Background
When I reflect on these past 10 years, it seems just like yesterday when the ribbon was cut and the house was officially open and there was a 16 year old girl waiting to move in....and all of a sudden the house was practically full with wonderful children, teens coming and going.....I smile when I see some of the faces flash before me....what a blessing they were in Bill's and my life. So many fond memories.....And the community!!!! Oh my gosh!!! Whatever the need to get the house built.....Someone always stepped up and said: "I can do that"....... I'm telling you, in those two years of raising money and then actually building the Shepherd’s Home, it was like standing in the middle of a miracle and watching it happen. I could go on and on.... One thing for sure, God was the Construction Manager and all those involved were his workers..... A home built debt free ten years ago.....Pretty amazing.......”
~Dottie Bayse
The idea for the Shepherd’s Home was born in the home and hearts of Bill and Dottie Basye. The Basyes, working closely with the Department of Health and Welfare, sought a way to overcome the lack of adequate foster care available to children in central Idaho. To provide for the many children in crisis who needed a safe and loving home, they created a community initiative which quickly gathered support and momentum. The Shepherd’s Home was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1996 and opened its doors, fully operational, in the spring of 1998. During the brief interim between dream and reality, several donations of local money, time, and professional labor made the building of the Home possible. The local Lutheran church donated an acre of land and several large foundation grants were used to build the Home and hire the Home’s first staff. Community members provided enormous support and established fundraising events to support the new Home. Since that time the Shepherd’s Home has grown into a cherished and highly-regarded regional resource, providing not only a loving home for children in crisis but also providing additional programs for its residents and for community members to support the prevention of child abuse.
Objectives
- Provide a safe and loving home to children who are victims of abuse, neglect or crisis.
- Provide additional programs for our residents to help them adopt healthy habits and be successful.
- We seek to provide not only temporary shelter, but a new road map for life after residence in the home.
The Shepherd’s Home Board of Directors is united and committed to the common goal of continuing to provide the care and services that the Home has become known for while simultaneously adapting to the changing needs of the communities and families we serve and aggressively planning for ongoing sustainability.
Increasing Need
- In 2003, Idaho ranked 2nd among all fifty states for the number of substantiated child abuse cases.
- According to Idaho KidsCount data, the rate of child abuse rose from 4.1 per 1000 children (ages 0-17) to 5.1 per 1000.
- As the Valley County community has experienced rapid growth, the demand for Shepherd’s Home services has increased.
- Affordable housing has become limited, as has the pool of qualified labor.
- More families are at-risk, under stress, and in need of assistance.