OUR IMPACT
A Message From Major Dave Benson
Father of Bobby Benson and Co-Founder of the Bobby Benson Center
"My Dream for the BBC has always been to give someone else’s child the chance that Bobby did not have. I was hopeful that the center was going to provide kids like Bobby, with the supportive environment that would help them gain control and power over their own lives. I was told by friends and other professionals that Bobby would grow out of it and that he’d be ok. That wasn’t true. He died at 15 and no one should live that kind of life. I dream for these kids to acquire skills and knowledge to go out into the world and be somebody and not nobody. I dream for these kids to have bright future in school, athletics, social life, work etc. I want them to be successful. I want them to live a free and happy life. That is my dream."
OUR IMPACT
From a Former Client
The Bobby Benson Center is changing lives. Graduates of the center have gone on to accomplish amazing things. Families throughout Hawaii have been reconnected and healed through the services Bobby Benson Center has offered. Many former clients have stated that Bobby Benson Center changed their live forever
As one client recalled; his first two weeks at the Bobby Benson Center was the worst of his life. He wanted to go home and felt sick from withdrawals. After that, though, he started recovering physically, emotionally and spiritually. The Bobby Benson Center became his safe haven, and he said he felt sad and scared when it came time to leave after months of residential treatment.
“There are some lessons I gained from Bobby Benson [Center] that I can never gain anywhere else,” he said. “When I was there I had to share a cabin and room with other boys. It became a very close-knitted friendship. We were all like brothers. Having this relationship with other people who have the same problem … it’s invaluable. In fact, many times I look back at my experience at the Bobby Benson Center and I say ‘Wow, I really miss my time there.”
He said that at the Center he got three good meals a day, learned to become a good pen pal, and how to follow rules, use good manners, do chores as a team, and to wakeup early to make his bed. He said his most profound experience, though, came in the form of a caring staff member who guided him to sobriety through his Higher Power.
“Without him, I don’t think I’d be where I am now,” he said of the staff member. “My higher power has been able to help me ever since I left. I had a change of heart and a change of mind in my perspective from when I was on drugs.”
He is happy with his life now and is hopeful about his future, although he admits to still having a problem remembering to make his bed. “Bobby Benson [Center] has been the best experience I have had in my life,” he said, “One I will take to the grave with me. I’m really grateful for the experience I had at Bobby Benson [Center].”