Beginning

My name is Debbie West and I am the Administrator for Changing Hearts Boarding School and Ministry, which is located in Western North Carolina, surrounded by the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I am the Mother of 10 children…4 birth and 6 adopted and “Mammie” to 9 grandchildren.  I am a Family Behavioral Specialist (kind of like super nanny, if you will) and also a Counselor for Freedom In Christ Ministry. Webster’s Dictionary defines specialist as “a person who specializes in or devotes himself to a particular area of activity, field of research, etc.”

This is my life’s calling….I have devoted myself to children and their families for the last 30 years. I have been a foster and crisis respite provider/ parent for over 28 years.   More importantly though I am a mom and I have the heart of a mom that spent many years in the thick of the battle with some of my own adopted children. I know what it is like to spend years searching daily for answers to the impossible behaviors of a daughter that is spiraling out behaviorally and spiritually.

Changing Hearts Boarding School and Ministries was born in my heart the day I realized that my own adopted daughter had more emotional issues than I was prepared for. My hope in opening this school/ministry/ camp is to help as many parents as I can understand the heart of their adopted daughter that spent her crucial years as unwanted in the womb to unwanted in an orphanage.

Regaining that control looks different for each family.  I and my staff are here to help you, the parents, decide what is best for your daughter and family. While a large percentage of the clients we work with are families that have adopted their daughters, we also work with families of birth children as well. My staff and I are about preserving the family and providing you with the best opportunities to overcome your families’ individual challenges.  Our school/ministry works with area psychiatrists, therapists, and spiritual counselors.