Youth Center Set to Open in Downtown Toledo – the Homie House

By Brian Bahouth

On the evening of October 4, the Homie House youth center will officially open in downtown Toledo with a street party. Homie House will be in an old store front on main street and provide a safe and centrally-located place where  young adults aged 14 to 21 can find long-term mentoring and a sense of community. 

DeeAnne Barnhart is a graduation coach for the Lincoln County School District at Toledo Junior/Senior high school. She is also the mother of 4 children and secretary of the Homie House nonprofit. 

“Our executive director, Tyler Watkins, this was a dream of his,” Barnhart said over the phone. “We actually all worked together, me and him and a couple of other people on the board, and he brought his dream to us. 

“A lot of us work with the youth in our community, and we see the need. Some kids are missed because, like with sports, you have to have a certain grade point average, and you have to meet all these standards. Some kids just slip through. 

“And so the need for a place that, no matter your grades, no matter all those things that can set you apart, they don’t matter. You can show up and be part of our Homie House and just have that encouragement and consistency and the opportunity to change their course and give them hope.”

Barnhart says she learned a lesson from helping students recover credits for failed classes. In her 10 years at the Toledo Junior/Senior high, students’ notions of failure, in part, create the need for Homie House.

“When they feel like they can’t be a part of something, there’s a little bit of a hopelessness that they just feel like they can’t ever find success. That’s where the Homie House comes in. 

“Our mission is to just make sure that these kids have a safe place that they can come and that they have wraparound support that, it’ll be stability. We want to make sure that they know that you might not fit in this area, but you fit in with us. We just wanted them to know that this right now is just a moment that isn’t going to set the pace for the rest of their life, that they can find a path that’s going to be successful in their own way.”

The foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is made up of needs like clean air and physical safety, but to become a self-actualizing adult, according to Maslow, an awareness of love and belonging is essential. Barnhart says a sense of connection is more than just making a sports team or being on the honor roll for a developing person, no matter their sense of personal accomplishment.

“It comes down to just feeling like you have a purpose and that you are loved and cared for and that you’re seen. I think a lot of kids sometimes don’t feel seen, and so that’s our mission. Every kid, no matter if you’re a 4.0 or if you don’t have great grades, no matter what your dynamic is, that you are welcome and that we want to love you up and build a foundation of strength and hope and courage and help them to find a good path.”

Barnhart is quick to say that every child is different and not meant for college or the trades or the military. Effective mentorship requires carful and empathetic listening. Helping students define success informs and affirms their decisions.

“Success isn’t like something that you can just put in a box,” Barnhart explains. “I think that that’s huge for kids to know that success is what comes from within your heart and from your goals, and knowing that we believe in them is huge. 

“A lot of kids don’t have that aspect of believing in themselves. And I just hope that that’s one thing that the Homie House can instill is that they could believe in themselves and they can do whatever they want as long as they put their mind to it.”

Homie House provided the following video.