Fresh paint. Hardwood floors exposed after years of being cloaked in carpet.

They are the signs of progress at an aging five-bedroom house on Tennessee Street.

Lisa Hastings, the new director of Lawrence's Achievement Place for Girls, discusses job-seeking strategies with a house resident. The program offers a structured living environment for at-risk teen-age girls. Hastings was photographed Thursday.

But the improvements aren’t just cosmetically appealing. They signal a new beginning for a 30-year-old agency that helps get wayward teen-age girls back on track.

Achievement Place for Girls has operated from the hulking home at 637 Tenn. since Kansas University’s human development and family life department envisioned it as part of a research project three decades ago. Last spring, however, the board decided to close the home temporarily after a large turnover in board membership and the departure of the home’s teaching couple.

Since then, the agency has hit one brick wall after another trying to reopen.

“Every time we think we turn the corner, there’s another big expense we have to take care of to get this place back on its feet,” board member John Clayton said.

The board had to take out a $5,000 loan to replace a dated fire-alarm system because, after the house closed, it was no longer grandfathered in under old fire codes, Clayton said.

Despite several setbacks, however, the house reopened in late March. The board hired a director, Lisa Hastings, to run the facility. And four teen-age girls moved in.

The public will get a chance to check out the home’s makeover and the benefits of Achievement Place at an open house at 2 p.m. May 11.

A need for structure

Girls end up at Achievement Place for different reasons. Some have a history of skipping school or shoplifting. Others have substance-abuse problems. Many have been victims of abuse and neglect. They’re referred to Achievement Place by agencies who help pay for their stay at the Lawrence home.

The youngest girls are 14. Most leave at 18, but some stay until they turn 21.

The goal while they’re living at Achievement Place is to teach the girls how to respond to authority, develop social skills, build self-esteem and get them settled back in school.

“It’s a family-style living environment,” said Hastings, who has 13 years’ experience in child-behavior management. “This is their home, and we’re trying to treat it as such.

“Achievement Place has had a high success rate. In fact, I’ve had girls that used to live here calling back for jobs.”

Until now, the home has operated under a family teaching model. That means a live-in couple would act as “parents,” serving as an example of a positive couple and teaching residents life skills. Though the home is looking for a new couple to replace the one that left last spring, for now, Hastings has hired a staff of seven to work in shifts at the house until a willing couple steps up.

Hastings’ goal is to keep the house at its eight-girl capacity all year round. She’s four short now.

On shaky ground

Board members and staff are delighted the house is again open and helping troubled girls. But they say the expense of home repairs, renovations required to meet city codes, and replacing the motor in the van used to take the girls to school has left them treading water.

They’re hoping community members will donate a few items needed for the house: a sofa, reading books, board games and a bedroom set for the staff bedroom.

They’re also looking for a few more volunteers to sit on the board.

And, of course, cash donations are always nice.

“This is another social service agency in Lawrence that’s struggling and barely surviving and needing help,” Clayton said. “It’s one of those things where, if we don’t get some significant donations, we’re going to be at a crossroads.”