Our mission is to serve neglected, abused, or at-risk boys, ages 12-18, in State custody by offering a home-like environment with a balance of safety, structure, encouragement, care and expectations. Our mission continues in advocating for each resident that they be given the opportunity to recover from the adverse situation and become successful young adults.
Value Statements
- Provide a safe and caring environment
- Focus on the strengths and assets of each youth
- Deliver services that embrace diversity and build up the youth
- Offer confidential therapies that help overcome their traumas
- Provide positive interactions with the community
- Utilize the most innovative methods and technologies in our training
- Emphasize team-work principles with our youth and our staff
The residents that we serve include children who have a long history of dependency and neglect, emotional issues, substance abuse issues, unruly and delinquent behavior, and physical and emotional abuse. We strive to successfully treat children who present challenging behaviors. Our history proves that we will accept that challenge and demonstrate a “do whatever it takes” attitude to support each child appropriate for our licensure and resources.
History
My Friend’s House (MFH) is a group home for teen boys that began as Williamson County Youth, Inc. (WCY) at its inception. It was the brainchild of Judge Jane Franks, after a young girl came before her on the bench and had no safe environment in which to go home. Judge Franks took her home as the first emergency placement in the county. WCY was chartered in November 1982, and after six years of fundraising, WCY began operations when it purchased a little blue house on Jennings Street. The first residents were a mix of teenage boys and girls. It didn't take long to realize a gender-specific operation would run more smoothly.
In 1992, WCY purchased a larger facility on a large 1+ acre lot located at 626 Eastview Circle in downtown Franklin. Six years later in 1998, WCY officially became a residential group home. But because of a class-action lawsuit against the State of Tennessee, the State was forced to regulate the numbers of residents in such homes based on their staff size.
A name-change took place in 2008 and Williamson County Youth, Inc. was changed to My Friend’s House Family and Children Services, Inc. The switch to My Friend’s House (MFH) was done in large part to help ease the stigma the boys experienced referring to their stay in a group home. Being able to say they were staying at ‘my friend’s house’ didn’t raise as many questions or eyebrows from their peers.
Big changes occurred again in 2019, as ground was broken and a beautiful new home was built and moved into November of that year. The 5,000+ square foot home was built behind the original house and is where the boys now reside. The original house was demolished leaving a large front yard.
The ultimate goal and purpose of My Friend’s House is to reunite the residents with their families when possible. When reunification is not an option, MFH works collaboratively with the Department of Children’s Services to make every effort to find the best possible solution for the youth’s future, to include transitional living, foster or adoptive home or kinship placement.
