COMPASS Program
Meet Xenel Bruce, a former COMPASS youth!
Our lives tell a story. And if we are still breathing, our story is still being written. In our early years as children our stories are being written for us. We are meant to be loved, nurtured, protected, guided, taught, and disciplined so that eventually we can be handed the pen to finish writing our own story. Tragically, there are children, at the most vulnerable and innocent times of their lives, who experience a story filled with neglect, trauma, and abuse. These children are left with unimaginable challenges and need love, care, support, and an opportunity to make sure that their stories have a better ending. That is why the work we do here at Drumm Farm is so important. Xenel, who recently graduated from our COMPASS Program, is now writing his own story. However, the pen wasn’t handed to him. He had to take it.
Xenel is one of seven children and with his older siblings out of the house and his mother struggling with alcohol addiction, he was left with the responsibility of caring for his two younger siblings at the age of 11. Every day Xenel had to find ways to make sure that they were all fed and that they were safe, a massive responsibility for such a young child. Eventually, they found themselves sleeping in a stairwell in a parking garage near the Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City, MO. and Xenel was faced with the decision to call Child Services on behalf of himself and his two younger siblings. This was not an easy decision, because he was afraid that his mother would feel as if he didn’t love her.
Xenel and his younger siblings were placed in foster care and ended up here at Drumm Farm in our HOME Program. After some time, healing, and treatment, they were reunited with their mother and moved to St. Louis, MO. While in St. Louis the kids were never enrolled in school and it didn’t take long for them to find themselves in familiar circumstances. They ended up moving back to Kansas City and Xenel and his siblings were back in the foster care system.
Through strength and grit, and despite what he and his siblings had been through, Xenel would go on and graduate from Truman High School in Independence, MO. He would eventually advocate for himself to enter our COMPASS Program. What he received from the COMPASS Program was an opportunity to work on our farm, therapy, healing, support, stability, and a community of people who relentlessly fought for him. He completed the program in January of this year and Xenel is now thriving! He purchased his own car, moved into his own apartment, and has become a certified Diesel Mechanic and works at Travel Centers of America. Samantha Jones, our Deputy Director of Programs said of Xenel, “Nobody would be mad at Xenel, if he became a product of his environment.” and he, “deserves all of the good things.” Amanda Daniels, Xenel’s Case Manager described him with one word, “resilient”.
Xenel took the pen and decided to write the rest of his own story, and we can’t wait to see what he does with it. He is among so many youths in our community who need what Drumm Farm Center for Children has to offer. It is because of an amazing staff and financial support from donors and partners that these types of stories can be written.