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.
