Boys Town organization changes with American society

As American society has changed over the years, so has the vision and mission that started 90 years ago with Father Flanagan.

Tom Waite of Las Vegas has tracked the changes over time. In 1917, Father Flanagan founded Boys Town in Omaha, Neb., to help ensure a better future for homeless boys.

In 1980, Waite said, the national organization recognized that girls were experiencing a similar degree of delinquency and other struggles; the name was changed to Boys and Girls Town. And by 2000, half of the kids served by the organization were girls.

But by 2007, other changes were becoming obvious.

"Recently, we had a bigger emphasis on getting into helping families," Waite said, adding that that was reflective of the general national movement toward family preservation and increasing services to families. And so the name changed again, to reflect the shift in mission: Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families.

"Part of our mission now is not just for boys and not just for girls, but for families," said Waite, executive director of Boys Town Southern Nevada. "Roughly half of the kids we care for today are in families."

Waite said he thinks of the organization's program as being divided into two wings. One is placement, for the nearly 400 children who can be housed in Boys Town Southern Nevada's emergency shelters. The other, he said, is prevention services.

"The goal there," he said, "is to strengthen families so those children and those families never cross over to enter the placement side."

There's a simple logic to the renewed mission. Waite said it used to be that if a child broke a law, he or she would be sent to a youth camp or similar facility, "but when they came back, the family hadn't changed. The family is where things started."

Now, he said, when a child is placed in a youth camp, "we bring the family-preservation team in and it starts working on the family. By the time the kids come back, the family's different. I think it's just smarter."

Waite said families are served on different levels of intensity, depending on the situation. Many parents, he said, are simply "overwhelmed by everything going on in society. No longer are they managing or parenting; that spins out of control on them as well." Such parents, he said, are taught ways to manage their behavior effectively so they feel they're in control of their families.

And some of the problems, he said, may not be related to parenting per se, but to an issue such as budgeting or organization.

"They so appreciate the help," Waite said. For those trying to get back on track, "it's pretty simple if somebody's there to coach you through it."

Last year, he said, the organization served about 525 children and a little fewer than 200 families.

Boys Town Southern Nevada is supported by federal funding, grants and donations. It has an annual gala, Journey of Hope, in May, and does individual fundraising with donors in the community. This year, Waite said, it was named Nevada Community Foundation's charity of the year.

Waite said a volunteer program is just getting started. Those interested in making donations or obtaining information about the volunteer program are asked to call 642-7070 or visit www.boystownnevada.org.

Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0474.