Teens Get New Life at FreedomVillage

Anice had been physically and sexually abused, and turned to alcohol and drugs for comfort. In a drugged stupor, she fell into the hands of four men who raped her.

When she was finally able to escape them and return home, her parents kicked her out into the street.

Terrified, hurt, and alone, she turned to friends for help. One of them was a prostitute. Anice wondered ...Perhaps prostitution was the only way for "people like her" to survive. She hated the thought, but reluctantly resorted to selling her body. Anice hated prostitution and hated herself. She tried twice to commit suicide. She was only 17.

"Fortunately, when I had nowhere else to turn, I was able to come to Freedom Village," Anice says. "Since I've been here, I have become a whole new person."

Stories like Anice's touched the heart of Apalachin, NY, salesman, Gary Hilton. Seven years ago, while traveling in western New York, he heard accounts on the radio from distressed teens who had found new lives at Freedom Village.

He wanted to find out more about this place for wayward teens, especially since it claimed an 85 percent success rate. One day he stopped in to talk to the directors and tour the facility.

Freedom Village, USA, is a residential home for troubled teens just north of Watkins Glen, New York. Founded in 1981 by Pastor Fletcher Brothers, the Village's 150-acre campus is an "intensive care ward" for America's youth. Thousands of young people from across the country, once labeled "hopeless" and "unreachable," have turned their lives around through the Christian-based on-campus program.

Freedom Village offers a program for approximately 200 young people, ages 13 to 21. Many have been involved in drug and alcohol abuse, have attempted suicide, or have lived in homes where physical, emotional and sexual abuse occured. Some have been abandoned by their families and society, often turning to lives of crime.

" Freedom Village is not a half-way house but a `whole-way' house," Pastor Brothers explains, "with Jesus Christ being the only way to wholeness."

Staff members and advanced teens tell residents about the plan of salvation or receiving Jesus as savior. Other words which describe the experience are being "saved," "becoming a Christian," or the commonly used term, "born again."

The basic plan of salvation according to the Bible is given as follows:

1. God created a perfect world, but because of Adam's disobedience, sin (evil) entered the world. (Genesis chapters 1 - 3)

2. God gave His only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty by taking upon Himself all the sins of the world. (John 3:16 & Romans chapter 5)

3. After His death and resurrection, Jesus became the only mediator and reconciler between God and man. (I Timothy 2:5 & John 14:6)

4. All who receive Jesus's sacrifice for themselves are delivered from their sins, experience re-newed life, and will live eternally with God. (John 1:9; Acts 3:19; John 3:3) Residents hear about a new Christian lif estyle which stresses adherence to the Bible as the ultimate guidebook. Newcomers hear accounts from "born again" peers about how they've been cleansed and healed spiritually and emotionally from the hurts and sorrows in their lives. They say the abuse and neglect is replaced by inner peace, love, and joy found in Jesus Christ.

According to teens at Freedom Village, they experience first-hand the reality of scriptures, like 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." They say for some this can be an instantaneous transformation, but for most it's a gradual process of renewed growth which stems from an on-going relationship with Jesus.

Receiving Jesus into one's life is what Pastor Brothers says is the crux of their success rate. "But it's ultimately up to the kids. They have to want help and want to change," he said.

A goal of the Village is to instill in youth the meaning of character. An emphasis is placed on traditional moral values, coupled with honesty, integrity, and the true meaning of hard work. Teens operate the Village's working farm, raising chickens, eggs, pork, and beef. Freedom Village provides a basic school curriculum and offers students opportunities to develop all types of vocational skills. A variety of sports teams for both boys and girls are played interscholastically.

Jonathan Edwards, 15, who has been at the Village for three months, says it's "pretty cool." He is there by court-order---his next move would have been prison. Jonathan was arrested for stealing, breaking and entering. His life has already changed radically with a re-newed life in Christ, Biblical training, and strict discipline. Teens stay for a minimum of one year, but Jonathan wants to stay and work his way up to be on the junior staff. Teens progress through height levels, each with a set of privileges. Each level is earned on the basis of "good reports"---adherence to rules, overall behavior and attitude. Violations result in demotions.

"I love working in the horsebarn, especially with the Clydesdales. I like being my own chore-boss, plus I get to ride the horses during freetime," says Jonathan. Teens seasoned in the program train others in farmwork, household chores, kitchen detail and other operations.

Jonathan says he enjoys Christian music and after graduation from high school, plans to go to Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts to study music.

Alicia Thompson's journey to the Village was different than Jonathan's. She didn't have a criminal record. She was just doing badly in school and had a horrible relationship with her single-parent mother. Alicia felt she was in a hopeless situation. She listened to the testimonies of teens broadcast on Pastor Brothers' radio ministry and knew Freedom Village was the place for her. At 15 she ran away to the Village. It took her two days by bus and other means to make the three-hour trip. Staff members were shocked and they called the police. After discussing it with her mother, Alicia became a resident.

She had low self-esteem and felt like there was no hope for a bright future. Within a month, her life had dramatically changed. She was cleansed and made whole through Jesus Christ. She felt the love and support of staff members and wanted to finish high school. Alicia was in the program for three years and enjoyed it so much that she's still there after 15 years, the last 12 working on staff.

Brothers says, "Most of the kids have already been through everything the world has to offer. Many have been through rehab or a couple of psych wards before coming to Freedom Village. Ninety percent have been sexually abused by family members or some other adult they trusted. Jesus Christ is the only hope there is for these kids."

The kids attend intensive, Christ-centered services and classes: morning chapel, daily Bible study, mid-week services, and Sunday morning church. Eighty-five percent of the kids accept Jesus into their lives and make major changes. Forty percent go on to full-time Christian service to help others like them, and fifty percent go to Christian colleges.

What do teens think are reasons for their ending up in what Brothers dubs the "teenage nightmare" and eventually at Freedom Village? Brothers says they have two standard answers: "They wish their parents had disciplined them, even when they kept pushing, and pushing. They also wish their parents had spent more time with them." Freedom Village gets teens out of a bad environment, that usually involves running with the wrong crowd, and gives structured discipline and personal attention that was lacking in their lives at home.

Former gang members and drug dealers, who have been in other programs with little or no results, are living victorious lives at the Village and now serve as staff leaders. They are the best advertising for a program that works, staffers say.

Freedom Village is supported solely by contributions of private citizens and corporations. The Village receives no federal or state funding. Residents and their families contribute if they can, but are not required to pay fees or tuition for their stay. Most funds are raised through the Adopt-a-Teen program, which allows regular supporters to "adopt" teenagers and monitor their progress. The sponsor receives a photo and background information on the young person they support. They may correspond with and even visit the teen to offer encouragement.

Operation costs for the Village are $8,000 a day. Staffers accept donations of any kind: computers, tractors, tools and food. Pastor Brothers says, "it's definitely a faith ministry." They trust God to supply their needs.

The Village receives tractor-trailer loads of donated non-perishable food items from around the nation. Each day staffers go on perishable "food rescues" retrieving bread, produce, and other foods.

Gary Hilton was impressed with Freedom Village and its success and wanted to help in some way. The students' dorm rooms needed storage for clothes, so Hilton decided to make wooden footlockers. So far he's made 50 with lumber donated by 84 Lumber in Owego and any other scraps he can gather. To help Hilton fulfill his quest for lumber or to help make out lockers contact him at 607-625-4534.

Hilton's church, Faith Christian Fellowship of Apalachin, made 20 pair of curtains for the rooms. For the last five years the church has hosted an annual picnic for the teens. The most recent one was held this past Fourth of July. The kids love it and Joe, one of the residents, said, "I wish we could eat like this everyday."

In the past few years, the church has collected money to give to hard-working staff members at Christmas. Village staffer Steve Lenzmeier says, "we just keep pumping out and pumping out for the kids. It's been like a breath of fresh air to receive gift certificates to help out over the holidays."

Freedom Village has expanded to Freedom Ranch, a 15-bed home, located 15 minutes away. This facility is for young men 21 and older and now supports itself. Andy Hercula, the director, says it's more difficult to work with older ones because patterns are already set. But the men learn how to be better husbands and fathers, attend classes on drug abuse, have Bible classes, and help with maintenance at Freedom Village. Freedom Ranch residents take part in jail and prison ministry and tell inmates their stories of hope.

Freedom Village now operates facilities in Ukraine and Korea, where the same kinds of problems exist with teens.

To contact Freedom Village to make contributions of money or material goods, or to find out more about the program, write to: Freedom Village, P.O. Box 24, Lakemont, NY 14857; or call 1-800-VICTORY. Teens come to Freedom Village in a variety of ways: on their own, requests from parents, pastors, or counselors, or occasionally by court-order. There is currently a waiting list for teens to get into the program. The 800-number also serves as a 24-hour life-line for troubled teens to talk to someone about their problems.