Rock House Kids Celebrates 20th Year

Rock House Kids Celebrates 20th Year

By Peggy Werner

Rock House Kids, 1325 7 th St., is celebrating its 20 th anniversary this year. This Christian ministry for innercity kids gives them a safe and positive experience, with the goal of helping them to have better lives and better futures.

“A lot of people still don’t know we exist,” says Rock House Kids Executive Director Deanna Lacny. “We’re all about building relationships and we want our kids to feel safe and cared for.”

Lacny worked at Rock House Kids more than five years before being named director about 18 months ago. Her top priorities are to build awareness of the ministry through social media and advertisements, and to get more kids involved.

The after-school program provides hot meals, supplies and volunteers who help children with homework, teach good values and stress the importance of staying in school.

About 250 children per week, ages 6 to 18, attend from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Children can get help other times of the day, too. The evening program is year round, but in the summer there are extra activities, field trips, and camps.

Safety is a top priority. The building is locked when children are attending. A security system and cameras monitor the property and the police are often present or quickly available. They also work with the kids to prove they, too, are helpful and dependable.

As director, Lacny right away made necessary building repairs and received donations of two 15-passenger vans to pick up students who otherwise could not get to the ministry.

More vans and drivers are needed to reach even more kids in other parts of the city, she says.

About 25 volunteers work with the kids each night, but about twice as many are needed. The only qualification is to be a caring adult with a Christ-centered belief.

Gloria Visel of Winnebago is a retired businesswoman who started volunteering one night a week four years ago.

Having never worked with inner city kids, she tried to keep an open mind by having no expectations, while at the same time being willing to learn about the kids and herself.

“I have to admit I was a bit afraid, not for my safety, but because these kids are so different than ones I had worked with in the past,” says Visel. “I felt I didn’t really understand what these children needed, but I didn’t need to know, I just needed to be there and be encouraging.

“Middle-class kids are always being built up and given opportunities,” says Visel. “A lot of these kids never hear encouraging words. There’s no stability in their lives. They come from families with financial difficulties, violence, addictions, and a missing parent or two, often being passed around from one relative or friend to another. They use a lot of their personal energy just trying to survive and get through the night, so learning has been difficult for them and they find it hard to trust people.”

Visel says she knows the ministry can’t take the place of families, but it can reduce stress in the lives of the children and their families by giving them time, attention and resources, including clothing, shoes, coats, blankets and school supplies.

“Research has shown that one caring adult can make all the difference in a child’s life, just by being there and being a constant,” she says.

Lacny says, “We don’t give up on these kids and we change their lives by caring for them and showing them their value and potential and encouraging them to be the best people they can be.”

The children receive a lot, but they have to give back, too, she says. They learn to work together, help each other, and to refrain from violence.

One teenage male, who attended Rock House Kids until he graduated from high school, now has plans to go to college, and will be the first person in his family to pursue a degree.

“He told us we helped him to become an adult,” says Lacny. “He started with us when he was four years old and this was home to him.”

Rock House Kids is supported by churches, corporations, individuals and non-government grants. Other than the paid management staff, it’s run by volunteers and has steadily grown in the location where it all began.

Rock House has slowly taken over the former Midwest Scale building donated to its cause, renovating as donations have come in. Only one section of the building is yet to be developed. It will be a computer learning lab where students can do their homework, job search and develop resumes with help from tutors. Long-term goals include adding more classrooms, an activity room, an all-purpose room with basketball courts and a movie theater.

New volunteers are needed and welcome. Learn more at rockhousekids.org or by calling (815) 962-5067. ❚