Building Brighter Futures

by Laura Breen Galante

Boys Town Central Florida in Oviedo – the largest Boys Town campus outside of its national headquarters – is celebrating its 40th year of helping at-risk children in our community.

The nonprofit Boys Town was founded in 1917 in Nebraska by Father Edward J. Flanagan to serve struggling boys. In the 1970s, the program expanded to include girls. The organization now has several locations across the country. 

Since its opening in 1986, the Oviedo campus has helped nearly 47,000 children and families, says Veronica Durant, development coordinator for Boys Town Central Florida. In 2025 alone, the campus served nearly 1,350 local children, providing them with the tools, support, and programs they need to succeed.

Strengthening Families

The organization works with the foster care system and local schools to offer an array of services to help children and families in crisis become healthy in body, mind, and spirit. The Oviedo campus includes an intervention assessment center, a short-term crisis shelter that works on a referral system and can accommodate underserved boys and girls ages nine to 17. 

“This is the only all-youth shelter in Seminole County where we can house up to 18 kids,” says Veronica. “We offer services that allow the child to stay residentially with us for up to 90 days.”

Boys Town also offers in-home family services, coaching parents and children to overcome challenges and address systemic problems before they escalate into crises. The consultation services, which are free, range from counseling to financial assistance.

“All you have to do is call us,” says Veronica. “We’ll schedule a three-month program where one of our consultants will work individually with that family and assess all the needs that they have.”

In addition, Boys Town has a behavioral health clinic that offers individual therapy, family therapy, and psychological evaluations for children and young adults up to age 22. The organization also offers parenting classes to educate parents and help them find positive ways to build healthy relationships with their children.

The Oviedo campus also has five long-term, on-site, foster-family houses. Each has live-in house parents and can accommodate up to six children ages nine to 17. Kids stay as long as they need or are able, but the goal is always reunification with their families.

Answering the Call

Angela and Javarrow Rooks have been family teachers and house parents for the past 12 years, since moving from the Tallahassee area to join Boys Town Central Florida.

“My husband and I have always worked with youth,” says Angela, who says it is their calling. “This is what I always wanted to do. It’s wonderful.”

The Rooks, who have four biological children, run their foster-family house as they would their own home.

“It’s the normal routine, just like if you had your own kids,” says Angela. “The kids go to public school, and when they come home – just like you tell your biological kids to do homework, take a shower, cook dinner – it’s the same routine. It’s exactly the same thing.” 

The kids have extracurricular activities, do chores, socialize with children living in the other homes on campus, and go to church. As house parents, the Rooks go above and beyond, and their extraordinary efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. In 2024, they were one of four nominees for the prestigious Foster Parents of the Year award, bestowed by the Florida Coalition for Children.

In the dozen years that the Rooks have worked at Boys Town, they have helped about 75 kids. Angela’s oldest son, Terry Johnson, is also part of the Boys Town family, working as a supervisor at the crisis shelter.

For the Rooks, it is important to always be there for the kids, even after they move on from Boys Town.

“Some still stay in touch, even if they’re struggling a little bit,” says Angela. “So I keep my number the same. That way, they can always reach me.” 

A Life Transformed

One of Boys Town’s many success stories is Matt Borgens, who lived at Boys Town in Oviedo from around 1996 to 2000, when he was 13 to 16 years old. His mother left the family when he was six, and his father worked as a truck driver, which often left Matt and his three younger siblings on their own.

“He was doing the best he could, as a single parent of four kids,” says Matt, now 42. “But I was getting in trouble, doing what kids do, getting in fights, and I found myself with battery charges at age 13.” 

That’s when Matt came to Boys Town in Oviedo. After living with house parents, going to church, and learning etiquette and structure, he saw a change in himself.

“I was going into a really downward spiral, and I just so happened to hit the right people and hit the right message,” says Matt. “I started going back to church and working through the program.”

Three years later, Matt was reunited with his family. After high school, he joined the military, worked in law enforcement, and is now a member of AdventHealth’s information technology team. Matt strongly believes in maintaining a positive outlook, which he cultivated during  his years at Boys Town.

“You’ve got to keep thinking positive, because if you start letting negative thoughts creep in, you never move forward,” says Matt. “Boys Town changed my life. It’s such a great program.”

Cheers to 40 Years of Impact 

Boys Town Central Florida will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a gala on Saturday, October 17, from  6:30 to 10:00 p.m. at the Wedding Barn in Oviedo. Proceeds will go toward Successful Futures, a national expansion program serving those who are aging out of Boys Town programs and homeless youth ages 16-and-a-half and older. 

Successful Futures will help young people develop independent living skills, get their first job, and find a place to live during the transition phase. The program   will assist kids at Boys Town and youth from other foster care programs. 

To learn more about the gala, visit BoysTown.org/central-florida.