Auberle reaches its next GOAL with expansion

by: Patricia Bartos
Pittsburgh Catholic
May 9, 2008

“Goal” is a golden word at Auberle in McKeesport.

The agency teaches children from troubled homes to set goals, to make and pursue detailed plans along the way, and teaches them the skills to achieve those goals.

It’s a practical yet loving philosophy Auberle has practiced throughout its 55-year history of working with neglected and abused children and families.

GOAL has a second meaning, standing for the agency’s intensive Group-Oriented Adolescent Living program, which provides boys ages 15-18 with community living arrangements where they can focus on developing life skills, such as education, social skills, career planning and family therapy.

That program gained new status April 25 when Auberle dedicated a sleek new red-brick building on its grounds specifically for the GOAL program. Bishop David Zubik officiated at the ceremony with John Lydon, Auberle’s CEO.

The agency, the bishop said, “is a mission of the heart driven by Gospel values.”

The $2-million building will provide 24 single rooms for the boys as part of Auberle’s GOAL, or Male Community-Based Living Program, providing a less restrictive environment for them as they prepare for adulthood.

GOAL began with eight boys and quickly grew. “We’ve been at 100 percent capacity from the beginning,” Lydon said. “We teach them the goals and plans to drive success.”

The building represents the best and most modern thinking in housing boys, Lydon said. He and other officials traveled to other facilities to study their arrangements and incorporated those ideas. They invited McKeesport government officials to visit and discuss the plans.

They also sought ideas from staff — and the boys themselves. The youths chose the colors of the walls and the carpeting for their new home.

Auberle’s GOAL building is a long one-story structure — where staff can easily see the entire length — featuring skylights, small individual bedrooms for each boy, a dining area incorporating booths, just like in restaurants, to encourage social bonding, and a computer room.

The bathrooms, rather than the old dormitory style, are fashioned into separate shower and dressing areas.

Everything is aimed at giving the boys the training and space to plan for their futures.

“We want them to leave as successful citizens of the community,” Lydon said. “We have expectations for our kids and do whatever it takes to deliver on them.”

Vince Locher, chairman of Auberle’s board, praised the “support and passion” of state Sen. Jane Orie, who obtained a $400,000 grant for the building from the state, the first capital budget appropriation in Auberle history. He also credited the Richard King Mellon Foundation for its help.

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato praised the work of the county’s Department of Human Services.

“Kids’ needs today are totally different from 20 years ago,” he said. “We have to be willing to help a lot of good kids in tough situations.”

And he credited Auberle. “Catholic faith-based programs seem to produce a great product. I thank the church for being a great partner.”

Orie praised the efforts of the “countless heroes here today” at the dedication. “This really is a safety net providing life-long opportunities for our children.”

She referred to her background as a prosecutor. “You can imagine what I’ve seen when kids don’t have the opportunities that Auberle provides.”

As Bishop Zubik greeted volunteers, neighbors and staff at the dedication, he saw that, “you all spoke in terms of years of commitment, with a passion that truly shows the love of Jesus.”

He committed himself and the diocese “to joining with you in this important work of giving people a future they would not have otherwise.”

The Massaro Corp. built the structure, but didn’t end there, Lydon said, praising the family for “going above and beyond the call” for Auberle.

The work is not yet done. Auberle will have the boys help to lay concrete this summer, part of never-ending efforts to teach them practical skills for life.

“We will teach them to pour concrete for the sidewalks and we’ll pay them, to teach them the skills and a work ethic,” Lydon said.

They also learn landscaping and will help with the new retaining-fishing pond Auberle plans on its grounds.

Auberle’s Catholic heritage dates to 1950, when Pauline Auberle donated the grounds to the diocesan bishop.

Two years later, the agency began working with abused, neglected and troubled children and families from throughout the area with the goal of preserving and reuniting families and preparing children for adulthood.

Today, through seven sites, Auberle provides residential care, foster care, emergency shelter, in-home intervention and educational programs, and also uses community drug and alcohol treatment and mental health programs. It serves children from age 7-18.