needed help with the emotional problems that accompanied the abandonment, abuse and neglect to which they’d been subjected. In the 1960’s counseling was added to the program, as well as a variety of other activities, like 4-H participation, gardening and an automobile body shop. Eventually, we grew from one multi-purpose building to include seven homes, plus a hospitality house. In 1991 we added an on-site school, fully accredited through high school including graduation and a diploma.
Now, all this is well and good. But could Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have imagined that in five short decades kids would have to deal with stresses like pornography and predators online, social approval of out-of-wedlock births and unmarried living arrangements, the fact that half of today’s families are step- and blended families, attempts by various groups to redefine the family, and the mounting violence in schools, homes and neighborhoods?
Due to these and other factors, many of today’s parents are under immense pressure. In most homes, both are working, they’re financially and emotionally stressed, fatigued, and hardly know what fire to put out next.
Here on campus, if you were to ask the staff to comment on this state of affairs, they’d agree unanimously that treating a troubled teen or younger child is not enough. Everyone believes that the parents of troubled children need help, too. So, in 2004 we decided to do something about that. We created several parent-training workshops, based on biblical principles and up-to-date counseling practice, to be offered at no cost on Saturdays - once per month – which we dubbed “Family Day”. We called the program The Shults-Lewis Family Institute (SLFI).
Today, we’re in the process of scheduling Phase II of the SLFI: we plan to offer the same parent-training workshops, with some modifications, to our contributing churches in many parts of the Midwest. We do this to address the very problems which so many families have been reporting, even if their kids are not out of control and in need of tough interventions: communication difficulties and outside stresses creating upset and angry feelings, which make it hard to handle conflict in the home. Our current workshops address all these problems.
Now, do we believe that attending a few workshops will cure your family’s problems? No, we assume that participants are going to need follow-up support. To help them succeed with their new skills, we’re going to provide follow-up consultation in a variety of forms. And there’s more to come. So, please stay in touch and find out how we plan to grow the SLFI. We’re hoping that God will bless it as a multi-faceted family resource for our faithful supporters, and then for all others who need help.
Please contact us if you’d like further information about the SLFI. You can reach me at 219-462-0513, ext. 261, and bobkallus@shultslewis.org.
