In 1954 Chessie Walker Harris and her husband, the parents of five children, determined to do something to make a better life for abandoned and neglected children, opened its doors to what we know today as the Harris Home for Children. The Harris Home was established to care for children living in inhuman circumstances in Huntsville, Alabama, at a time when no legal facility other than jail existed in the state to shelter poor, homeless black children. Chessie Harris overcame many obstacles to open the Harris
Home. Since then, thousands of needy children have been sheltered, fed, clothed, loved,
nurtured, and educated during the past 54 years Today, with an annual budget of more than half a million dollars, Harris Home serves children from all over Alabama. Chessie Harris met God's challenge to serve humanity with energy and compassion and today it is still providing services through her vision and mission.
Today the Mission Statement of the Harris Home has been expanded to provide foster care, therapeutic, and educational services to help the children of Alabama achieve their maximum potential. It is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) agency licensed by the Alabama Department of Human Resource as a foster care institution and child placement agency. The Harris Home provides full-time foster care for neglected and dependent adolescent males and females.
The dedicated staff of administrators, social workers, childcare workers, and support personnel carries out services designed to meet each individual child's needs. These needs are met through various programs at Harris Home for Children. residential programs offer full-time treatment services for adolescents with mental, emotional, and behavioral issues that can be managed in an open setting. All residents are provided the opportunity to learn how to replace negative behaviors with appropriate self-discipline behaviors through a variety of services and skills training: Basic Living Skills Training,...