Community, Partners support Nazareth Home

By Christina Galeone

CFP Correspondent

LEICESTER – Even before Venerable Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland in the 1830s, she was dedicated to helping the disadvantaged rise above their circumstances. She educated orphans, the poor and others who were in need, and she ministered to the sick as well. The work done at the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys reflects that dedication. 

Originally founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1865 in Worcester as an orphanage for boys, the nonprofit moved to Leicester in 1901 and in the 1960s – led by the efforts of the late Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley – transitioned from an orphanage to a treatment center for troubled youth and their families. The licensed and state-accredited residential special education school and group home now serves boys ages 6 to 18 who have emotional and behavioral challenges due to trauma/neglect. And, for many years, it has benefitted from Partners in Charity. 

The nonprofit provides services such as individual, group and family therapy, therapeutic recreation programs and on-site special education for students in grades K-8. Throughout its programming, its staff and administrators seek to build on the individual strengths of each boy.  Although the nonprofit is no longer run by the Sisters of Mercy, religious sisters from the Sisters of Mercy, and priests, are among its board of directors. It is affiliated with the Diocese of Worcester.

SISTERS OF MERCY 

Carrying on the service-focused tradition of the Sisters of Mercy, the nonprofit strives to “provide safe, high-quality, family-oriented, trauma-informed care to troubled youth and their families in an environment of love, mercy, compassion, justice and peace,” notes its annual report.

McAuley Nazareth hopes that care will empower the boys to achieve several goals. Among others, the goals include the development of positive social and family skills, an increase in independence, a decrease in the need for psychiatric medications and improved academic performance. Ultimately, the nonprofit prepares the boys and their families for successful reunification, if possible, or to be well-equipped for the next chapter in their lives, whether that’s adoption or independent living.   

Funds McAuley Nazareth receives from Partners in Charity help make those life-changing accomplishments possible. 

“We’re very grateful to Partners in Charity,” Kim Paré, the nonprofit’s executive director, said. “We want people to know it assists us with the programming we provide.” 

That programming has led to many successful discharges for the boys McAuley Nazareth serves.  A couple of recent successes were particularly moving to Ms. Paré. Just before Christmas, one 9-year-old child and one 8-year-old child transitioned out of McAuley Nazareth and into the homes of families who were adopting them.  

The boys each received more than a year of therapy and education to prepare them to be part of new families. While Ms. Paré said that the hope-filled beginning for the kids and the people who adopted them “was a wonderful Christmas present,” she noted that preparing kids, who have survived abuse or neglect, for adoption requires “a tremendous amount of work.” One of the boys struggled with not knowing if he would be released for adoption or returned to his biological parent. 

“Sometimes, people in your life love you dearly, but they just can’t take care of you,” Ms. Paré shared. About the boys, she added, “They were looking for a forever family.”

DURING THE PANDEMIC

Several changes at Nazareth had to be implemented due to the pandemic. Most students are learning remotely and receiving tutoring, recreational activities have been limited to promote social distancing, and two of the four clinicians are working from home. Additionally, all staff members are wearing face masks, and their temperatures are being taken each day. Ms. Paré said that the kids are healthy and coping as well as possible. Since they can no longer have visitors or go to their homes for visits, they’ve been FaceTiming with loved ones, going fishing and going for bike rides. Meanwhile, the staff has been adjusting to the changes and longer hours, while trying to help the kids regain a sense of normalcy. Ms. Paré shared, “It’s been a hardship in a lot of ways, but they’re doing a tremendous job.”

She’s also grateful for the community’s support during the crisis. “We’ve been so blessed…” she said, noting that kind people from the Leicester Food Pantry, the Charlton Ladies’ Sewing Circle and other groups have been making and donating cloth masks to the nonprofit, since personal protection equipment is in high demand and difficult to get. She added, “It’s just been a tremendous help.”  

SISTER JANET

Sister Janet Ballentine is another integral member of the McAuley Nazareth family who rejoices in the boys’ successes. At age 26, shortly after taking her final vows to become a Sister of Mercy, Sister Janet began teaching there. That was in 1965. After a few years of teaching, she was inspired to get her master’s degree in social work. During her professional service to McAuley Nazareth, she happily helped the children through her positions as a teacher, social worker, child care worker and as the executive director for seven years. 

“It was a wonderful ministry and a wonderful way of making a difference in the lives of children and families,” Sister Janet shared. “It was a very fulfilling way of living and working.”

Sister Janet’s dedication to the nonprofit is as strong as it was 55 years ago. She is now a McAuley Nazareth volunteer and board member.

“As a Sister of Mercy, it is a ministry that is very dear to our hearts,” she said. She added, “I see the good work that’s been done, and it continues to be done in the spirit of mercy. It just keeps me going.”

In a similar way, the nonprofit continues Venerable Catherine McAuley’s mission. Sister Janet said that in its work with children, McAuley Nazareth strives to continue the venerable woman’s spirit of joy and “her spirit of mercy, compassion, hospitality and welcoming people, and giving people an opportunity to grow, so they can live happier, more productive lives.”  

Just as Venerable Catherine McAuley’s dedication to helping disadvantaged people to rise above their circumstances is reflected in McAuley Nazareth’s mission and programs, her words are as well. The woman who’s two steps away from sainthood once said, “The simplest most practical lesson I know is to resolve to be good today, but better tomorrow.” 

In the past year, the nonprofit has been remodeling its group homes, seeking national accreditation and integrating a new positive behavioral interventions and supports system into its programs. But even though McAuley Nazareth has been evolving, Ms. Paré hopes that it will continue to provide robust programs, so that “students can learn and grow and reunify” with their families or caregivers.    

Submitted Photo: Robert Blute, chairman of the McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys board of directors, poses with Kim Pare, executive director, outside the Monsignor Edmond T. Tinsley Gymnasium.