Nice to meet ya: Steve Fournier

Hopeless, nowhere to turn. Abused and forgotten. Unspeakable situations. How can anyone help me? That is the life of a lot of forgotten youth. But back in 1973 Rosemary Burke and Charlie Campise had an idea to help.

Somehow, they thought in the hands of the right caring people and the right environment there was a chance to offer hope to hopeless youth. The Pathfinder’s Ranch was where it started and the Burke Center in Driftwood was born to offer hope to boys in the state of Texas who need it most.

“They thought that was needed for the teenage boy, because, babies are taken care of, girls are taken care of, but who takes care of the boys? They're kicked down the street to fend for themselves, but they (Burke and Campise) knew that wasn't true. So that was their goal. From then till now, we've been dealing with 11 to 17 year old boys for almost 50 years,” said Steve Fournier, Executive Director of the Burke Center for Youth.

There are 21 boys at any one time staying as full time residents at the Burke Center. “We have five therapists that help getting treatment for any kind of an issue that they have, because most of them are emotionally or physically abused.”

The boys are not only given therapy in a sheltered environment, there are positive male role models that are volunteers from the community. “I have well over 200 volunteers,” Fournier said.

The center is also a charter school, which offers equine therapy with opportunities in learning Spanish, guitar, woodshop, welding, auto repair, fly fishing, cooking, crossfit and a wide range of extracurricular activities.

“We have a man for every single boy from different churches in town that are mentors for them while they're here. I think almost 80% of these kids or more don’t have a male role model in their lives. Or if there is one, it's not a good one.”

One big opportunity is learning construction from volunteer masons, electricians, plumbers and others in the construction of the new $3 million dormitory, saving a huge amount in construction costs.

“(It) was built on donations from the community, and everybody who worked on that donated their time. The cost of the building was less than half the cost, it was only for materials because the electrician, architects, the actual contractor stonemasons, everybody volunteered their time. It was amazing. They did everything out here.” Each resident will have a separate bedroom.

Still in the construction mode, there are five different projects going on at the campus, including a greenhouse where aquaponics and hydroponics will be learned, a barn and a swimming pool.

Executive Director Steve Fournier is a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel and fighter pilot, a veteran of Desert Storm and other conflicts. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

He and his wife, pediatrician Jacqueline Fournier, have four children, all of them either graduated or out on their own. Having grown up in a small town in Michigan, life in Central Texas was a given.

“I moved here in, ’09, retired out here, and so I was out here volunteering and their executive director was let go, and they were looking for someone that they knew. And they knew that was my background,” he continued. “They needed me and I volunteered to come do it, and five and a half years later,” he said. “I usually go where I'm needed. And I was here.”

Helping the young with all sorts of abuse and problems that most have no concept of is one way to help the young boys to recover in a safe and stable environment. Fournier helps to “promote healing and inspire hope because every child deserves a safe place to grow,” as the Burke Centers website states.

For more information on the Burke Center and their programs, visit burkecenterforyouth.org.