Monday, December 1, 2014

The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch


Just 14 miles north of Springfield on Highway K (old Highway13) in Brighton, nestled within 180 acres of wooded and pasture land is The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch. It was founded in 1959 by Reverend Bob Johnson of Seminole Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. They have a mission to provide hope for those who have not had hope and to provide a safe and caring home for boys who have come from broken or non-existent homes.

The ranch is comprised of an administration building, on-grounds schooling, a multi-purpose gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, indoor and outdoor horseback riding arenas, a chapel and seven resident dormitories, including four safe and secure units designed to care for children with more serious emotional and behavioral needs. All of the boys are supervised 24-hours a day by their youth care staff that are trained in crisis prevention. They have a recreation therapist who works with the boys to develop team spirit, fair play, self-confidence and an ability to trust others once more. Their trademark, the horsemanship program, is where the boys develop self-confidence through riding and handling the daily chores of tending over thirty horses. Licensed residential therapists conduct individual and family therapy to aid the child and family towards reunification. They have a transitional living program in Springfield that allows young men the opportunity to further their education and learn necessary life-skills to help them later in life.

The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch strives to help boys who have been abused and neglected to become responsible, productive young adults. It is their belief that such dedication will benefit society in the area as a whole by preventing the recycling of child abuse from generation to generation, as well as end the chain of problematic behavior, and is an investment in the future.

Teachers from the Pleasant Hope School District make up the staff of the Boys Ranch. They are all trained in teaching children who are learning disabled and behavior disordered. Most of the boys newly arriving at the Ranch need this extra attention because of the environment in which they come from. Once their learning is at a sufficient level and they are able to interact with other children, they are mainstreamed into public school at Pleasant Hope High School.

Boys come to us from all over the State of Missouri and can be placed by state agencies.  The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch is licensed by the Missouri Division of Family Services and the Missouri Division of Youth Services as a Child Care Facility. They are also accredited with the Council on Accreditation.

Learn more at The Good Samaritan Boys Ranch website. Here the complete interview.