Charles Barton found his way to Pineland almost by accident.
He was in middle school about 15 years ago when the police came knocking one day on the door at his home in Manchester. They were looking for a man in the area who had been burglarizing houses. At the Barton house they found a family living in excessively dirty conditions.
“She was a single mom with three kids at the time and all she did was work and sleep,” Charles said of his mother, whom he loved dearly and still does. “She had issues with keeping the house clean because of her work schedule. I was of the age where I should have helped her, but I was a kid. I was taking care of my brother and sister while my mom worked.”
There was no violence or other danger in the home aside from a mother who was simply overwhelmed. But that was enough to start a DFCS case on behalf of the family. Charles and his younger brother were sent to Pineland in nearby LaGrange while their sister went to a foster home in Thomaston. The move was understandably difficult to grasp initially.
“I was scared. I was angry at the situation,” said Charles. “It was a shock. I had never really been away from my mom, I was scared for my little brother and definitely for my little sister because she wasn’t going to be with us. I was the protector of the family, you know? There was a lot going on.”
But it did not take long for the young man to see the benefits of his new living situation. “Pineland helped me so much,” he said. “It got me away from having to be the protector and the person who made sure school work was done and dinner was cooked. It got me out of a parental role and to be able to have more of a childhood.” He was a resident at Pineland for about a year.
“But that year really opened my eyes,” he said. “I got to talk to some of the kids that were there and the reasons why they were there. It made me realize how lucky I really was. My house parents were Mrs. Tiffany and Mr. Wes,” he continued. “They had a sweet baby girl. They were just some of the sweetest people ever. They made it feel like a family. They treated you like they were your parents.”
One highlight of Charles’ year there was his participation in a bass tournament, where a man he called Mr. Lee took him out on a boat and he won the award for the biggest fish that year.
“It was pretty cool,” he said.
Charles was able to return home after about a year, with his mother retaining full custody of her children. (He has never known his father.) He had a normal life in his hometown from that point, graduating in 2012 from Heard County High School. Now he has been married nearly a decade and has his own family. In addition to a full-time job and home in LaGrange, he facilitates a men’s ministry that meets regularly.
He hasn’t really kept in touch with anyone from his year at Pineland. “I was young at the time and I honestly never thought I’d see them again,” he said.
But the positive impact on his life is far from forgotten.
“It gave me a new perspective on life,” he said. “I know it sounds crazy because I was young at the time, but it really changes how you look at things.”