Abuse and betrayal often brought 17-year-old Katrina Riettie to tears during the trying years of her childhood. But after “praying to just go to heaven”, Katrina says she found her savior right here in Central Florida with House of Hope founder, Sara Trollinger. House of Hope is a faith-based charity, and while they refer to themselves as “a home for healing teens,” the campus is run by a village of counselors, teachers, mentors, and faith leaders.

Abandoned by her birth mother at just two years of age, Katrina spent several years with her godparents with frequent visits from the Department of Children and Family Services. She entered the foster care system and was adopted at the age of 9 years. Yet, she didn’t quite find the happy home that she’d longed for. After her adoptive parents divorced, deep-rooted issues of abandonment resurfaced for Katrina, leading her to adopt some alarming, risky choices such as smoking, drinking, and cutting; the latter, a self-mutilating coping mechanism. Though initially required to seek help at House of Hope, Katrina has now opted voluntarily to extend her stay there, even though she has completed the program. “I wasn’t living up to the standards of life, but I’ve changed,” she says.” I can feel the love of strangers pulling me through.”

With a diverse background in education, Sara Trollinger met hundreds of troubled adolescents while teaching at the Orange County Juvenile Detention Center. When she started seeing the same anguished faces return again and again, she felt compelled to start an intervention program to break the cycle. Over 25 years ago, with the help of a few friends, Sara opened the doors of House of Hope, and since then has positively impacted nearly 1,000 families. The success of her vision received national recognition in 1990 with a visit and personal donation from President Ronald Reagan, bringing public attention to the disturbing issues affecting many youth. In addition to the organization’s headquarters in Orlando Florida, the spotlight eventually helped to launch five additional sites in states across the country, including Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio, with more on the horizon.

Originally a program just for girls, both boys and girls ages 13 to 17 are now accepted at House of Hope. Sara explains that adolescent years are often a source of temptations for negative behaviors reinforced by peer pressure. These choices can impact the entire family structure. A typical rehabilitative experience for a teen includes living in a safe residence for 8 to 18 months, depending on the severity of the teen’s struggles. The teen is helped to break through challenging and personal barriers by participating in a five-phased program:

1. Initially identifying and accepting issues needing restoration.
2. Building or strengthening a relationship with God to aid improvements.
3. Maintaining a positive focus toward a healthy and spiritual future.
4. Transitioning partial time back into the external environment.
5. Graduating back to one’s restored home with continued counseling.

Sara feels that these five steps are like a triage approach to survival. “We always assume that our kids have experienced a crisis, and like EMTs, we always provide the hope for good health,” she says. “Regardless of how dead a teen might feel inside at the time, we’ll work to heal them.”

While staying on the nurturing property, girls and boys are typically separated to eliminate  distractions. Yet both attend onsite schooling, life-skills classes, and spiritual based events together. They lend a hand in the kitchen, and of course have some down time for activities like basketball or tennis.

Debbie Savoie joined the administrative staff at the Orlando headquarters this past spring, but she was already well-versed on the program’s mission and success. “I understand the pain and desperation of a parent trying to save the life a child. I’ve been there.” Debbie’s son, Steven, was initially arrested when he was just 9-years-old. Many years of drug abuse and associated struggles followed. After multiple failed attempts through other programs, she credits God and the House of Hope with saving Steven’s life. It was there that he connected with Pastor Frank Reynoso, who had also led a destructive life of crime and drugs before finding strength in his faith. Now, Debbie is committed to helping other families in need of rebuilding their lives through the efforts of a supportive environment enriched by ministry.

House of Hope relies on contributions to absorb the costs to families by hosting a fundraising dinner, fashion show, and golf tournament. Typically, guardians pay only about 23% of the programs cost with the remainder offset by donations. But no family is turned away because of financial burdens. Parents are required to be involved to help restore the complete family unit and benefit from weekly parenting courses that focus on anger management, parental inversion, and other types of training. The Orlando branch of House of Hope hosts about 30 teenagers but, unfortunately, there is a waiting list.

Having overcome “intense stuff that only the Lord can restore,” Katrina is now mentoring new residents of House of Hope. She has future plans to enroll at UCF’s Rosen School of Hospitality. Sara and Debbie believe that Katrina is well suited for a career in hospitality and are thrilled with her transformation.  To learn how to help troubled children benefit from this program, visit HouseOfHopeOrlando.org.