Libbie’s Story

Imagine the sound of a large, iron bell ringing in the distance on a cold and snowy day – not once, but 27 times.

Any time a loud bell on our campus can be heard ringing, you can expect that a happy occasion of some kind just occurred. Libbie was ringing that bell with all her might. With a huge smile on her face, she was telling the world that she’d found a home just in time for Christmas. It was a long road for Libbie and she’d spent 27 months at VHBG learning to heal from her trauma, learning to build relationships, and working on how to transition to a new school and home. At 15, Libbie had already spent more than half of her life in treatment facilities and failed to find success in a foster-to-adopt home. The missing step for her was not having the appropriate time and care to transition to a lower level of care. Severe abuse and neglect in her young life had left her with an uncorrected vision problem, obesity, depression, and behavior challenges. But Libbie was able to have a happy childhood and experience the joy of life while at VHBG because your donation helped us provide the most natural environment for her while still providing her with the supports she needed. Libbie won student of the month several times at our John G. Wood School and received the counseling she needed from our Therapeutic Resource Center located just steps away from the group home she shared with other girls. At Libbie’s going away party, she expressed gratitude for everyone’s love. She said she appreciated everything that everyone had done for her and that she would never forget VHBG.
This holiday season, please choose to make a gift to VHBG to support our youth and the place they call home. CLICK HERE TO GIVE.

This story is real but names and images have been changed to protect the youth’s identity.