May 2022 Campus Update

Hello everyone!

It is so exciting to be able to have time to do the job I was hired on to do and finally send out a campus update.  The last 4 months have been the most difficult that I have had in a long time. Since the Smiths had to step out of relief houseparenting, some of the staff have had to step in and do relief for the other houseparents on top of their normal jobs until we could find their replacements. Usually, finding new houseparents can take several months up to a few years. But, about a week before the Smiths stepped down, I received a random phone call from Jimmie Banks (from Alsip, IL) who was interested in houseparenting. The rest, as they say, is history. Jimmie and Jessie Banks officially joined our team on April 11, 2022 (THAT’S MY BIRTHDAY AND GOD GAVE ME THE BEST PRESENT!!) The Banks stepped in to this ministry, they have been trained, and are now doing the relief houseparenting. Those of us staff who have been doing the relief since February are SO GRATEFUL! I had a lot of fun getting to know the Banks as they went through the training process. They are a good fit with positive attitudes and leading with Christ.

We have also been able to find someone to do counseling for our kids, which means once we get them on board, we can take more kids. YAY! We still need an English teacher and a Math teacher so that we can take even more kids. We are still looking for an Executive Director and a Program Director so that our Interim Executive Director, Irene, can move back to Texas. We need a Principal so that Vickie Terhune can go back in to retirement. We are also still looking for a Director of Operations to relieve our contracted accountant, Stephanie, who comes in 2 days a week, after her full time job, to help pay bills and do payroll. Jenn Swartz, who was hired on to be our Social Services Secretary, made a lateral move to be our Administrative Assistant again so that she could take some of the tasks off of my plate. Hannah Baldwin was kind enough to move to Social Services permanently to fill that void. But as soon as we can hire another Social Services Secretary, Development can have Hannah back. YAY!

All of this to say, some of our burden has been lifted but we are still in need of many positions, the most important being the EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR and PROGRAM DIRECTOR. Keep spreading the word and keep praying for us. We love you all and thank you for all you do in keeping Shults-Lewis a safehaven for our kids.

For the kids,
Lissa Baldwin, Development Director