When I was about 14-15 years old, I was completely out of control and in a juvenile detention center in Waco, Texas. I had no regard for my safety or anyone else's. While there, I had been locked in a cell — meant to hold a kid for 48 hours — for three straight months. My parents had hired an attorney to keep me in jail and ultimately have me tried as an adult. Our family was in a crisis and we desperately needed intervention...
Each year, our boys enjoy a pumpkin carving contest. The competition is intense and the boys focus all of their creative energy on producing their own pumpkin masterpiece.
Over the last eighteen months, Youth-Reach Houston has been understaffed, which means that our operations staff members have worked extra hours and carried extra burdens so that the boys would never notice any lack of care.
In the last few weeks the boys have been blessed with some very cool opportunities: tickets to see the Houston Texans and a trip to Newman's Castle...
Last month, I was notified that Cameron Combs had passed away. Cameron was a much-loved Youth-Reach son from 2019 who impacted all of us in a very real way. At his Celebration of Life, I was honored to share how, while at Youth-Reach, Cameron surrendered his life to Jesus.
We're excited to share that our new Dr. Charles E. Cowles, Jr. Education Center is now complete! The boys we're blessed to serve are already enjoying learning in this new space designed especially to prevent distractions and provide resources to enhance their overall educational experience.
I'm Dennis Raasch, I'm a Youth-Reach Houston (YRH) alum, and this is my story... In 1997, I was 16 years old and in juvenile court in Austin. It was my third or fourth appearance in this court, and the judge gave me an ultimatum: Unless I could find a family that would take me in, he'd have to send me to the state's juvenile corrections agency for five years...
We're excited to share that the new Dr. Charles E. Cowles, Jr. Education Center is on schedule for our August 15th completion date! This educational environment is designed in a way that distractions can be easily minimized. We'll have space for guest speakers to be brought in to enhance the boys' opportunities to gain specialized knowledge.
Quite often in the past six months, the waters of our ponds have been stirred with boys who have been baptized. Wyatt came to Youth-Reach as a boy who rejected religion and struggled with drug abuse, but Jesus rescued him from himself and is continuing to transform his heart.
Amy Wise is a member of the Youth-Reach Houston (YRH) board and a faithful, long-time supporter. She's also the grateful mom of a YRH graduate who truly believes in the life-changing ministry happening around the clock at our campus. This is her story...
