Paying it Forward, Former Resident Cares for a New Generation

By Lucie Juneau Patrowicz

(Greencastle, IN) When Richard Guercio first walked through the doors of a ResCare residence in Greencastle, Indiana more than a decade ago, he wasn’t very happy to be there. Then thirteen years old, he had been ordered by the court to enter the ResCare program because he violated a curfew and then failed to meet the terms of a resulting probation agreement. He lived at the ResCare residence for six months and attended six months of aftercare sessions with his family. Today, a college graduate and newlywed, Guercio is a member of the ResCare staff and pleased to be caring for a new generation of residents who look up to him as a role model.

In “Former participant returns to residential facility as a staffer,” an article in Indiana’s Banner-Graphic, writer Jamie Barrand interviewed Guercio to learn how his experience at ResCare changed his outlook on life, what drew him back to ResCare as an adult, and how his background helps him provide support and guidance to the children at the residence today. The ResCare program provides a home-like environment as well as therapeutic, educational, recreational and social services to at-risk children between the ages of six and eighteen. It is one of five ResCare residences in Indiana, including four in Greencastle.

To read the full article, visit the Banner-Graphic website. To learn more about ResCare’s services in Greenville, read our 2007 news story entitled “Students host carwash to help abused dog,” or go to the ResCare Youth and Children Services web page.