by Lee Pierre
With a passion for social justice and his unwavering desire to help those children who no one else wanted, the late Charles Preston Brumfield had the idea that he could help those children who no one else wanted.
The success of his endeavor was quite evident in the faces and voices of the thirty plus attendees who were previous residents of the group home as they celebrated the 50th Tree House reunion on Saturday, July 20, 2024, on South Jefferson Street. Corrine Gott, former head of Roanoke’s social services department, was champion of Tree House, willing to take a risk when others would not have done so, played an intricate part of the Tree House.
Marian Vaughn-Howard, Roger Stultz, Ted Edlich and Corrine Gott got on board with Brumfield’s idea and his dream came true. The home opened August 20, 1973, to house teens 13-18 years of age. The non-institutional group home was the first of its kind to house teens – Black and white, males and females – in a family environment. In 1974, approximately thirty displaced teens resided at Tree House (the limit, 15 boys and 15 girls).
The home’s current resident, Carilion Clinic Foundation, graciously allowed the current reunion celebration to take place where it all began. The “former teens” were excited to return to the house where they all met as strangers and soon became family. Attendees brought along their children and grandchildren to share in the celebration.
Cynthia Gray at age 13 was the youngest teen placed at Tree House and fifty years later, she continues to remind fellow attendees of that fact. “It’s been 50 years and I’m still the youngest,” she stated jovially.
The attendees were all proud of having been put into a better situation.
“It was a radical demonstration of how you can help kids get a better foot in,” said Edlich, retired president, and CEO of Total Action for Progress. “Every one of these kids had a tough life and Tree House gave them the opportunity for a secure family life.”
Lily Alexander has been vigilant in planning reunions for the group of people who became her family. The first reunion was in 2004 followed by a second reunion in 2014. Attendance was low for the previous ones because of the difficulty in trying to locate the former residents.
“I don’t know what the connection is, however, I just feel like we are a family by choice,” Alexander said.
Alexander, nicknamed ‘House Mother’ by attendees, is strongly known for her determination as well as her organizational skills. She and Vickie Royer are the ones out there working to keep the group together. Their interaction is obviously one of true friendship, caring for their ‘family,’ and sisterly love.
Preston Miller was 16 years old when he entered the Tree House and feels it was the best thing that could have happened to him.
“Coming up, I was always told not to talk to or be around a certain group of people,” Miller said. “I learned so much by living here that it saved me from being ignorant about people.”
Leslie Smith, a former resident of Tree House, agreed. She was in a foster home at an early age and once she became a teen, she continued to run away because of the adverse circumstances. Eventually, Tree House became her new home.
“Being at Tree House saved a lot of people’s lives at that time,” Smith said, “including my own.”
It was quite obvious that living at the Tree House was an interesting culture in which to grow. The majority of the residents truly cherish their memory of being there and holdfast to the “family” with whom they shared a portion of their displaced life.
“Brumfield’s dream was their ticket out!”
