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Gardner-Simmons
Home For Girls, Inc.
P.O. Box 935
Tupelo, MS 38802
(662) 844-4433 |
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Our
Story |
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| History |
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Gardner-Simmons Home began as a vision in 1987 when a mission group with First United Methodist Church identified the need for a Home for abused and neglected teenage girls in this community. This initial group grew to encompass a wide spectrum of the community and set out to meet this need by securing funding and support.
In March of 1987 a tragic accident occurred at the University of Mississippi while the Chi-Omega Sorority was participating in a walk-a- |
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thon. Five Chi-Omega members were killed when they were stuck by a vehicle on a four-lane highway. Two of these young women were from Tupelo --Margaret Gardner and Robin Simmons. After a period, the community organizers went to the two families and asked that the Home be named in memory of these two young women, who in life exemplified the caring ideals that the Home represents. The families were supportive and continue to be active board members today. To honor the memory of Margaret and Robin the community came together to provide for the Home's needs. The First Methodist Church in Tupelo allowed Gardner-Simmons Home to occupy a house owned by the church and helped to renovate the house. Businesses, clubs, and individuals donated time and money to make this vision a reality. On October of 1988, the vision became a reality when the first resident moved in. Through overwhelming community, support a brand new, larger group home was built and opened for the children in 2002.
Our agency continues to be supported by a board of directors who are innovative in moving our agency forward. Gardner-Simmons Home is a well respected and trusted non-profit who has gained this reputation by being fiscally responsible yet assertive enough to champion new ground on behalf of abused children. |
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| History |
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| Since its inception, Gardner-Simmons Home has grown into a multi-program agency comprised of three separate programs, which all meet the needs of children in our community. The mission of the agency throughout these programs is to provide a stable, nurturing environment for children who have been abandoned, abused, and/or neglected. Gardner-Simmons strives to meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of these children to enable them to become self-sufficient, productive citizens through these three programs:
(1) The Group Home Program houses ten teenage girls ages 12-21 who are in the custody of Mississippi Department of Human Services. The program is long term and the girls may live in the group home as long as they need a home. The girls attend public school and have access to all other community resources to meet their needs. Gardner-Simmons has a caring and capable staff that believes in the mission and carries it out each day enriching the lives of these girls. This is the original program of the three;
(2) The Independent Living Program provides continued support for our former group home residents who have completed high school or the GED program. These girls reside in a nearby apartment complex with supervision by group home staff to enable them to learn, through guided practice, skills needed to become productive citizens of our community. This program was added in 1992.
(3) The third program is the Foster Home Program. This program recruits, licenses, and trains families to care for foster children in their homes. This program provides services for both boys and girls ages 0-18. Our case managers continue to monitor these homes as well as providing resources and support to them while a child is in their care. This program was added in 1993. |
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| Support for Children in Need |
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| Gardner-Simmons Home for Girls, Inc. provides a safe, stable, and loving home to children ages 0-21 who are victims of abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment. This is achieved through our Group Home , Independent Living, and Foster Home Programs. During their stay, our children are provided with educational enrichment, food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and dental care. The group home utilizes the BRIC (Building Responsibility Independence and Character) Program, which fosters personal accountability by teaching the direct relationship between personal choices and positive or negative consequences. Since it's inception in 1988, Gardner-Simmons has provided a loving home to over 400 children through all three programs. Many of these children stay within our system for an average of three or more years due to the fact they have little or no family
support. |
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| Issues and Needs Addressed |
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| Major problems and concerns with the children served by this organization are proper access to health care, educational resources and independent life skills. Through all three programs, each child is provided access and transportation to regular dental check ups and health care physicals. Within the foster care program, the case manager transports the foster children to and from the physicians and dentists' offices. Prior to licensing a foster family, the case manager conducts an extensive home inspection to ensure that future foster children placed in their home will receive proper access to education. This access may be obtained through public or private schools, pre-school or community educational programs. Foster parents are able to offer well-rounded assistance to the children in their care due to the parental skills training offered by Gardner-Simmons prior to licensure. In the group home setting, educational planning and assistance is provided to the girls to give them the opportunity to succeed in the academic environment, thus furthering self-esteem and ability to attain career goals. Approximately 70% of the residents that come to the group home are behind in school studies, with many of them being in one or more grade levels behind for their age group. Also within the group home setting the girls are taught proper hygiene, proper dental care and healthy eating choices in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle and build self-esteem. The girls are fed healthy well-balanced meals that approved by the USDA, along with an after school snack. Staff and volunteers also work with the girls to build self-esteem, empowerment, and responsibility while teaching goal-setting and problem-solving skills. |
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