By Natalie Clark
Family is one of Vera Lloyd’s core values. The definition of Family has certainly evolved over the years. A modern description is two or more people who share goals and values and have long term commitments to one another.At Vera Lloyd, we use the word Family often. Our youth live in Family-style homes with house parents and their children. We hear time and time again from Vera Lloyd current and former residents that we are their Family. We’ve had former residents marry on our campus, host their children’s birthday parties on our campus and visit regularly to tell our staff about their lives—the peaks and the valleys.In addition to Vera Lloyd’s youth living in Family-style homes and viewing our staff as Family, our staff often refer to each other as Family. You’ve heard, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and our staff often come together as a Family to determine how best to meet the needs of our youth. Our staff Family works diligently to provide healing to our youth who have experienced trauma in their biological families.You may remember the 1979 Sister Sledge song “We Are Family.” My favorite line from that song is: “High hopes we have for the future and our goals in sight.”At Vera Lloyd, we definitely have high hopes and goals for the future of the youth we serve. We are Family. Blessings to you and your Family,Donna Mahurin
CEO
