Kids at Hope Remains Youth Ranch in Spartanburg face some startling challenges: A boy cuts himself to relieve anger over his father’s death; a girl bullies her sister because she is bullied herself at school; others face similar anger issues rooted in abuse or divorce.
Hope Remains Youth Ranch uses “equine assisted therapy” to help children and youth work through problems.For missionary and Hope Remains founder Melanie Watt, the ultimate answer is the hope found in Christ. But she helps the children and youth reach that point by introducing them first to the horse – “massive animals,” as she describes them, “with a huge, gentle heart.”
“Something occurs between the horse and that child, and they relax,” she said. “It’s a calming effect. – And then they just start sharing their heart.”
Watt has a long history working with at-risk children. She served many years as a special education schoolteacher, which led to involvement in Crossroads – a program for at-risk teens. But what she describes as a “holy discontent” ultimately led her to combine her loves for Christ, children and horses.
As a Mission Service Corps missionary, she raises her own financial support, but benefits from endorsement and other ministry help provided through the North American Mission Board.
“This is something I’ve wanted to do since I was 12 years old,” Watt said. “I never knew that it was going to turn into this ministry.”
The need is borne out by the numbers, she said. In South Carolina, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for ages 12-15, she said, and the dropout rate is 52 percent. On a national level, every 11 seconds a child is abused.
Kids come to Hope Remains on the recommendation of schools, churches and other referral sources. When they arrive for a session, they separate into groups – some working with horses, some doing farm chores, and others participating in counseling sessions, life-skills classes, anger-management classes, etc.
Hope Remains partners with Grace Point Ministries to provide a comprehensive therapy program.
“This is such a great setting because it allows them that freedom to become real, to be able to be in an enjoyable environment, and to be focused on some things that are not just about them,” said counselor Rob Nelson.
But it’s the “equine-assisted therapy,” as it’s called, that the ranch is known for.
Volunteer David Kite said horses – like the Hope Remains clients – are looking for leadership. And that helps them form close bonds with their caregivers.
“They will link up,” he said. “The horses know who’s afraid of them. They can sense it; they can feel it. And so I want the kids to learn how to be relaxed.”
Watt said horses mirror their handlers’ emotions, providing an immediate incentive for the kids to lay aside whatever issues they have and focus on the horse.
“When you walk into the area, horses can pick up your heartbeat, and they immediately pick up whatever your demeanor is – whether you’ve had a good day or a bad day,” she said.
The horses break down the “wall of anger” that many of the kids have developed. “The abuse, the neglect – for that moment, the kids sort of forget,” she said.
It then becomes easier for the staff and counselors to help the children work through their problems and discover the hope of Christ.
“I want them to find hope in Jesus Christ; that’s the only reason we’re here,” said Watt. “Because if they find hope, if they know that there is a Heavenly Father, there is a father who will not abuse them, will not treat them badly, will love them regardless of the mistakes they’ve made, will forgive them … then that makes all the difference in the world.”
(View the video version of this story at www.essentials.tv/horsepower. Learn more about Hope Remains Youth Ranch at www.hoperemains.org.)
– Dotson is a writer for the North American Mission Board.