Doing Good – A Home for At-Risk Youth

The Arnette House saved my life, one client, who we’ll call Sarah, said last summer.
Sarah met another girl at the youth shelter who became her best friend. The two are continuing to support each other as they did while they were there. Today, Sarah has completed school and a vocational training program, enjoys a great job and is raising her son.
The Arnette House has been providing housing and recovery services for at-risk youth for nearly 45 years, since the Arnette family founded the charity in 1982.
“The Arnette family experienced a tragic loss when their son, Gary, died of a drug overdose,” says Chief Executive Officer Cheri Pettitt. “His death was especially devastating because they thought they were beginning to see the light after he had been drug-free for a significant period of time.”
Gary had struggled with substance abuse for many years, despite his family’s many attempts to help him. In response to his death, his parents, Sara and Vernon Arnette, decided to offer a safe place where youth in the community could receive help. With assistance from the Marion County Mental Health Association, the Arnette House nonprofit was founded.

In the beginning, volunteers would take turns spending nights with the first few clients. Now, the charity boasts 53 employees. The Arnette House has grown into a three-building complex that sits on 4.8 acres in Northeast Ocala and provides programs and services to Marion, Citrus, Lake, Hernando and Sumter counties. The 501(c)(3) that started with just two bedrooms now includes an emergency shelter, a counseling facility, an educational center and two foster care group homes.
“Our purpose is still to provide a safe place for at-risk youth in our community,” says Petitt, who went to school with members of the Arnette family. “What that means is, if a child is a runaway or homeless, we will provide a safe place, nutritional food, clothing, hygiene products, etc., while we work to bring their family back together.”
The emergency temporary shelter program of the Arnette House can accommodate up to 20 children who are between the ages of 10 and 17 and are runaways, abandoned, homeless, truant, have been locked out of their home or are experiencing parent/child conflict.
The residential group homes are for youth ages 13 to 17 who are in foster care and are in need of long-term placement or who are about to age out of the foster care system.
The agency offers community counseling services for those ages 6 to 17.
The Stop Now And Plan (SNAP) program gives strategies to increase pro-social skills for children ages 6 to 11 who are engaging in aggressive, anti-social behavior and/or have come into contact with authority figures in school or in the community.
The Arnette House also offers behavioral counseling, family reunification services and case management and substance abuse prevention services.
“Arnette House steps in where others may not, creating hope and opportunity where it’s needed most,” offers Dr. Kelly Scott, president of Arnette House and a board member since 2015.
Through the Resident Services program alone, Arnette House serves approximately 360 children each year.

“Ninety-six percent of our shelter clients were discharged to their homes and 96 percent were living at home at a 60-day follow-up,” Pettitt notes of the success rates. “Ninety-six percent were regularly attending school 60 days following discharge. Following community counseling, 81 percent of our clients increased their academic performance, 81 percent decreased their disciplinary referrals and 96 percent increased their attendance.”  
“The critical services provided, from counseling and education to life skills training, are vital in breaking the cycle of hardship, empowering youth to envision and achieve a brighter future while strengthening families and, by extension, the entire community,” Scott adds.
Arnette House receives funding from state contracts with the Department of Children and Families, which funds the emergency shelter and long-term group homes, and the Department of Juvenile Justice, which provides funds for youth who are runaways, truant, or ungovernable, Pettitt says. United Way of Marion County provides another key component of Arnette House’s funding, as do private and community donors.
Some upcoming fundraisers for the Arnette House include a Greater Ocala Women’s Club charity golf tournament on March 7th at the Ocala Golf Club and the Ocala Business Leaders mac and cheese cookout called The Big Cheese on March 8th.
The community has also traditionally supported Arnette House by sending volunteer groups who have organized workout classes, art classes and pizza and ice cream parties.
“If you cannot donate your time,” Pettitt says, “we always need donations such as hygiene items, gently used clothing suitable for teenagers and recreational goods… [and] by spreading the word in the community.”