Home for unadopted teen-age girls to be located locally
BY Leslie Ackel
COVINGTON - The Northshore will soon be the location of a home for unadopted Louisiana teen-age girls who currently find themselves lost in a system of bureaucracy and neglect.
The T.L.C. Foundation, founded by Burk Barr of Dallas, has been successfully helping these adolescent girls for 25 years. Under the direction of Covington resident Sherri Collins, the foundation will be establishing H.A.L.O. House with the assistance of foster parent volunteers and others committed to the outreach project.
On Thursday, the T.L.C. Foundation officially opened its office at the Highland Park Plaza with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by foster parenting volunteers, Covington Mayor Keith Villere, Folsom Mayor Marshel Brumfield, members of the Office of Community Services and the American Naval Air Reserve.
H.A.L.O. stands for "Helping those in need of a home; Acceptance of a new beginning; in a Learning atmosphere with structure and guidance and Opportunity to grow into independent, confident young women of our society."
The H.A.L.O. House will be a home staffed with professionals to help in the healing of abused and neglected girls of the community. The girls will range in age from 12 to 18 years. The home will be a permanent or possibly a temporary home to children from St. Tammany, Livingston, Tangipahoa, St. Helena and Washington parishes, according to Collins, daughter of T.L.C. founder Barr.
According to Collins, the home will be the first and only one of its kind in the state.
"We will be primarily helping those girls in the area, but we might service girls from all around Louisiana," said Collins, a foster and adoptive parent herself. The home has been designed.
"Now we are looking for a location and a donation of land," said Collins. Items on the "wish list" for the home include construction volunteers, landscapers, chairs, tables, telephones and just about anything else that makes a home a comfortable place to live. All donations to H.A.L.O are tax deductible.
"So many girls are placed into facilities that don't fulfill the appropriate needs," Collins said. "Girls who are not problem teens are being placed into facilities that house troubled teens; many of these girls are not troubled, they simply do not have parents."
The home will provide a safe place for the girls to learn living skills and to safely transition into independent living. A 24-hour staff will provide guidance and stability to those who enter the home. The home is designed with 10 bedrooms, each with a private bathroom, a visiting and study area, kitchen, craft area, a training room and office. "The design is open with the central living area constructed by only half walls, so that from any angle, the rooms can be monitored," Collins said.
