HOUSE OF HOPE COMING TO BARRY COUNTY

Val and John Norton have begun efforts to raise funds to establish Southwest Michigan’s first House of Hope on High Hill Lake in Bellevue.

“There are a lot of teens who don’t know who their parents are or who can’t go home, and we want to help them, too.”
Val Norton


“This is something that has been in my heart for a long time.”

House of Hope coming to Barry County

by Sandra Ponsetto
Staff Writer

“For I know the plans I have for you, ... plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Thursday afternoon a ribbon cutting was held at the offices of the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce in Kalamazoo that officially signaled the launch of Southwest Michigan¹s first House of Hope. The ribbon cutting, kicked off a fundraising campaign to buy a 100-acre site on High Hill Lake in Southeast Barry County as a permanent site for the second House of Hope in Michigan.
Val and John Norton, the founder and president and vice president
respectively of Southwest Michigan Living Waters House of Hope have signed a “Right to First Refusal” on the property located at 6312 Westlake Rd. in Bellevue on High Hill Lake, and the sellers have given them until March 29, 2009, to raise the money for the property.
Having a ribbon-cutting before actually breaking ground or building a
facility might seem presumptuous, but not if you’re a person of faith-- and not if you are Val and John Norton.
The Southwest Michigan House of Hope is the culmination of Norton¹s dream to formalize what she and John, both former youth pastors, have been doing informally at their own expense for decades. During the past 30 years, the couple has devoted themselves to finding, nurturing and healing hurting teens. They have mentored scores of such teens and provided temporary sanctuary for dozens more.
Among Val’s most prized possessions are photos of the young people they have rescued and a folder full of heartfelt endorsements from grateful young people who have found healing under the Nortons¹ loving care.
Both Val and John grew up in Delton and after high school attended
Appalachian Bible College in West Virginia. (Val also attended Trinity
College in Deerfield, Ill.). They started working as youth ministers in Mt. Hope, W.V., but soon moved back to Michigan where they have worked for the Cedar Creek Bible Church and the Prairieville Bible Church.
They are now members of the Resurrection Life Church in Richland and are involved in its Radiant Life Ministry. The pastoral board has agreed to be the spiritual covering and accountability for the Norton¹s new ministry.
“We both have served as youth pastors until five years ago when we decided to step down because we felt that the Lord was telling us to go into a new phase with our ministry, and as soon as we made that decision, doors started to open," said Val.
Valerie said their work with troubled teens and mentoring them and taking them into their home, came out of their work as youth pastors because they have so much contact with young people. But, it also started much earlier for her.
“Even while I was still in high school in Delton I would have kids come to me to tell me about their problems and I would always talk to my mom, Wilma Beatty, and I would cry and beg her to take them in because they were having problems and she would usually say yes. She used to laugh and say she never knew who or what I would bring home," she said. “This is something that has been in my heart for a long time. I have a heart and understanding for these
kids and I still do."
"For me, it started when we met," said John. “When we went to West Virginia, it was assumed I would become the pastor of a church. But I found I liked working with youth better than adults.
"Some people never grow up ‹ and that would be me," he added with a smile.
The Norton¹s took the first teen into their home while they were still
living in West Virginia.
“The conditions in some places down there were terrible. People would live in houses with dirt floors and no windows,” said Val. “We were working as youth pastors one night when one of the 16-year old girls went into labor and we hadn¹t even known she was pregnant. She came and lived with us part time and we helped her become emancipated and put the baby up for adoption because there was so much abuse in the home, and she wanted to break that cycle."As a youth pastor you have a lot of contact with these kids but you don't have nearly the same impact as when they live with us," said John.
“We love them, parent them and point them to Jesus, and in time, they usually begin to change and really turn their lives around," said Val.
"We've had a few that made other choices, and gone in another direction, but most of them really turn their lives around. And some of them come back to us years later, and we can see the seeds that were sown have taken root.
We had a girl who was with us for nine years, from 9 years old until she turned 18 and she just came back to us after 12 years and she has changed her whole life around.”
While they have never kept count, the Nortons estimate that over the years they have taken between 18 and 20 teens into their home, and dozens more have spent a weekend, a couple of weekends, or a couple of weeks in their care.
Matt, one of the last teens they took in, nicknamed “Cricket” because
of the annoying noise he always made, stayed with them full-time for three years after living with them part-time for three years prior to that.
“Now he has completely turned his life around and is doing great,² said John.  “When we take these kids in we hope that what we’re doing is not fixing just one life, but that it carries on and has impact on other lives. This one now has a good job, is married and has three kids. He’s a great husband and father and he is leading them spiritually. So, that’s five lives we have helped.”
“John is a very good model for what kind of responsibility is required of a man in a family. He follows through with what he says he¹s going to do, as well, which is a very big deal,” said Cricket. “Val is a very supportive mother to anybody who needs it. They are both Godly people that have hearts for the hurting. Anyone would be blessed to be under their care.”
“His wife is one of the girls we have worked with, and they met at our
house”, said Val. “They see us as family and the kids calls us, Papa John, and Gomma Val.”
“The kids are getting old, so I guess that means we must be getting older,” quipped John.
“Now we’re working with a second generation and that’s a blessing, too,” agreed Val. “We feel our area has a deep need, and there is nothing here for these kids. But, I’m afraid of trying to recreate the wheel, so when we heard about House of Hope which is a national program that provides training and provides a pattern, we knew this was the way to go.”
“We’ve been doing this on our own, at our own expense for years, but our house is only so big, and with the House of Hope we can help so many more,”said John.
“This is still quite and undertaking, but the Lord will take us through,”
said Val. “The founder of House of Hope, Sara Trollinger, always says, “Our God is as big as we allow him to be,” and we’re allowing him to be really big. We need to raise a lot of money in a short period of time, but our God can do it.”
“This house will be Southwest Michigan¹s first House of Hope. The 100-acre site is exactly what we were looking for. It is very remote, very private; an oasis, a place of healing; where we can have horses, cows, chickens and a vegetable garden as part of the therapy for these hurting kids and their families,” said Val. “This program tries to bring healing to the whole family. There is counseling for both teens and their families. But, there are a lot of teens who don’t know who their parents are or who can’t go home, and we want to help them, too.
We want to have an open door,” she added. “That’s why we’re hoping to get business and corporate sponsors to provide scholarships for the students.
Tuition will be on a sliding scale based on income, but it will cost
approximately $3,000 per month per kid.
There will be a private accredited school on the grounds, licensed
counseling for parents and teens, plus room and board for those who will live in the House of Hope,” said Val. “This project would be too big for us, but it’s not too big for God.”
Initially, the House of Hope will have a residential facility for teen girls
between the ages of 13 to 18 with behavioral problems. It will also serve teens with issues including rebellion, drug and alcohol use, school problems, issues with authority, bad relationships, depression and suicidal thoughts.
In the future, when another resident home is built on the property, the
House of Hope will take in teen boys between the ages of 13 and 18. They will take teens desperate enough to know they need help and live within an approximately three-hour radius of the House of Hope.
The non-residential counseling will provide Christian-based counseling that is a proactive and preventative step for teenage girls and boys and their families, determines if the residential program is a fit for girls who qualify and are in need of residential placement, and provides family counseling designed to facilitate family healing and reconciliation.
In the House of Hope residential program residents will live there for 9 to 18 months, with an average stay of 12 months; residents pass through five phases of restoration; participate with their parents, participate in individual, group, and family counseling; attend the on-site school five days a week, year round; and, learn domestic responsibility, financial management and physical recreation.
“The National House of Hope organization will give us the strength and
stability to extend this critical work even further, healing more kids along the way,” said Val. “As an affiliate of the national House of Hope in Orlando, Florida, we are an official non-denominational nonprofit 501(c)3 organization established as a Christian residential program and boarding school for troubled teens from ages 13 to 18.”
When asked how teens will be referred to House of Hope, John said that they are already getting calls from people interested in enrolling in the program.
“People are already calling us-- just through word of mouth,” he said.
“There’s a Northwest Michigan House of Hope in Traverse City and they’ve already said they would like to refer some kids that have been driving three hours to get to their House of Hope.”
Val added that they are starting to network with schools and courts in the surrounding area to let them know that they are working to bring the House of Hope to the area, and for some teens it would be a much better alternative than juvenile detention.
“Some kids will come to us through court appointments, but the House of Hope is not a lock-down. There are no bars or gates. If a teen wants to leave, they can go. They won’t be forced to stay,” said John. “But,
percentage-wise, once teens realize they have someone to talk to, someone to pay attention to them and really care, they will stay. And, if they do, there can be great change in their life.”
“They respond to you when they see you genuinely love them and are willing to see them for themselves,” said Val. “I try to show them that God has a place and a purpose for their life and its not drugs, alcohol and STDs.”
Val said she enjoys working with troubled youths, helping them to see their own abilities and talents and how they can be used.
“It’s so neat to see what God is doing in their lives,” said Val. “These
kids are so gifted and talented, even in the middle of all the trouble in
their lives, and I see that and I try to help them see their gifts and
abilities themselves and point them toward where God wants them to go and help them feel good about themselves.”
Val said that while ministering to troubled youths comes naturally to her, setting up a nonprofit organization isn’t so easy.
“God has definitely pushed us out of our comfort zone, but we are learning. And, if this is going to happen, God will orchestrate it,” said Val.
The Nortons said that since word got out about what they were trying to do, they have had many people step forward and volunteer their services.
“We¹ve had a person volunteer to do our Web page. A public relations person has volunteered all of his time, and we’ve had two women who have done a lot of fundraising have volunteered and we have attracted the attention of two state representatives who (came) to our ribbon cutting,” said Val. “God has come up beside us, and He is bringing people forward to help us.”
“Getting this started has definitely pushed me out of my comfort-zone,” said Val. “But once the door is open...”
The National House of Hope (www.houseofhope.org) was established by Trollinger, a veteran of 25 years of public education, in 1985. Dignitaries, including Dr. James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, and Presidents Ronald Reagan, and George Bush, have endorsed the House of Hope organization and praised its success in providing real hope for troubled teens. The House of Hope receives no government funding and relies solely on tuition and private donations.
For more information about the Southwest Michigan Living Waters House of Hope, log on to www.swmihoh.org or contact the Nortons at LivingWatersHOH5 @aol.com.
Donations may sent to Living Waters House of Hope, 14071 Jones Road, Battle Creek, MI 49017
Make checks payable to Living Waters House of Hope.