As a young teenager, Brian was angry and out of control. His mother loved him and tried to help. "I wouldn't listen to anything she said," Brian remembers.

His lack of respect for authority brought problems at school and in the community. Before long he had a juvenile file that included charges ranging from truancy to vandalism to drug use. He was unsuccessful in a series of treatment programs before coming to Youth Villages.

Brian liked the peace and solitude of our Linden campus, set on more than 1,000 wooded acres between the Buffalo and Tennessee Rivers. There he found the structure and support he needed to make positive changes.

"The counselors there talked to me and helped me work through things so I wouldn't do something stupid," he says with a smile. "They took the time to help me control my temper and learn not to be influenced by other people."

The Linden staff encouraged Brian to get his GED and refused to let him give up when he failed the test by just a few points the first time. "When I took the test again, I passed it by more than 100 points," he says. Brian decided he wanted to go to college, and staff got applications for him and helped him fill out financial aid forms.

Most importantly, they strengthened the relationship between Brian and his mother through family counseling. "She's very supportive," Brian says. "She came to see me every week at Linden. And now, she's been helping me get registered at college."

At Tallwood Home, one of eight Youth Villages group homes in West and Middle Tennessee, Brian's progress continued. Young people, like Brian, who have completed residential treatment often need a period of continued treatment and transition in the community before going home or to a foster or adoptive home. Some young people go directly to a group home for their primary treatment at Youth Villages.

Counselors at the group home helped Brian continue to develop skills to avoid negative influences in his life. They also helped him find a job and begin to prepare for college. Brian wants to be a veterinarian and will enter college in January.

"Brian has come a long way," says Stanley Cook, program specialist at Tallwood. "He has strong family support and clear goals. He's ready to turn it around and has proven that he can handle the challenges of living in the community."