Shelter
benefits from schools' efforts
By
Jennifer Tavlian
November 22, 2006
Nickels, dimes
and love built the cozy brick house on Houston Street.
Driving south down that stretch of road, Kaufman High and Norman Jr.
High schools are clear on your left. The Kaufman County Public
Library is noticeable to your right. But few are aware of the A.
Fern Norville Children's Shelter, nestled amidst trees and
playground equipment.
That is
something Rick and LaReta Williams desperately need changed.
Nearly a decade ago, Rick and LaReta were excited about going to
college. Their children were grown and it was time to do something
for themselves. Rick had just bought a motorcycle, something he
could cruise around the campus of North Texas on.
They never got to go.
The woman who was running the Kaufman County Children's Shelter was
in desperate need of help around the holiday season.
“We did a few weeks here and the other couple quit,” Rick said. “I
told her I would work three months until she found someone else.
That was 10 years ago.”
Now Rick is the program director for the
shelter and LaReta is the administrator. In those ten years, they
have had their ups and downs. They have seen kids come and go. They
have gone from buying groceries for their small family to bulking up
on 14 gallons of milk per week for a household of 16 kids ranging
from infants to teenagers.
They are also dealing with the fact that there is a lot more money
going out than there is coming in. Because of tremendous budget
cutbacks, the state of Texas has failed to give the shelter two
raises they were supposed to receive in the past three years. In the
meantime, utility bills are skyrocketing, wages are increasing and
anyone who buys groceries for a that many kids in one house has the
right to complain.
But they don't. The Williams just state the facts.
“We just had the election and they're so proud of their budget
cuts,” Rick said. “They needed to cut the budget because we had 9/11
and the tax base fell and when the legislators met and they were
doing damage control. When the tax base came back, they didn't
refund all the social services. We're not the only ones in this
boat.
“There was a huge article in the Dallas Morning News a few weeks ago
about the judge in Tyler and how they just realized how the
caregivers don't have enough money because they don't have enough
foster homes. There are emergency shelters in the state, a couple in
this region, that are closed. Residential treatment centers are
closing right and left. They can't stay open.”
Thanks to Kaufman County, though, the shelter will remain open for
at least a couple more years.
Students from Kaufman, Crandall, Forney, Kemp, Scurry-Rosser and
Terrell independent school districts collected and presented a check
for $121, 288.11 to the Children's Shelter.
“I can't tell you the feeling in my heart when our county
responded,” Rick told a group of students and superintendents from
the six school districts who gathered for lunch at the shelter on
Wednesday, Nov. 15. “We didn't have JC Penney's come in here and
give us $100,000. We had the people and students and children of
Kaufman County stand up and raise money. We have got to have a
generation that understands what we're doing. You have kept us
alive.”
Without that money, Rick said the shelter probably wouldn't be
around this time next year.
“We were down to just a few days operating capital,” he said. “We're
supposed to have 90 days operating capital in the bank at all times.
We did, three and a half years ago. At one time we had less than one
day and then we had some money come in that brought us back up.”
With what Texas currently pays the shelter, close to 30 percent of
their funds have to be raised on the outside.
“This $121,000 will go straight to the county auditor under a line
item,” Rick said. “They pay our bills. Our money is governed by the
county. We're very low-risk for handling money because we don't
handle money. They do care very much about us. They do what they
can. Kaufman has enough trouble paying for roads and bridges, let
alone trying to take care of us. It's our job to go out and try to
raise as much money as we can.”
They knock on doors, make telephone calls and hand out brochures to
raise awareness of the shelter.
“This year has been especially hard because the few community grants
and corporate grants we do qualify for, when Katrina hit last year,
all the community money dried right up,” LaReta said. “I understand
that need, but that money we kind of count on every year to keep us
up to speed wasn't here this year. Our reserve, our cushion, has
just dwindled to a very scary point.”
But the money that was raised by the schools won't change how the
shelter is run.
“We're going to have to be just as frugal tomorrow as we were last
week,” Rick said. “We're going to lose money this month. We lose
money every month. We are, without a doubt, a non-profit
organization.
“This thing was built in 1984 with nickels and dimes and a few
grants, but mostly donations from this community. Now in 2006, it's
been saved. We were desperate. If just part of the schools will
carry us each year during Spirit Week, it will keep us going.”
Rick said the Dallas Morning News, among other people, are touting
how much $100,000 really is. While the donation is much needed and
much appreciated, only a duo who has had to dress 205 kids each year
for 10 years has any idea how quickly the dollars can dwindle.
The Children's Shelter has not had a raffle since they opened in
1984, but have had to auction off a Rhino, an all-terrain vehicle,
to help with the clothing budget. The shelter spends over $30,000 on
partially new and used clothing for growing girls and boys.
“We buy them clothes and about four weeks later, they don't fit,”
Rick said. “Within a month, they've gained enough weight they don't
fit their clothes anymore. What am I going to do; not feed them? No,
I'm going to buy them some more clothes and put those clothes in the
used clothing department.”
It costs over $3,000 for a child to start school. Most people don't
realize that by the time Rick and LaReta have spent that money to
get a child ready for school, they leave and the Williams' are left
with a whole new group to enroll. Just a few years ago, if the
shelter had spent money on clothes for a child from Kaufman or any
other county, they would be reimbursed. Now the shelter is left
trying to raise money through an auction, which has raised almost
$10,000 on top of what they paid for the vehicle.
But for one of the busiest shelters in the state of Texas, it
doesn't matter if the child in need of shelter, food, a balance in
their life and, most importantly, love, is from Kaufman, Dallas, Van
Zandt or any other county.
“They're from heaven as far as I'm concerned,” Rick said. “All these
children come from God and it's our responsibility and our honor to
take care of them.”
And they get by with a little help from their friends.
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