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Boise program gives valuable support in time of need.
by Rhonda Murray –
Young mothers learn important parenting skills at Boise’s Booth Memorial Campus. |
From Booth Memorial Campus’s beginning in 1921 as the Boise Idaho Rescue Home until the present day, the need for a loving, non-judgmental, learning and caring environment for pregnant girls and new parents has not changed.
The Campus consists of the Marion Pritchett High School, an out-patient Pregnant and Parenting Teen program, a licensed daycare for infants, and the SAFE Center for displaced families.
This school year’s enrollment consists of 17 students who are parenting and 16 who are pregnant. The Salvation Army continues in a partnership with the Boise Independent School District to provide social services, case and crisis management, group services, and supportive counseling to these girls.
The daycare operates as a learning lab for the students, enabling them to learn “hands on” about infant care needs. Many who come to Booth would not be able to finish high school without the combined efforts of the daycare program, case management component, and the close working relationship with the Boise Independent School District.
One of our graduating students said: “I was in danger of dropping out of school because I could not afford to keep my daughter in daycare. I was not eligible for financial assistance from the state, and without The Salvation Army’s Educational Enhancement Fund I would not be able to attend this wonderful school. My dream is to become a nurse.”
This student is one of many who, without the assistance of the Army, would not be able to complete high school. Because of the Booth Memorial Campus, lives are changed and futures are restored.
Captains Daniel and Doreen Freeman serve as corps officers at the Boise Corps.
