Home For The Holidays

By Heidi Becker
Heidibecker3@aol.com

There is no place like home for the holidays. For over 60 children who have been abandoned, abused or who have otherwise become victims of unfortunate circumstances, home is a warm, wonderful place called Christian City.

Sarah Moore has been a house-parent to hundreds of children in her 33 years of working at Christian City. She says that, for some of the children, this holiday will be different than any other they have experienced. “For some of our children who live in the cottages, this Christmas will be the first time to decorate a tree, the first time to have a Christmas dinner, the first time to receive gifts, the first time to ever shop for and give gifts to others.” Moore continues, “You wouldn’t believe how excited one child became because he had received a new pair of socks one year. He had never owned a new pair of socks, and he thought they were the most exciting, amazing gift.” Moore goes on to explain that “it is important to let the children experience giving to others too so they can learn the joy of giving and the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. The children make homemade ornaments and gifts to give to the senior residents and friends.”

Before Christian City opened their doors on Valentine’s Day in 1965, children who, for one reason or another, were without a safe place to live, had no where to turn. This became apparent when a young girl who had been kicked out of her home approached the owner of a local service station about cleaning his restrooms in exchange for shelter. The owner sought the help of local law enforcement, but, because the girl had not broken any laws, they were unable to help. It was suggested that if she threw a brick through someone’s window, they could arrest her and put her in juvenile detention. This girl’s story woke the community and people started to ask “what happens to children who are good kids but who need a home?” and “how can we serve the growing number of seniors who need homes too?” Dr. and Mrs. Byron Harper donated the first 50 acres and several Christian churches united to form a non-profit, charitable organization, Christian City.

Christian City now sits on over 500 acres and is home to approximately 1,100 residents. In addition, foster care is provided to pre-school age children off campus. Besides the Home for Children, there are independent retirement and life lease homes, a convalescent center offering restorative and rehabilitative care, an Alzheimer's care center and Sparks Inn assisted living community which was ranked number one by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for 2005.

Christian City’s Home for Children consists of eight residential cottages and houses up to 62 children with full-time married, Christian house-parents often called mom and dad. The house-parents create a safe, consistent environment with unconditional love for the children. Each home is comfortably decorated and the children enjoy a full life of school, church, sit down dinners and even chores.

On Feb. 14, Christian City will be celebrating 40 years of serving the community. President and CEO Bob Crutchfield looks forward to an exciting future of change with the core goals and values staying the same. He states, “We are looking forward to the next 40 years and planning on how to best serve the community. The original founders had a vision and this vision needs to be carried on to the next generation. The overall scope of service for children and seniors needs to be expanded.”

“The trend is getting away from group homes and more toward foster care for children under the age of twelve. So, more foster parents will be needed. The hope is that local churches will get involved and help provide families willing to open their homes to the children and raise them with Christian values,” Crutchfield goes on to say.

After so many years of use, the eight cottages which comprise the children’s home need to be replaced. A ground breaking was held in February for a new Children’s Village. The new village will have eight new cottages, a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts and a play area. A centrally located community center for concerts and social activities is being planned and an “Atlantic Station” type area for seniors complete with golf cart paths connecting all the buildings is another goal.

Homes for the developmentally disabled are being considered for the older children’s cottages once the new ones are built. Crutchfield explains, “Christian City is the largest employer of the developmentally disabled in the state. I’d like Christian City to become a community where the developmentally disabled could both live and work on campus. They could walk to the community center, put in a day’s work, then walk home. We are an outreach of the love of God through the church.”

“God cares about people in all walks of life. I believe if Christ was walking the earth, he would find places to meet the needs of people. We try to meet the needs of people on God’s behalf,” Crutchfield says. “With so much to do we are going to need a lot of help from the community.”

Christian City relies on community support and donations. For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation contact Christian City at 7345 Red Oak Road, Union City, GA 30291, phone 770-964-3301 or log onto www.christiancity.org.

Heidi Becker is a community activist and president of Heidi Becker Public Relations.

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