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Friends United Meeting |
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Quaker
Life
December 2001
Quakerdale: Promoting Peacemaking in a Violent World
By Carol Gilbert
"By the time I was 13 years old, I had been raped by my mother's boyfriend, punched in the face by another of her friends, lived in a house with no lights or heat and had lived on the streets for several months. My situation, which seemed hopeless to me, became too much and I tried to kill myself. A cry for help...that is what it really was...a plea for someone to notice my pain."—Tammie
It's hard to imagine children living with family violence, abuse and neglect everyday, yet Quakerdale works with many children whose stories include these tragedies.
As Quakerdale celebrates its 150 years of service to children and families, it is important to remember our mission of hope and healing began with Josiah White, a Philadelphia Quaker, industrialist and philanthropist. Josiah had a dream to provide for "poor, unfortunate, beloved children," teach them to make a living and provide them with a spiritual and literary education.
In his will, Josiah left a $40,000 endowment for two schools under the care of Indiana Yearly Meeting—one to be located east of the Mississippi River and one west. One hundred and fifty years later, White's Institute near Wabash, Indiana, and Quakerdale, now in five locations in Iowa, are still fulfilling Josiah's dream.
White's Iowa Manual Labor Institute, operating as a farm, orphanage and school struggled financially for many years. During those difficult years, the State of Iowa leased the facilities for the beginning of the reform schools for boys and then for girls. The Bureau of Indian Affairs even used the facilities for Indian orphans.
When a 1929 fire destroyed the dormitory, discussions were held about the future of the Institute. Deciding to relocate the Institute in a more central location in Iowa, land was purchased in Hardin County near New Providence, a Quaker community. In 1941 a new building was dedicated and the name changed to "Quakerdale Farms—Maintained by White's Iowa Manual Labor Institute."
With the implementation of social public policies in the 1930s, the government assumed responsibility for the protection and care of children in need. Private agencies, including Quakerdale, transformed into residential treatment centers for troubled youths. In the 1970s, more community-based and family-centered programs were initiated.
Today, Quakerdale's statewide services provide a continuum of care for approximately 1,000 youth and families annually. Facilities are located in Manning, Marshalltown, New Providence, Newton and Waterloo, Iowa.
"Josiah's mission guides us in our work today," says Michelle S. Herman, Quakerdale Executive Director. "Blending history, vision and Christian values, Quakerdale strengthens youth and their families through services which encourage positive change, promote peacemaking and empower them to face the future with hope."
"The most significant family problems we see at Quakerdale are parental substance abuse and family violence," notes Herman. "Fifty-six per cent of the children in our residential program are documented or suspected victims of at least one type of abuse."
Quakerdale is committed to reducing violence in families with a vision
to promote peacemaking in a violent world. In response, Quakerdale has
diversified their services with six core programs:
¥ community-based day treatment
¥ family counseling services
¥ family foster care
¥ independent living
¥ residential treatment
¥ shelter care
Because of Quakerdale's belief that children need to be exposed to the hope and healing available through a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ, and because of its founder's stated concern for a spiritual education, Christian teachings and opportunities are integrated into the residential and day treatment programs.
Quakerdale young people attend church and Sunday School each Sunday, have weekly devotions with Quakerdale Spiritual Life Director Dave Holm, have opportunities to attend camp at Quaker Heights and are encouraged to take advantage of many other opportunities for Christian fellowship and learning. "We have seen many lives changed by the power of God," says Pastor Holm.
Tammie Foltz, a Quakerdale resident in the 1980s, is just one example of God's healing power. Tammie and her husband, Brian, were special guests at Quakerdale's 150th Anniversary Founder's Day celebration in August where Tammie shared her personal story of hope and healing.
ÒWhat an honor it is for me to give back to an organization that helped me out so much. To show my appreciation for Quakerdale I would like to share my story with you.
My father died when I was 12 years old and my mother was not equipped to raise three adolescent girls alone. I quickly took advantage of this and started to drink and skip school. I was severely depressed and I started on a path of self-destruction.
In the next two years I ran away countless times and started to do drugs to take the edge off of my pain. The spiral of despair continued. I did whatever it took to eat, bathe and to find a safe place. My mother could not take care of our basic needs and I grew up very quickly.
Someone finally did try to help and a very kind social worker committed me to a psychiatric unit. I was eventually placed in a group home in town. This was a very bad arrangement since I had already talked to several adults in the community who could help me get the drugs and alcohol I needed. By the time I left there I had given most of the kids tattoos, formed a black market through the middle school and had educated most of them in how to get rides out of town...not a good placement for me.
My social worker had had enough and decided to send me to a location out in the country far from others. I was stunned the first time I saw Quakerdale. There were cows in a pasture next to our cottage and it was very quiet. I hated it. It was too quiet and too secluded.
I was an angry, belligerent child who learned very quickly that any act of defiance was dealt with swiftly. In my first hour at Tatum Cottage I was put in the corner for cussing. My reeducation had begun.
I excelled at school and became a cheerleader for the basketball team. My academic achievement before was poor since I did not attend school on a regular basis. My self-esteem improved and I started to deal with the issues that had been at the root of my problems.
I was allowed to attend drug and alcohol meetings and the group therapy really helped. I had wonderful, loving staff that let me know that I was important. The seeds of change had been sowed.
When I left Quakerdale I was optimistic that my family would be better. It wasn't meant to be and at the age of sixteen I moved out and have lived on my own ever since. My choices have not always been the best but I stayed in contact with a few staff members who really tried to help me when I would reach out for help. This encouragement helped me to dream of a different future and I enrolled in a community college to see if I could get a degree.
Two very special people, Dr. Dave and Ellie Castle, have always been there to lift me up and show me a different way of life. I always wanted them to be proud of me since I loved them so much. I couldn't write this article without mentioning their very special guidance and love inside of Quakerdale and in the years that followed.
Several degrees later, I now teach at a community college and my life is so different than it would have been if I hadn't had some intervention. Several of my friends from my old life have been to prison, a few have died and the rest are still living that lifestyle. I was fortunate to do something different with my life and that really only happened because of an exposure to a different way to live and a beginning relationship with God.
Today I feel God's presence in my life and allow him to lead me on the path that he would have me walk. I don't feel alone today and I try to live God's will in my life. This unselfish way of living life allows me to give more to my children and my husband because it allows me to think of them first. I hope through continuing prayer and meditation that my spiritual life will continue to grow.
If you could meet my children today, you would see that they are the true recipients of Quakerdale. They know they are loved, they are taken care of and they have never suffered in pain, silently begging for someone to love them. Quakerdale spared them the pain of my childhood and for that I am truly grateful."
Josiah could never have imagined children in situations like Tammie.
"As a leader in Iowa's social service market we realize we must never stop striving to get better at what we do. We continue to ask ourselves, 'Are we doing all we can?' and 'Is what we are doing working?'" adds Herman. "We are committed to serving children through our current programs but, in addition, we are committed to identifying needs in the communities primarily where we have facilities and determining if we can provide those services."
"Our success in strengthening lives is largely because we have been very blessed by many people who care deeply about children and about the work we do with children," notes Donna Lawler, Director of Development.
Carol Gilbert serves as Quakerdale Development Associate.
Copyright (c) 2001 Friends United Meeting
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