Brenna's Home has provided a safe environment for children to receive physical, emotional, and spiritual nurture. The children who have lived there may be "true" orphans, with no parents, or they may be "virtual" orphans, meaning that due to alcoholism, drug addiction, or other social reasons, they were neglected by either one or both parents. In some cases they may have suffered different types of abuse.
The home began early in 2005, with three young teens in a two-room flat. Later that year, a two-bedroom flat was rented, and became the home for four children. For the next three years, there were additional children who came and then left for different reasons, but typically there were at least four or five children living in Brenna's Home. Late in 2008, a decision was made to purchase a three-bedroom flat in another nearby building. We moved into that facility in January, 2009, with five children. By the beginning of 2011, we had seven children, and became aware that the three-bedroom flat directly below was for sale. We moved forward in faith with the purchase of that space in May 2011. Since that time we have constructed two new balconies with a staircase to join the flats into one common unit, and our family has accommodated as many as 14 children. We have enjoyed seeing some of our children grow up to attend college, get married, and start families of their own.
In 2018, Brenna's Home is undergoing major change. We are re-evaluating the use of our home and living space and do not plan to serve children under legal guardianship of other individuals as we have operated in the past. As these new ideas, plans, and changes come to fruition, we will be communicating them. As of February, 2018, we expect to place our child sponsorship program in Ukraine on hold, as we continue to evaluate and plan for the future.
The Brenna Engle Foundation has provided the financial support for the ongoing operation of Brenna's Home. The Foundation is managed and run through non-paid volunteers. Financial donations have been used for the direct support of the children in Brenna's Home or to cover minimal administrative costs.
