House Parents’ Corner

“IT’S NOT A JOB, IT’S A WAY OF LIFE.” That’s what Rick and Carolyn Norton, formerly of Chanute, Kansas, say about their position as House Parents for The Omaha Home for Boys.

For 13 years Rick served as a Police Officer and Sheriff for Neosho County Kansas. After that, he spent seven years as a Private Investigator. Carolyn also had a career outside the home as a Hair Stylist and Nail Technician and owned her own shop. They worked, raised their 4 children (each had two children from a previous marriage) and planned for the future.

One thing they did not plan on was working with at-risk and needy youth. But even the best plans can get better.

“We knew God had a plan for us,” says Carolyn. “We just didn’t know what it was. Then we saw an ad for House Parents ... and we knew.”

After receiving offers from several similar residential homes, they chose The Omaha Home for Boys because, according to the Nortons, “It just felt right.”

The Home offers a residential program, placing boys in a family setting with a married couple who live in the same cottage serving as House Parents. It is this “family” environment which makes the Boys’ Home so unique. The Nortons are one of the reasons the Home is so successful.

House Parents are the most important and influential staff members at The Omaha Home for Boys. They are in charge on implementing the Home’s treatment program and providing a family environment to meet each boy’s daily physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

One of the special aspects of working at the Home for Rick, is the fact that he’s making a difference in the lives of youth before it is too late. “When I was in law enforcement,” explains Rick, “by the time I got to a teenager or young adult it was too late to turn them around. That’s not the case with these kids. You know you’re making a difference in their lives ... you can see it.”

Carolyn wholeheartedly agrees. “When you see the boys actually using parts of the program ... something you’ve taught them ... then you know you’re having a positive influence.”

There are drawbacks to working as House Parents. “The Home is your life when you’re a House Parent,” Carolyn explains. “You can burn out emotionally very quickly.” She has personally felt the pangs of the emotional roller coaster the boys at the Home sometimes ride. “It breaks your heart when an 11 year old boy asks you to teach him how to pray at night ... because no one else ever has.”

“You don’t come here for the salary, or the free time, or even to work with your wife,” says Rick, “you come here to make a difference.” And the Nortons, who regularly receive calls and visits from boys who have left the Home, are clearly making a positive difference in the lives of youth.

“You can’t be all things to all the boys.” Rick says. “All you can do is concentrate on ‘you’ being a positive influence in each of their lives.”

No, being a House Parent at The Omaha Home for Boys is not a ‘job’. Rather, it is a way of life. And Rick and Carolyn Norton – along with all the House Parents at the Home – are shining examples of true heroes in our midst.