Published: November 08, 2009 05:41 pm      

New UMCH head Gary Lemmon introduces himself

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. On Sept. 22, I was named President/CEO of United Methodist Children’s Home (UMCH) by its Governing Board of Directors. This follows six months of having served as Interim in that position following the departure of Clete Winkelmann. I am no stranger to UMCH, having served a term on the Board of Directors in the mid-1990s and having provided professional trainings at UMCH and outpatient counseling to UMCH residents for a number of years in the past. I am a native of Benton and have had a private practice in Clinical Psychotherapy in Norris City for the past 21 years. I have worked for over 35 years in Child Welfare and Human Services. My wife is a kindergarten teacher at Norris City-Omaha Grade School and we have two adult children.

But what I am really writing about is to share the exciting work that is going on at UMCH. Troubled children and disadvantaged youth have been helped and ministered to by this agency since its founding in 1911. Mt. Vernon has a long and noble history of supporting UMCH, and indeed, many Mt. Vernon and Jefferson County residents through the years have embraced the UMCH ministry to be their very own. Many in our area do not realize that in 1921, when the UMCH organization moved to Mt. Vernon from its previous location in Creal Springs, the Mt. Vernon Chamber of Commerce paid nearly half of the cost of the 25 acres of campus on what was then a fairly rural area on Richview Road.

Since that time, UMCH has helped literally thousands of children and youth during their time of greatest need and have employed hundreds of individuals from Mt. Vernon and the surrounding area. During 2008 alone, UMCH served 271 individuals and employed over 125 staff.

Things have changed through the years. UMCH has welcomed new neighbors as families built homes adjacent to our campus and the rural area became a beautiful, suburban area. UMCH long ago stopped having livestock and gardens on the grounds that were cared for by the residents and staff and which provided much of their food. And the situations of the children served have also changed.

But the one thing that has not changed are children themselves. They still need to receive love, protection, discipline, and guidance. It is true that we do not serve many true orphans today like we did many years ago. But tragically, we now have children that are orphans of a different kind. While most of them do have living biological parents, many of the young people we take care of have not had parents who provided the basic needs that every child deserves. Sadly, the general culture of our nation seems to have shifted to self-centeredness, self-absorption, and self-gratification. And children are too many times not experienced as a source of happiness to their parents, but more as an inconvenience or detriment to the parents’ pursuit of self-pleasure. This has resulted in multitudes of abandoned, neglected, and physically/sexually abused children. In other cases, children have been raised by good parents, but suffer from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma reactions, or other emotional problems that are no fault of either the child or of their parents. UMCH has responded to these changing needs by creating new programs and services.

UMCH is no longer just a “children’s home.” We now have seven programs in two different counties and serve children and youth from throughout the state:

Our Professional Foster Care Program currently provides a stable home environment for 16 youth in 15 different homes throughout Southern Illinois.

Our Best Beginnings-Nurse Family Partnership program served 112 families in Jefferson and Marion Counties last year and our nurses made over 1000 home visits to provide support and training to first time mothers and their newborns.

Over 230 hours of mentoring and academic support was provided to at-risk children through the Family Centered Services program resulting in a 75% reduction in truancy for those children in 2008. These children received services in their own homes and schools.

We presently have 20 youth in Jefferson County and 19 youth in Marion County enrolled in our YouthBuild programs where participants study to get their GEDs through our partners at Kaskaskia and Rend Lake Colleges. They also learn construction skills and a solid work ethic and we assist them in finding employment after they complete the program. In 2008, participants remodeled one house in each of the two counties and provided 1700 hours of community service (including work for Habitat For Humanity).

Last year our Residential program served 17 adolescents in a highly structured therapeutic setting on our main campus. Almost all of these youth had been either abused or neglected and/or had serious emotional conditions.

In 2008 Quest School (on our main campus) provided specialized educational services to 16 young people in junior high and high school. Three of these students also received post-secondary education credits though dual enrollment at Rend Lake College. Quest School is able to serve children and youth both from our own residents and also children who live at home within a 60 mile radius of Mt. Vernon and are transported daily to Quest School. These students suffer from serious emotional difficulties and cannot be adequately served in regular classrooms. Quest School is not a school for behaviorally disordered (BD) students.

Last year 11 infants were placed in loving families and 36 families received pre and post-placement services from our Adoptions program.

Our Transitional Living Program served 35 older adolescents in 2008. These youth predominately have little or no family support. This program provides life skills, education, and vocational training to help these young people become independent and productive members of society.

UMCH partnered with other area agencies to create an Autism Resource Room which is housed in our Community Connections building on 27th Street.

Many in the community have not been aware of the extensive social services provided by UMCH and the remarkable expansion from the days when UMCH was an “orphanage”. UMCH is truly an organization that Mt. Vernon can be proud of.

With that in mind, I would like to clear up some possible misconceptions. UMCH is not a home for “bad kids” or “juvenile delinquents.” One of the most frustrating issues for me is how all of our kids get stereotyped with the very few that have bad behavior. Yes, some of our residents have occasionally gotten into trouble (just like all young people do). But all of our kids are good kids, even if some of them do sometimes get into trouble.

But to balance the picture, let me tell you about the achievements of three UMCH youth during the month of September. One young lady moved away to Lakeland College in Springfield after having graduated from Mt. Vernon High School this past spring. We learned a couple of weeks ago that she has made the women’s basketball team there.

Another young lady is currently in boot camp, having prepared herself physically and mentally for the military for many months prior to enlistment. She had been at UMCH for two and a half years and had been removed from her biological parents at age 3.

A young man who graduated from Mt. Vernon High School this past spring continues to live on the UMCH campus, but is now a full time student at Rend Lake College and is active in their athletic programs.

I have not seen articles in the local media about these achievements, but we are very proud of these hard-working young people.

The truth of the matter is this, all children have value. And all (whether at UMCH or in the community) deserve proper care from those of us who are adults. Some of the youth will fail no matter how much effort we put into them. But for some, our intervention will save their lives. And the majority in the middle will be helped in the right direction to one degree or the other. The question is: are they worth our effort?

For me, the answer is clear. Helping needy and disadvantaged children and youth has been my life’s work. I pledge to continue that work to the best of my ability with the great team of professionals here at UMCH. And I want to assure the public that UMCH has some of the best in the profession working here. I know about these things.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, I welcome you to contact me at glemmon@umchome.org or at 618-242-1070 Ext. 232. Or you may contact our Vice-President of Development, Kay Zibby, at kzibby@umchome.org or at 618-242-1070 Ext. 255.

Although the techniques we use and the problems of the youth we serve have changed through the years, the original mission that UMCH was founded upon has not. As our Mission Statement so succinctly puts it, we are here to help children and youth “Heal today for a brighter tomorrow.”



Gary L. Lemmon

President/CEO

United Methodist

Children’s Home