There is a lot more going on under the surface at the Geauga Youth Center than is apparent from the residential treatment facility’s entrance on Aquilla Road.
There is a lot more going on under the surface at the Geauga Youth Center than is apparent from the residential treatment facility’s entrance on Aquilla Road.
Every year, a garden in the sunny backyard of the center, tended by the teens living and learning there, yields fresh and nutritious tomatoes, green beans and other summer vegetables for their dinner table.
This year, the garden was planted by Leadership Geauga alumni on May 10, as their contribution on LG’s annual day of service.
The raised-bed garden, including a border of marigolds to discourage rabbits, nurtures the residents in other ways, said Natalie Smith, a 2024 LG alumna and vice president of critical services at Ravenwood Health, which operates the GYC in Claridon Township.
The center — which is funded by Geauga County Job and Family Services, the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services, Geauga County Commissioners and the Children and Family First Council — takes a family-centered approach to therapy.
Its mission is to help youth and their families move toward reunification, according to LG’s website.
Residents receive intensive counseling, academic support in small group settings and are encouraged to engage in prosocial activities to support long-term success, according to LG.
Smith, interviewed at GYA on May 10, said the garden fits right in with the center’s mission, broadening teenagers’ awareness.
“It gives the residents a new skill set. They learn about the importance of being with the earth and nature,” she said.
Working outside, taking care of the young plants, seeing them blossom, grow and ripen, then harvesting the yield and learning how to turn tomatoes and green beans into delicious meals is all part of the program’s wellness curriculum, Smith said.
The residential treatment center includes Geauga County’s alternative high school. The high school program is operated by and staffed by the Education Services Center of the Western Reserve for children ages 14 through 17.
“They come here for a number of reasons,” Smith said. “Sometimes, their families are struggling and ask for help, but most kids come in through Geauga County Jobs and Family Services or through the juvenile court system.”
They have suffered some kind of trauma in their young lives or have behavioral issues and need time away from home to recover and work their way back to their families and into the mainstream of society, she said.
While living and working with the center staff for six to nine months, the teens often form friendships with other residents and adults there, Smith said, adding there are usually no more than nine Geauga County residents in the nine-bedroom facility.
“It’s a real home-like atmosphere,” she said. “The residents become very close with the staff here.”
As with the plants in the garden they tend, the teens can develop strong roots to anchor them while they mature and move on in life, she added.
“The idea of a garden for our residents extends past just food and production of food — it teaches them life skills, responsibility, growth, care — they can work on and harness while they’re here, which is going to strengthen them for their homes and families,” said Ian Dewalt, clinical coordinator at Ravenwood Health, who helped coordinate the planting project with LG.
Abates Florist, Greenhouses and Landscaping, Burton Floral and Garden and Urban Growers Garden Center donated plants for the project. Tim Kehres, program manager of Torchlight, a child mentoring program and a member of the CFFC, was also involved.
LG’s day of service expanded across the county on May 10.
Earlier that Saturday, teams of the LG class of 2025 completed various improvement projects at four different locations in the county, including painting, landscaping, cleaning, assembling shelving units, organizing furniture, and repairing walls and baseboards at four separate locations of Maple Leaf Community Residences, Inc., according to the LG website.
The article on the website noted the day of service not only provided much-needed support for two vital community organizations, but also allowed LG alumni and current participants to embody the values of servant leadership.
From wielding paint brushes to planting tomatoes, their work left a meaningful mark on the Geauga community — one that will continue to grow and flourish well beyond a single day.
