Howell Manor
Reported by Erik Smith
Web produced by Kelly Reynolds

Tom and Kathy Peterson first signed on as care givers in 1978 Video

Someone said it a long time ago, home is where the heart is. Welcome, then, to Howell Manor. A home where the heart is much larger than average, it's a home for unrelated challenged adults.

A foster care home managed by Tom and Kathy Peterson, two very special people who bestow new meaning on the words care givers.

In fact, they have given their lives over to the men they call their boys. Providing not just a home, but a very real sense of family to those who might otherwise have traveled life's road alone.

"I love them all. And I tell them that. And I say if I tell you something or ask you something that you don't like, it's for your own good, not for mine," said Tom.

Tom retired a while back from the job at the Detroit News. Now he's still getting up early and making sure that the boys brush their teeth, shower, make the beds, and have breakfast.

Howell Manor

Then there are the lunches to make, laundry to do, you know, family stuff. Chores we called them at our house. And Kathy? Well, she's getting ready to go to the hospital each day where she still works.

It's a daunting schedule for any house hold, but then, this isn't just any house hold, is it?

"We take care of them when they're sick, when they're hurt, when they have problems at work. Just like you would with one of your children," Kathy says.

Tom is proud to tell you most of the boys, who are really men, have part-time jobs. He takes them on errands, to the local grocery store. Or Tom takes them off to see Jim to get their hairs cut.

After the errands are run, it's back to the Manor where Tom prepares dinner for his big family. Howell Manor has been around for over 20 years now privately owned by a caring parent who needed special care for his challenged son.

Tom and Kathy signed on back in 1978. Oh, they left for a time and then returned.

"When we came back, we were sitting down for dinner and David S. said, hold it, everybody. I want to read something to dad," Tom recalls.

"So when we come home, he presented this poem that he had written himself. He read it at dinner. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe it. Let me read it to you:

'This is about Tom. I have been here while he's away, but since this man come back today, along with his dear loving wife, I welcome them back in my life. We miss these two while they were gone, but now the real welcome is for Tom.'

'He took me in when I was lost, and cared for me at any cost. He cheered me up when I was down. He's always kind when we're around. God bless this noble gentleman.'

'How often can I say of him his love for us shall never dim? But that there's an important part, what lies behind his ribs - his heart. I thank you them all and stand before my friends and bow. I'll pay him back someday, somehow.'"

Kathy serves dinner to the boys

What do they get out of it? Well, the poem says it all.

"I want to give him back a little bit of what he gave me. He gave me so much," Tom says. "I might never give him back that much. It might take forever. That's from a mentally handicapped man. How can that be?"

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