Born and raised in Elizabethtown, house parent Shelley Smith remembers going to school with kids living at the Masonic Children’s Home in the 1970s.
“They were always so well-dressed and well-spoken,” she remembers. “It always seemed like they had everything they needed.”
Now, as a part-time house parent in Dougherty Cottage, Shelley knows it’s possible because of the gifts of generous donors.
“This is a golden opportunity for these kids,” Shelley said. “Each kid has a story and needs that would not be addressed if they weren’t here.”
Shelley has been a house parent at the children’s home for five years, but her connection to Masonic Village at Elizabethtown – and her passion for helping others – started many years prior. At age 16, she worked as a waitress in one of the campus dining rooms, and in 1978, she started work as a certified nursing assistant in the Masonic Health Care Center. She held that job for 11 years.
“It’s good to have a job where you feel like you make a difference,” she said, reflecting on both her nursing career and her work at the children’s home.
Seven years ago, she was working part-time at a local elementary school with a house parent from the children’s home, who encouraged her to pursue employment there. It took two years for the idea to stick, but, once she decided, she went for it, and has been enjoying her time with the children ever since. In Dougherty Cottage, Shelley works with middle and high school boys.
Considering this age group’s difficult reputation, some people might find this intimidating, but it’s what Shelley prefers.
“I’ve always gotten along with the guys in my life better than the women in my life, so I love working with the boys,” she said. “They’re more in-your-face with their emotions – you know what they’re feeling when they’re feeling it, and if they’re thinking something, you know it.”
She enjoys teaching them how to cook, because it “builds closeness,” and just being there to support them whenever they need it.
“I don’t pretend to take their parents’ place,” Shelley says, “but I tell them if they feel they need ‘Momming,’ they can come to me.”
In addition to raising her own kids, Shelley was a leader in her daughter’s Girl Scout troop for 11 years and a church youth group leader, so she has had lots of practice.
Shelley gets choked up when talking about the boys in her cottage, who she calls “my boys,” and says that the annual Youth Appreciation Day, which honors program graduates, is always an emotional experience.
“Watching boys who started out in Longdon Cottage walk across that stage as seniors – it just about brings you to tears,” she said.
She hopes that the kids leave the children’s home with not only the basic skills that she and the other house parents have worked to teach them, but the ability to be kind (“because there’s not enough kindness in the world”) – and an understanding of how blessed they have been to be there.