Boys Town: A Legacy of Care for Children, Families, and the Community

In 1913, a young Irish immigrant by the name of Father Edward Flanagan came to Omaha to serve as a priest at St. Patrick’s parish. Discouraged by the number of homeless men he witnessed living on the Omaha streets, Father Flanagan opened a series of “Working Men’s Hotels” where men could live and get help finding a job. Although he served 40,000 in the process, Father Flanagan realized that he was not changing their underlying problems. After conducting a study of 2,000 men, he decided his work should begin with homeless boys.

At the turn of the century in Omaha, groups of homeless and abandoned boys lived along the Missouri River bank and in the warehouses of the Old Market area, and soon enough began to visit Flanagan’s homeless men’s shelters for shelter and warm meals. In late 1917, Father Flanagan gathered a group of like-minded Omahans and proposed the creation of a home for these boys. After borrowing $90, Father Flanagan opened a revolutionary home where all children were welcome regardless of their race or religion and could live as a family with no fences or bars on the windows. Given love, guidance, and an education, the boys could then become productive citizens.

Many people laughed at Father Flanagan, saying that the home would fail and close within a year; but by the spring, 100 boys were living in the home. A few years later, Father Flanagan purchased Overlook Farm on the outskirts of the city and moved his home there, where it grew to include a school, dormitories, and administration buildings. In 1936, the Village of Boys Town became an official village in Nebraska. Over the years, Boys Town doubled in population, gained solid financial footing, and expanded educational, vocational, athletic, and arts opportunities for its residents. Eventually, the innovative Family Home Program replaced the dormitories with family-style homes, and girls soon began coming to Boys Town for help.

News of Father Flanagan’s work spread worldwide. After World War II, President Truman asked Flanagan to take his message to the world. He traveled the globe, visiting war orphans, and advising government leaders on how to care for displaced children. Although Father Flanagan died in 1948, his work at Boys Town—which he called “God’s Work”—continues. “Father Flanagan’s simple dream to make the world a better place for children thrives because people still believe that every child deserves to be valued and loved, and live a healthy, positive life,” says Tom Lynch, Director of Boys Town Hall of History.

Boys Town Today
From the time it was founded, Boys Town has been a national leader in the care and treatment of children. As one of the largest non-profit, nonsectarian child and family care organizations in the country, Boys Town provides compassionate, research-proven treatment for behavioral, emotional, and physical problems.

Each year, Boys Town touches the lives of 1.6 million people, including the direct care of nearly 121,000 children and families. Under the current leadership of Father Steven E. Boes, Boys Town’s focus is on implementing unique Integrated Continuum of Care, which provides a tightly integrated spectrum of research-proven services based on the consistent delivery of the Boys Town Model.

The Village of Boys Town in Nebraska remains the national headquarters for Boys Town and is the research, program development, and administrative center of the organization. Boys Town’s outreach is national in scope, with treatment and care programs at more than a dozen sites across the country. Even more children and families receive benefits through the training and assistance Boys Town offers to hundreds of organizations, including schools and other youth care organizations.

The Boys Town National Research Hospital opened in 1977, and since then has developed into an internationally recognized leader in the treatment of childhood deafness, speech problems, visual impairment, and related communication disorders. Its research programs seek improved diagnostic and treatment techniques for young children, and it is a world leader in research on Usher syndrome. The Boys Town National Helpline, which opened in 1989, has handled more than 8 million calls and provides assistance to children and parents 24/7, year-round.

Statistics from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (2009) show that the need for more effective child and family care is great. Two-thirds of American youth deal with at least one major childhood trauma such as physical or sexual abuse, emotional or physical neglect, domestic violence, substance abuse, separation or divorce, a parent in jail, or mental illness.

Boys Town kids battle serious problems. Prior to entering a Boys Town residential program, 51 percent of youth have aggression problems, 42 percent have been physically and/or sexually abused, neglected, or abandoned; 64 percent experienced school problems; 47 percent have substance abuse problems; and 51 percent have been arrested.

Boys Town knows how great the need is for compassionate and effective care for today’s at-risk youth. Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are abused and neglected. Like numbers suffer emotional or behavioral disorders, leaving parents confused and frustrated. Every day, nationwide programs at Boys Town reaches out to help those who are most in need.

Boys Town has been saving children and healing families for more than 90 years for two main reasons: They believe that inherent potential exists in each child, no matter the circumstances; and they have the skill and knowledge to develop youth and family services that provide lasting, life-changing results.