Starr Commonwealth Today and Yesterday
Currently in the news is the humanitarian effort that Starr Commonwealth was called upon to embark on in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Elizabeth Carey, President and CEO of Starr Commonwealth addresses Albion City Council on Monday, April 19, 2021 about the immigrant children that are being taken care of at the Starr Commonwealth Campus. She is joined by the Public Information Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services who shares information about the program including its duration. The goal is to reunite the children with family members.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Mary Ann Sabo
Starr Commonwealth Communications
Email: sabom@starr.org
Phone: 616.485.432
Starr Commonwealth Partners with U.S. Federal Government to Provide Safe Haven, Alleviate Humanitarian Challenge at Border
Albion, Michigan, DATE – In response to an urgent request from the U.S. federal government, Starr Commonwealth is opening its Albion campus to help alleviate the developing humanitarian challenge at the southern border.
A leader in healing trauma and building resilience in children, Starr has signed a facilities agreement to allow the Administration for Children and Families to utilize its 350-acre campus as a safe haven. ACF intends to provide temporary shelter for up to 240 unaccompanied migrant children under the age of 12 as it works to unite them with their family or sponsors.
To protect the safety of the children, Starr has been asked not to share certain details about their arrival and care.
“For more than a century, our campus has served as a safe haven for children in need,” said Starr President and CEO Elizabeth Carey. “We have again been called to open our hearts and our campus as a refuge – this time to children arriving without parents or guardians at our southern border.
“When asked to help, we said yes – immediately and enthusiastically, just as our founder, Floyd Starr, would want us to do. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Albion community and beyond, with so many kind and generous organizations and people reaching out with offers of help and messages of encouragement.”
Starr has 17 cottages that can house up to 240 children and caregivers. The campus also has a gymnasium, cafeteria, school buildings, chapel, ball fields, track and a lakeside park.
ACF is providing bilingual caregivers who have a background in child welfare or development to care for the children while on the Starr campus. The organization expects each child will stay 30 days or less.
All children will be screened for COVID-19 prior to traveling to Michigan. They will also be screened for COVID again upon their arrival to campus. Those testing positive will quarantine in one of two cottages on campus so their illness does not spread.
“Our expertise in healing trauma and building resilience can truly benefit the children who will be coming to our campus,” Carey said. “Many of us have all watched the heartbreaking pictures on the nightly news of children who have been abandoned in the desert, far away from home and without their families, and wondered how we can help. Starr has safe beds, secure cottages and a campus of caring people – this is how we can, and must, help.”
Founded in 1913 as a home for runaway boys, Starr Commonwealth has grown and evolved over the decades to provide community-based programs, education and behavioral health services that create and promote universal hope, boundless love and limitless success for children. While the nonprofit ended its residential treatment program last summer, it has retained its licensing with the state of Michigan while determining the next chapter for campus.
From its headquarters in Albion, Starr blends three key focuses – healing trauma, addressing racism and encouraging positive growth – into a comprehensive model of working with youth that is unique in the nation. Unlike other agencies that focus on trauma and resilience, Starr also offers tangible tools for teachers, social workers, health care professionals and others on the front line of working with children. Many of its classes are available online.
For the second year in a row, Starr Commonwealth has been selected as one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For. For more information, visit www.starr.org.
# # #
- Why are these children coming to Starr?
We have been called to do this work, leading with courage so children can flourish. Our Albion campus has served as a refuge and haven for children for more than a century. These children need a safe place and safe beds, and we have both. We have a facilities agreement with the Administration for Children and Families to use our campus to care for these children. We’re ready to welcome these children with open arms and provide them with love, refuge and hope.
- How many children are coming?
We are preparing to welcome up to 240 boys and girls under the age of 12 to our Albion campus, which has the infrastructure to care for and support them. We will also welcome their bilingual caregivers.
- When are they arriving?
For the safety of the children and their caregivers, we are unable to share that information.
- Why is this happening so quickly?
The situation at the southern border has become more dire in the past week as more children continue to arrive without adult supervision. We received an urgent call from the U.S. federal government asking for our help to alleviate this humanitarian challenge – and we immediately said yes.
- What about the political ramifications of this move?
When children are involved, politics don’t matter. Their lives, health and safety are the top priorities. Opening our campus is not only the right thing to do, it is the only thing we can do when children are in need – we must lend a helping hand.
- How long will they be here?
Children will be cared for on our campus until they can be unified with their family or sponsors. We anticipate each child will be here no more than 30 days.
- Are more children expected?
We anticipate welcoming additional children as beds open up.
- What are the ages of these children?
These children are all under the age of 12.
- Where will they sleep?
Each child will have a bed and comfortable place to sleep in one of our residential cottages.
- Who will take care of them?
ACF will bring or hire trained staff to care for these children.
- What COVID-19 protocols will be in place?
The Starr campus abides by all federal, state and county guidelines as well as best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The children and their caregivers will be screened for COVID-19 before they travel to Michigan. They will be rescreened for COVID once they arrive. We have quarantine cottages available where children can be cared for safely without spreading illness to others.
- Will the children leave the Starr campus?
For their safety, all children will remain on the Starr campus during their stay with us.
News about Starr Commonwealth
Starr Commonwealth Partners with U.S. Federal Government to Provide Safe Haven, Alleviate Humanitarian Challenge at Border
“For more than a century, our campus has served as a safe haven for children in need,” said Starr President and CEO Elizabeth Carey. “We have again been called to open our hearts and our campus as a refuge – this time to children arriving without parents or guardians at our southern border.
“When asked to help, we said yes – immediately and enthusiastically, just as our founder, Floyd Starr, would want us to do. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Albion community and beyond, with so many kind and generous organizations and people reaching out with offers of help and messages of encouragement.”
Click below to read the whole story
Historical Marker for Starr Commonwealth, Front and Back
Excerpts from “Faith Made Visible,” a book about Floyd Starr
In 1913 an idealistic young man founded the Starr Commonwealth for Boys on a small farm west of Albion, Michigan. Although derided at the time for his conviction that “There is no such thing as a bad boy,” Floyd Starr gathered about him a growing family of problem youngsters who soon called him “Uncle Floyd.” They were to number in the thousands by the time of his death in 1980.
As Floyd Starr declared many times, the Commonwealth was his life. The story of Floyd Starr’s life is a combined biography of the founder and a historical account of his institution. In other respects, it reaches beyond one person and his achievements, for it often reflects the growth of professionalism in child care across recent decades as well as current trends in methods of treatment. (1)
"There is no such thing as a bad boy."
Pervading this work is the motto of the Starr clan which the family carried to the New World in the late 17th century – Vive en Espoir, “Live in Hope.” Amid the uncertainties of a charitable redirectional school, they were brave words for Floyd Starr and his co-workers across the past three-quarters of a century. At the outset of his lifework, Floyd Starr added another word to the family motto. Not only did he have hope for the Commonwealth, but faith as well: faith in the basic goodness of wayward young people, faith in the soundness of his principles, faith in the viability of his methods, and faith in a compassionate public for its support of his undertaking. The Starr Schools today are indeed living examples of “faith made visible.”
(1) Excerpt from the book jacket of “Faith Made Visible” the life of Floyd Starr. Copyright Starr Commonwealth. Used with permission
Posts on this site that mention Starr Commonwealth
Starr Commonwealth
The gateway at Starr has a plaque that describes the ongoing mission of Starr Commonwealth.
“The Unfinished Work”
Starr Commonwealth 100 Year Anniversary – by Frank Passic
Morning Star, February 24, 2012, pg. 16 One of Albion’s most revered institutions will be celebrating a very big anniversary later this year. It was
Starr CEO Elizabeth Carey honored with first Dr. Sheryl Mitchell Servant Leadership Award
By MICHELLE MUELLER Contributing Writer ©The Recorder February 13, 2020 This is the story of two awesome women with strong ties to the Albion community.
The Art of Resilience – by Calhoun County Students
The Art of Resilience exhibition was created by students from public schools in Calhoun County Michigan, who had an opportunity to work with adult artists
Ways to Build Resilience in Albion
The greater Albion area has undergone a series of transformations over the last two generations or more. Most often the changes stem from the loss
The Morning Parade – Festival 2018
The morning of Saturday, September 22, 2018 was clear and cool, a welcome change from the previous weekend that was warm and sticky. The turn
More posts on this site that mention Starr Commonwealth
Show Me the Way – 4-H Creative and Expressive Group Performance AMRCP Cookout
Starr Commonwealth is a sponsor of AlbionMich.net and the General Guide.
See the sponsors page by clicking here.
