RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Abbott House is expanding its foster care home services in Rapid City to meet a growing statewide need.The Abbott House introduced its Bridges Foster Care Program in Rapid City with two homes in 2015. By 2021, two more homes had been added in Rapid City.
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Wednesday they kicked off a capital campaign to raise $2.5 million to build two new foster care homes which will bring the total number to six in Rapid City.“The need is very high here because of the breakdown of family units. It is a lot of alcoholism, and so that kind of goes on to the kids, and to be able to kids, keep their kids in a safe environment. That is why we’re here,” said Beth-Anne Ferley, Assistant Development Director, Abbott House.Abbott House provides services to youth that have experienced trauma such as abuse and neglect.Youth are referred into foster care to Abbott House from the state Department of Social Services which also provides operational funding.“We try to help them to overcome that abuse, to learn how to live with it, to be able to survive comfortably, to have a life, that they can have a job, that they can work, that they can feel happy with themselves,” Ferley said.Ferley said there are 500 youth in need of foster care but only 100 foster homes.“Our growth in that foster care is always based on the state coming to us, asking us to build more homes. The State takes care of all our operational funding with these kids, so we cannot open a home without the state saying, yes, we can have this home. Let’s make it happen,” Ferley said.
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Abbott House was founded in 1939 in Mitchell. Today it provides treatment and foster care for youth and family in South Dakota with homes in Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Mitchell.The capital campaign will conclude in November.
By
Jerry Steinley
Jerry Steinley has lived in the Black Hills most of his life and calls Rapid City home. He received a degree in Journalism with a minor in Political Science from Metropolitan State University in Denver in 1994.
