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Warren child advocate is guardian angel on earth
By LINDA M. LINONIS
warren
Betty Strawderman fills the role of an earthly guardian angel who nurtures children physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
The children come from situations such as homelessness, sexual and physical abuse, drug addiction and neglect. She has legal custody of 22 children, ranging in age from 18 months to 16 years old.
Strawderman empathizes with the plight of at-risk children because when she was 17 years old, she was in an abusive situation in her family. “I was one of those kids,” she said.
In 1975, as a high-school senior, she was emancipated. “I got a job and a home. I also got married, but it wasn’t a marriage of love,” she said.
As a young mother living in Mahoning County, she witnessed young girls “selling themselves” because they had left home for various reasons. “I told them they didn’t have to
be sex slaves for their keep and clothes,” she said. Strawderman offered three girls from age 13 to 15 a place to stay. Two knocked on her door that night followed by the third the next day. A week later, two boys sought refuge with her. “They heard about me through word of mouth,” she said. Eventually, the boys’ grandparents took them in. Strawderman also took custody of her siblings.
That was the beginning of what morphed into Betty’s Angels.
“I knew how hard living like that was,” Strawderman said of what motivated her. “I believe that if you aren’t sharing what you have, you don’t need it,” she said.
Since 1977, Strawderman has cared for more than 100 children. Of the 22 children she has now, there are four sets of siblings and three are her own grandchildren. “No family is exempt from issues,” she said. “They all blend into a family. They are protective of one another,” Strawderman said. “They are soothing to one another and support each other.”
Up until 2014, when Betty’s Angels became a nonprofit organization, Strawderman said she was known by word-of-mouth. She works with children services boards in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties and other areas. “We follow court orders,” she said. Curt Bogan, an attorney in Niles, handles the legal side of custody cases.
With help from a team of volunteers, Strawderman said the children are loved; they have discipline, follow a routine, have security and their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs are met. When they lived with drug or alcohol-addicted parents, their lives were at risk. “It’s hard to care for children when you’re trying to get yourself straightened out,” Strawderman said. “They have to fix their own lives first.” For the most part, parents enter treatment programs and eventually regain custody, she said.
Strawderman said one 5-year-old boy in her care had come from a “drug house,” and a neighbor had rescued him. “When the father got out of jail, he stepped up and got custody,” she said. She added the now-employed father and son have support from two grandmothers and are doing well.
Strawderman acknowledges having 22 children in her three-bedroom, two-bath home presents challenges; privacy is in short supply. Remodeling has created living spaces for the girls and boys. The high-school students get up at 5:30 a.m. followed by the junior-high group at 6. By 7, everyone is awake. “There’s always a line at the bathrooms,” she said. Six buses pick up the school-age children who attend Howland Schools.
After school, there are activities until 6 p.m. followed by dinner and homework with help from volunteer tutors. “It’s lights out after that,” Strawderman said. It works because the children have chores, and Strawderman has two house rules: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything” and “Don’t be destructive.”
“Everything falls into place,” she said. She and the children attend various churches. “They experience different faiths and can decide for themselves later,” she said.
Strawderman’s food bill ranges from $2,000 to $2,500 a month. She buys from Second Harvest Food Bank. She has three refrigerators, and nonperishable goods are stacked in limited storage space. Two washers and two dryers run daily.
Strawderman said she’s spent years sleeping on a couch and even a picnic table at one time. She’s paid in kisses from the kids, and that makes it all worthwhile, she said.
HOW TO HELP
Church Hill United Methodist Church, 189 Church Hill-Hubbard Road, Liberty, is collecting items and monetary donations through Sunday.
Donations: Betty’s Angels Fund, Farmers National Bank, 5845 Youngstown-Warren Road, Niles, OH 44446.
Fundraisers: Events such as a fashion show, spaghetti dinner and golf outing benefit Betty’s Angels.
Items needed: Shoes, school supplies, personal-hygiene products, cleaning supplies, linens, holiday support, paper products and a 15-passenger vehicle. Betty’s Angels also is looking for a larger home.
Contact: Contact Strawderman at 330-646-2011; website is www.bettysangelsinc.com; email is bettysangels@hotmail.com; and on Facebook.
SOME FACTS ABOUT BETTY'S ANGELS
Betty’s Angels, a children’s shelter in Warren, is the result of Betty Strawderman’s dream of helping children who are victims of homelessness, poverty, sexual or physical abuse, drug and alcohol addiction and neglect because of the actions of their parents. The nonprofit organization provides advocacy, education, support services and emergency shelter.
Status: Betty’s Angels Children’s Shelter became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2014 with a board of directors. Strawderman has legal custody of the children in her care. She supports them through her income as a day-care provider and donations. The shelter is Strawderman’s home in Warren; a larger property is being sought.