OKLAHOMA
Dedicated to children
Children go through a lot in todays society. Peer pressure, outside influences and troubles at home can sometimes lead a child in a direction that might not be in his or her best interest. In these situations, its nice to have someone for them to turn to who can take them in, give advice and help guide them in the right direction. For two decades, that person in Stephens County has been Kathi Van Doozer.
Van Doozer grew up in Lawton and moved to Duncan when she was 24. She got into a job placement program and eventually ended up at the Emergency Childrens Shelter in Duncan. I went through a training program through DHS, and I took a part-time job immediately. The rest is history.
Van Doozer recently celebrated 20 years of service as a youth guidance counselor at the shelter. She is a certified child care worker in the state of Oklahoma and is a recipient of the Carmel Bland Award for her dedication to children in the shelter. She has touched the lives of countless children in her span as a youth counselor and, in some instances, the children of those children have come to know Van Doozer as someone they can trust, as well.
Barbra Greene-Davis is the director of the Youth Shelter in Duncan. She has been able to help not only one generation of children, but in a lot of instances, the next generation, as well. She has the unique experience of caring for generations of these kids, Greene-Davis said.
Greene-Davis has worked with Van Doozer for more than 12 years at the shelter and had the honor of being mentored by the 20-year veteran. She taught me how the system works and how it doesnt, Greene-Davis said. Shes an excellent youth guidance worker.
The shelter has an average of 200 children come through every month, so Van Doozer has literally seen thousands of children in her tenure at the shelter. She occasionally comes across some of her children from the past. One she remembers very well is living in Glendale, Ariz., and has a family of his own now. He is 38 now and was an honor guard for the president, Van Doozer said. You never know who the next president is going to be, you just never know with these kids.
Van Doozer even sees some of the children shes helped while at local stores. One of them saw me, and said, Youre Kathi, right? and then leaned over to who he was with, and told her, She used to take care of me, Van Doozer said. It was really sweet. She said she has a lot of fun with the job and that the children are amazing, and very resilient.
On top of caring for the children at the shelter, Van Doozer has raised two children of her own: a 21-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son. She said that they have grown up in the same environment that the children in the shelter are exposed to while theyre there. They would come with us on trips and would even come to work with me, Van Doozer said.
However, the job of a youth guidance counselor isnt always fun, It comes with its serious moments, as well. You see a lot of tragedy come through that door, Van Doozer said. She said people ask her how she can work in a place like that, but she just smiled and said, Theres always another child coming through that door thats going to need your help. Its a never-ending job.
Nonetheless, she said she loves her job and said that she does it because she loves it. Its not about the money.
She can look at a 5-year-old and know what they could be 15 years later, Greene-Davis said. All the kids want to be with her, and all the parents want her to work with their children. Shes a wonderful person, a wonderful woman.
Van Doozer plans to continue to impact children who come through the shelter for years to come. She has cared for many kids, and can call a lot of them part of her own family. She has seen a lot of tragedy in her years with the shelter, but said that the hope and success she brings to the children is fulfilling.
Its a humbling job, but Im glad to have it.
Kevin Kerr
8 September 2009
http://www.duncanbanner.com/local/local_story_251092937.html
