By Jonathan Barnes

What began as the last wish of a benefactor has been for half a century the starting point for the fulfillment of dreams of thousands of children.

Auberle, a McKeesport nonprofit social service agency offering treatment and intervention services for at-risk children and their families, is celebrating its golden anniversary.

It serves more than 400 children and more than 200 families daily.

The 50th anniversary gala Saturday at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association will honor UPMC McKeesport President and CEO Ronald H. Ott for his contribution to the health and well-being of Auberle children.

Sixty percent of proceeds from ticket sales will go to help the organization's mission.

The Auberle story began in 1900, when McKeesport resident Pauline Auberle died and left money and 17 acres of land to the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to build a home for orphaned and neglected children.

Fifty-two years later, Auberle Home finally was built and opened at 1101 Hartman St., McKeesport, on land Pauline Auberle willed to the diocese.

Although the organization remains affiliated with the diocese, it is a separate entity that brings a holistic approach to helping children and families through crisis periods in their lives.

"We help them to move from crisis to stability, and from there, we help them to achieve their goals," Auberle CEO Jerry Cozewith said. "Our job, through therapy and a lot of love and discipline, is to help [children] relearn appropriate interaction with another human being."

Since 1952, Auberle has been one of the few family-focused residential treatment programs in the area, and one of the first of seven family preservation programs in the state.

It provides services including residential care, group home care, independent living, family preservation services, mental health care, foster care, community outreach and education programs.

Administrator Arnie Levine, a five-year employee, said staff commitment to the home's mission has been a great benefit. "You can see these kids changing right in front of you."

Auberle has broadened its mission over the years, moving from a home for neglected adolescent boys in the mid-1980s to meeting new needs of the community.

Under its first lay executive director, Raymond Niedenberger, the organization's services expanded to the Auberle Shelter Program for boys and girls ages 7 to 12 needing to be removed from their families because of neglect, abuse, behavioral difficulties or safety issues.

The Family Preservation Program was started in July 1989 to help strengthen families in danger of being separated due to domestic violence or neglect. But Auberle is no orphanage; its family-based services are designed to reunite families and return children to their homes.

A girls group home in Mount Pleasant was opened in April 1990 to meet the needs of troubled teenage girls, and group homes for young men also have been opened in McKeesport.

Administrator Lisa Galie, keeping an eye on several kids working in Auberle's Program Center, which serves as a snack bar/community area, mentioned how the work teaches the children responsibility and helps them earn spending money.

Such life lessons take hold with the children, she said, adding that many return to visit long after leaving.

One 17-year-old said he would recommend the place to anyone, and had it recommended to him by a couple of friends. "It's kind of like giving you more responsibility to work within the community."

Such understanding and growth in the kids is part of what motivates Galie and Levine.

One of Auberle's most important goals is simply spreading the word about children and families in need, Cozewith said.

"Our community needs to be invested in the possibility of people turning their lives around."