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Presbyterian Homes & Family Services promotes dignity and develops the potential of individuals, families and communities through nurture, healing and encouragement.
Our ministry envisions a compassionate society where the inherent value of every person is recognized, where families are healthy and communities where everyone can prosper.
Presbyterian Homes & Family Services has strengthened families and communities since 1903. Our mission is to promote dignity and develop the potential of individuals, families and communities through nurture, healing and encouragement. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
At PHFS, we believe our faith guides us to believe that transformation is possible for every child of God.
Sometimes transformation takes place in ways we might take for granted, like greater independence. Take Paul, the first resident of our new Lexington Group Home, as an example. Prior to joining us, Paul lived and traveled the world extensively with his parents and worked at a major airport as well as the Social Security Administration. However, as his parents aged and encountered health issues, they needed additional support to care for Paul. At our Lexington Group Home, Paul receives both structure and support—and the opportunity to spread his wings.
Living in an apartment adjacent to our Lexington group home has given Paul more independence than he’s ever experienced. He now cooks for himself. He is proud of the fact that he’s building his own support network by going to church, taking walks through the neighborhood, volunteering, and working in the community. He is participating in extensive training to volunteer at a local museum, and he is employed at Washington and Lee University, where he has become “the face” of the university for students who eat at the Dining Hall. In sum, Paul is flourishing in our care because he loves Lexington and is able to live with greater independence.
Transformation can also take a more pronounced form. In fact, the life of a youth resident at our Lynchburg campus has been dramatically transformed. LeighAnne came to live with us when she was nine. Her own words are so powerful, we would like to share them with you:
“I was not an easy kid to live with. I was full of anger and frustration and wanted vengeance . . . but Presbyterian Homes would end up changing my life. The Home allowed me to work through those feelings by helping me realize that I wasn’t the only child experiencing an absent mother and father. I found that this wasn’t the end for me. I didn’t have to be the co-dependent, drug addicted alcoholic that my family had shown me to become. Presbyterian Homes has made a difference in my life. It has taught me that the road doesn’t stop at some group home that you are placed (in), but that love and hope are there.”
Today LeighAnne is a successful adult and a mother to two beautiful children. She credits her accomplishment to the care and love she received while living at PHFS.
These are stories of transformation. Of new life. Through the ministry of PHFS, lives are changed.