Shelterwood

The Shelterwood Story

"Shelterwood" is a forestry technique whereby certain trees, which cannot tolerate the intensity of the sun, are sheltered on the forest floor by older, more mature trees until they can stand and grow on their own. In the same way, Shelterwood provides a place where teens can be sheltered from the intensity of their adolescence while breaking down barriers within the family so that they can be reunited in a new atmosphere in the home.

Our ministry began caring for teens in 1980 when Richard Beach, founder of Doulos Ministries, was approached by a father looking for help for his daughter. At the time, Richard was mentoring a number of recent college graduates and felt that he could be of some service. One of the students volunteered to mentor the young girl and another person who had been recently trained as a therapist offered to provide counseling. Seeing his family restored, the father encouraged Richard to reach out to other families and continue to provide a home for struggling teens.

Over 30 years later, Shelterwood is still on course, having served over a thousand families. We have recently moved operations from Branson, MO to a beautiful new facility on 200 acres near the Missouri River Basin of Independence, MO. A non-profit, faith-based organization, Shelterwood is also licensed as a Residential Child Care Facility (RCCF) through Missouri State's Division of Family Services.

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