Newby Legacy House opens for displaced and homeless boys
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 16, 2017 1:45 AM
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Pictured is one of the two bedrooms in The Newby Legacy House that residents will stay in. Each boy will have a twin bed and each room has a dresser and a closet for storage.
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The Coles family sings at the beginning of the Newby Legacy House Dedication ceremony Friday.
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D.J. Coles, right, of the 4 Day Movement, welcomes attendees to the dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting ceremony for The Newby Legacy House for homeless and displaced teenage boys on Friday.
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DJ Coles of the 4 Day Movement introduces Steve Newby, at bottom, who donated the house that is The Newby Legacy House for homeless and displaced teen boys Friday at the dedication ceremony.
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Steve Newby speaks during the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for The Newby Legacy House Friday. Newby donated the property that was remodeled into a place to stay for homeless and displaced teen boys in the area and plans to donate another home next year that will be for girls
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People celebrate as the he ribbon is cut to open The Newby Legacy House Friday morning.
A "soft landing house" for displaced and homeless teenage boys has opened in Goldsboro, with plans to replicate the idea for their female counterparts in the future.
A ceremony to dedicate the pilot program was held Friday, hosted by the 4-Day Movement, which will oversee the daily operations.
"It's going to serve teenage boys and young men from ages 14 to 23 -- for those young men who have fallen through the cracks many times," said D.J. Coles, founder and CEO of the 4-Day Movement. "We're working to get them through high school and college."
The Newby Legacy House is named after Steven Newby and family. Newby attended Eastern Wayne High and Greenwood Middle schools before relocating to the Atlanta area. CEO of Summit Midstream, he is an investor in the 4-Day Movement and donated his former home for the program.
The premise is to offer the youth a caring home environment. The three-bedroom house, in an undisclosed location to ensure safety, can accommodate four young men at a time.
Coles said the need is there, with referrals being generated by school counselors, word of mouth and law enforcement.
"We have already been contacted by Goldsboro Police Department asking us how they can refer people," he said.
Prior to embarking on this venture together, Newby said he and Coles had known each other for years, since playing football and attending college together.
"I grew up here," he said during the dedication ceremony on the front lawn of his former home. "My dad was retired military. I had a stable household, a very normal childhood.
"I realize now how I took that for granted."
He has since learned that is not the case for every youth.
Newby said there are an estimated 15 million children in the country that live in the poverty. Goldsboro has its own alarming numbers, he said.
His concern for the plight prompted him to seek ways to do something, settling on the effort in his hometown.
Coles called Newby a "man of God" and a "4-Day Hero" for stepping up and investing in the effort.
The Legacy House follows the prototype of Joe's Place, prompted by a dramatic need in a St. Louis community, Coles said.
"We traveled to St. Louis to research their program and we loved the concept and the results," he said.
With growing numbers of young men who are homeless or displaced, the hope is to provide safe haven option and a chance for a better future, Coles said.
While the premise right now is to respond to the needs of young men, it is not stopping there, he added.
"We have really passed the test by getting this thing up and running," he said. "We're having a conversation about the next Legacy House and that'll be for young women.
"Our objective is to have multiple houses."
The program operations, as well as funding for house attendants, will be generated through private donations, Coles said.
Community involvement is also needed, he said, particularly mentors willing to give "time, talent and treasures."
There is much work to be done, he told the crowd, in supporting the "house guests" on their road to becoming solid men.
They will not be sitting in the house just watching TV, he explained, but will be given opportunities to work -- in the garden, mowing the lawn and other chore.
"I'm exciting that they're going to have a place that's safe," Coles said.
"But they'll become very strong young men who are assets to this community."