Success Stories
Rediscovering Family:
Holly's Story
As a teenager, Holly was angry, defiant and making poor decisions. Her behavior left her parents feeling helpless and concerned for Holly's safety. Holly went to Boys Town determined to complete her program and then leave her family forever. But thanks to her family teachers, Kim and Scott, Holly realized the meaning of family and the importance of their love and support. Today, Holly is in nursing school and has built a new relationship with her parents.
In Holly's words, "It changed who I wanted to be as a person."
Watch Holly's Story
Mark: Trusting somebody outside our home to raise our child was extremely difficult. Kim and I made the decision together and um, it got to the point where keeping Holly safe was more important to us than anything. And placing that trust in Boys Town was the right decision for us. And to this day, we would look back and are grateful and thankful that we made that decision.
Holly: We were just, I think, all of us were just really full of anger. And it was a really hard time. High school was really hard.
Kim: Before Boys Town, there was a lot of defiance at home, a lot of rebelling at home, and Holly was gonna do it Holly's way.
Holly: When I got to Boys Town, I feel like I just completely shut off. And I wanted to do what I needed to do to get out of Boys Town immediately.
I said, I'm gonna be as best that I can be and hold it together for six months, and then I can get out. And then I can leave my family forever.
Holly: My family teachers, I think, I don't know. Kim and Scott were really there for me. And I wouldn't be where I am today I think or have the relationship with my own parents if it wasn't for Kim and Scott. They just were so subtle in the way that they wanted to see a change in you. And just really showed me and I think all of the other girls what a family is. I thank them every day, they changed my experience at Boys Town.
Kim: I think Holly after Boys Town as well, she's the same grit that she used to be defiant is now the same grit she's using to be successful. So, right when she graduated Boys Town, she went away to college, lived in a dorm, and now she's attending nursing school. So, we've always believed as parents that that grit would be for the good or the bad, and we're just so proud of her that she decided to turn things around.
Holly: It changed who I wanted to be as a person. I always thought that I would be okay by myself, or I didn't need my family, or I could do everything on my own. And being in an environment where they reiterate every day how important your family is or how much people care about you or my family cares about me. It made me want to, even when it was really hard, want to try and work on our relationship with my parents because I didn't want to lose them.
Kim: I remember the agony that we had with the decisions that Holly was making, and we really, really did not know what to do. And they were just such a wonderful, wonderful resource. We felt like, I wanna say lifesaver if that makes sense for our family anyway that they...just a lifesaver.
