The Center gave me the initial opportunity to get back on the right track, to recognize that I had some potential, and to lead a life that was aiming toward success, fulfillment, and happiness.
—Thomas Lohwasser, Alumnus
For Families
Hanna Boys Center offers many youngsters a home away from home. It is a place where hurt is turned to hope and boys make a positive difference for their future. With an average resident population of more than 100 boys, the Center nonetheless receives up to 600 inquiries each year and has strict guidelines for admission. Families are charged tuition based upon their financial situation. No boy is ever turned away for financial reasons.
Hanna Boys Center provides its students with full-time residential treatment and educational services along with health care, physical education, sports and recreational opportunities. The on-campus school is fully accredited, and some students also attend classes and sporting events at Sonoma Valley High School. Each youngster is assigned a counselor that is a trained and certified therapist who helps provide family counseling in addition to individual counseling for each boy. Parenting classes are also offered several times a year.
The boys live in homes spread across the 160-acre campus. Each house has a supervisor and live-in caregivers, providing a true home away from home for up to 12 youngsters. Meals are served in the campus dining room.
Hanna's primary social experience occurs in the cottages where residents learn to relate to male and female staff and other boys their own age. As boys grow through the program, they become more involved in outside social and scholastic activities that present healthy social interaction.