1944
Bethany Christian Services began as the fulfillment of a dream shared by two young women, Marguerite Bonnema and Mary DeBoer, who wanted to establish a Christian residence for homeless children. With donations from local businessmen, Bethany Home became a reality. Located on 13 acres close to downtown Grand Rapids, the original farmhouse was used until 1985.
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1968 -
A new residence called Hillside was built. By then, foster care had replaced the orphanage concept and a residence for the homeless had evolved into a residential treatment center for emotionally impaired adolescents.
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1985 -
A state-of-the-art treatment center replaced the original farmhouse. This center, called Ridgeview, contains two units and a gymnasium. When opened in 1985, one of the units was assigned to a new, more specialized area of treatment for male adolescent sexual offenders. The new program was in such demand that, within two years, both treatment units were transitioned to the new specialized treatment program. | |