Foster Care Home Is Purchased

The residential group home Never Too Late was purchased and the deed filed on March 15, 2016. Never Too Late’s Board of Directors purchased the Edgewood property, a former assisted living home, with a loan from the Bank of Monticello, with the personal guarantees of multiple board members.

Dr. John DeGarmo says, “This is the first major step of our dream of providing a group home for boys in foster care in Monticello, and the surrounding communities. Now, the real challenges begin.” The property will need to be renovated to make it fit the group home’s purpose, and to pass the Department of Human Services and DFCS approval, before it opens later this year. Never Too Late will be a home for up to 16 boys, ages 9-18.

The residential home will provide various forms of therapy for boys in need, as well as counseling services; teach the boys vital living and social skills, help them create a career path, and provide a loving, safe, and stable home and family environment for boys in need.

Fund raising efforts are underway to renovate the home. Many people have offered to handle the cosmetic make-up of the bedrooms, or to lend their personal labor to the effort, but the true renovation costs, estimated to be about $75,000, still need to be raised. Anyone who is interested in helping, can contact Dr. John DeGarmo at 706 318 9225, or visit the home’s website online at Never Too Late Foster Care.