In Their Own Words
When we visited the Montcalm
School for Girls campus, we drove home with a sense of relief and felt like a
huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders. We believed we had found the
answer to our prayers. We believed we found a school that could help our
daughter and where she would be nurtured and cared for. Six months later, we
are now SURE we made the right decision. Montcalm has been a wonderful
environment for our daughter to look deep inside and see what was going wrong
in life and to place importance on what is good. You taught her to help other
people, respect others and most importantly believe in herself. You taught, us,
the parents to slow down and let the process work. You guided us through the
difficulties of having her away and helped us know how to help her. Our
daughter is happier than we have seen her. She has improved her grades, her
relationships with the family, her thoughts about choosing friends and her
outlook on life. She has matured and seems ready to face the challenges of coming
home. We can’t say enough about how wonderful all of you are and how great it
is that you have dedicated your careers and lives to helping others.
-- Mr. & Mrs. Quigley
Before
I came to Montcalm, I would have been thankful for shoes, a new purse or money.
I was very materialistic and only cared about myself and how I could get my way
to get what I wanted. My world revolved
around skipping school, sneaking out, smoking weed, and being with my friends. Now
I realize how much time I have wasted hurting myself, and the people that have
cared the most. If my mom hadn’t sent me to Montcalm, I probably would be in
jail or something worse could have happened to me. In some respects I’m
thankful for my mom’s decision to send me to Montcalm.
-- Sarah
I admitted being a substance abuser,
truant, selfish, lost teenage girl. Coming to Montcalm was not easy but it
proved to be just what I needed. I was running away from any situation that I
didn’t want to be a part of. I was selfish and used that to my advantage. I was
lost, I didn’t know how to get better or make good decisions. I had gone to
other schools and programs, where I only learned to avoid punishment by
behaving perfectly. They never helped me with my problems. I just put them on
the back burner and eventually starting going back to old behaviors. When I
came to Montcalm School for Girls, I knew there was something different. I felt
like I was in heaven compared to the other places. I didn’t feel trapped and I
wasn’t being punished. I didn’t have to earn points to talk. I saw the staff
treating the girls like a friend trying to help. They weren’t there to punish
us; they were there to talk when we were ready. I soon realized that I needed
to get real and quit acting so perfectly. I stopped being a doormat and stopped
trying to be perfect.
--
Emily
I was adopted when I was
three days old. I have had a healthy home life and got along with my family
very well. At the age 15, I found myself overly concerned with my appearance. I
started to fall into peer pressure in order to maintain my status and was so
concerned about getting everyone to like me that I started drinking and
smoking. I was used by boyfriends and others. I would lie to my parents about where
I was and who I was with. My lies and deceptions finally caught up with me and
I had no idea how to handle it. Anger became my closest way to escape and my
relationships suffered. I took an overdose and was in the hospital because of
liver damage. I had no motivation to get better. I had so many people reaching
out to me, but I did not accept them. My life continued with struggles, hatred,
hopelessness, bad friendships, and now a broken family. When I arrived at
Montcalm School for Girls I initially was in shock. But I now realize that it
was just what I needed. I learned to take responsibility for my actions. I started
to believe in myself and received so much support from my peers at Montcalm and
teachers. My family continues to stand by me in this healing process. I now believe
that I will make better choices for my life and I appreciate all those who
continue to reach out to me.
-- Annie
The type of child who needs a
supportive group environment benefits from Montcalm Schools. It’s a great place for kids in need of
structure and immediate accountability. Young people can advance academically
because of the one-on-one attention in the classroom and it’s a good place for
kids in need of mentoring. One of the girls I’ve placed here had been in three
programs before coming to Montcalm. She’s doing really, really well here and
feels good about herself. She likes it
here. For another child, Montcalm has
become his ‘extended family.’
-- Liz Gordon