Healing Generations

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From a young age Alexus faced difficulties from all angles, but one thing kept her moving forward, a desire to have a relationship with her heavenly Father. She grew up knowing about God and would pray for Him to remove her from her bad situations and give her strength to move forward. At the age of 12, Alexus moved into foster care and spent a little over a year at Hill Country Youth Ranch where she grew in her relationship with the Lord. “That was where my faith grew. I already had God in my heart and I prayed to get out of that situation and He answered that prayer. Being there He led me closer to Him. He put me where I was supposed to be,” Alexus shared. After she left foster care, she attended three different middle schools and five different high schools before graduating. She never felt rooted anywhere. She longed for the feeling of “home”.

After graduating high school, Alexus moved between Corpus Christi and Victoria searching for a place to belong. Surrounded by negative influences she clung to the love of God and worked to stay strong and not give in to temptations from situations around her. “I knew God had a purpose and it’s my daughter, even before I knew her, before I knew I was going to have her,” Alexus shared. In February 2021 Alexus would finally hold this purpose in her arms. She would get to see the reason she fought so hard to not give into temptation in front of her.

In November 2021, Alexus faced a difficult choice, staying in an unhealthy situation or finding somewhere else to raise her sweet baby girl. Through what she can only explain as “a sign from God” she learned about STCH Ministries Homes for Families. A lady passing by and overhearing her situation told her to call Homes for Families director, Theresa Klacman. Alexus, filled with fear and anxiety, called and Theresa worked diligently to quickly find a place for her. Theresa understood the urgency of her situation, she did not have a choice outside of getting out of her apartment immediately. Theresa met Alexus at her apartment the next morning and helped her move her things to the Bluebonnet Campus, after she made sure she received a good breakfast. “When we got there, they first took us to the bedroom and I cried because my daughter finally had a real crib,” Alexus shared. She finally felt at home.

Alexus did not move to Homes for Families at Bluebonnet Campus simply for herself. She saw the difference it could make in her daughter’s life as well. Alexus summed up the purpose of STCH Ministries Homes for Families perfectly when she shared, “This is a place of healing. I knew in my heart that it was everything that I needed to become a better mom for her. She deserves a healed mom not one who is broken. Her growing up watching me deal with that stuff, she’s going to accept it in her future and I don’t want that.” Alexus saw and understood the affects her lifestyle would have on her daughter and wanted to make a change.

In 2010, STCH Ministries started the Homes for Families ministry on the Marshall Campus in Goliad. This ministry provides a place to help single moms and their children. Here the moms receive the care they need to get back on their feet, heal and take care of their children. At the same time, it is a safe place for their children to grow alongside them. Over the years the Homes for Families ministry has grown and countless lives have been changed for the better.

In 2020, Bluebonnet Youth Ranch in Yoakum reached out to STCH Ministries to discuss ways to help children and families in need. STCH Ministries met with Bluebonnet Youth Ranch’s board of directors and staff multiple times to find the best course of action. After several meetings, both organizations agreed the best route was a partnership between the two ministries with the goal being to care for children. Because of the increasing number of broken families and single mothers with children in Texas, STCH Ministries decided to use the additional campus as our second Homes for Families location.  As statistics indicate, “Single motherhood has grown so common in America that today 80 percent of single-parent families are headed by single mothers — nearly a third live in poverty.” *

STCH Ministries and Bluebonnet Youth Ranch announced their partnership on July 9, 2021. Shortly after the announcement, the first mother and child stepped foot on the Homes for Families at the Bluebonnet Campus. The mother and child found STCH Ministries staff on the campus with open arms and hearts ready to greet them. Over the first six months, the campus welcomed multiple mothers and their children.

Alexus’ story is just one of many stories of how God is using Homes for Families to affect the lives of two generations, both mothers and children. In 2021, STCH Ministries Homes for Families welcomed 24 mothers and 62 children to the two campuses. The addition of the Bluebonnet Campus will enable STCH Ministries to reach even more families in 2022. If you are someone you know needs help, visit www.STCHM.org/hff today. If you would like to visit the Homes for Families at the Bluebonnet Campus join us for our Open House on May 21, 2022.