Let's Start In Our Own Backyard

Boca Raton News, May 10 2007

Creed lead singer advises, donates $10,000 to Haven boys

In many instances Scott Stapp saw his childhood in the 48 boys he visited this week. Many of those boys grew up in unthinkable situations before finding a home at the Haven in Boca Raton.

“I’ve been where you are,” Stapp told the boys on a recent visit to the Haven. “I remember sleeping in my car for two weeks in the winter and not eating for a couple days.”

Stapp also grew up without like many of the young boys residing at the Haven, an alternative home for young men who have been placed in protective care by the state.

“My mom was a single mom and worked two jobs. I ran the streets till I was 12 years old. I’ve been in jail, not a prison jail but a cell,” he said.

But he went from a kid growing up on welfare to a Grammy award winner for his vocals as lead singer of the band Creed. Stapp said he achieved his dreams by “never giving up”- that motto helped the band sell over 20 million albums including well-known songs My Sacrifice and With Arms Wide Open.

In addition to offering guidance, Stapp, who currently resides in Boca Raton with his wife Jacqueline and 8-year-old son, also provided monetary support to the Haven- $10,000 worth.

“A lot of big time celebrities want to help feed the kids in Africa and help those with AIDS and I do care about that and want to help eventually, but let’s start with the problems here. Let’s start in our own backyard,” he said.

That backyard is Florida, which is third in the nation for the number of children in foster care. And out of that number, 48 boys from 9 to 17 years old find comfort at the Haven where they live like any other teenager- they attend public school, work part time jobs, learn to cook and iron, and some are even on basketball leagues.

“We like to think we’re on the cutting edge of giving them hope,” said Jim Gavrilos, Director of Development at the Haven.

But the boys must grow up fast. Once they turn 18, law forces them to leave the place they have learned to call home.

“At 11:59 on their 18th birthday a young person is dismissed. We literally have to walk them to the gate,” said Gavrilos.

But what makes the Haven different is “We just can’t let them loose,” Gavrilos said. Instead programs guide them into adulthood. Those include counseling and setting young men up in apartments and helping with rent and utilities for a year after they leave the facility.

And that’s where donations such as the one from Stapp come into play. Despite funding from the state, the alternative center must raise about $750,000 a year to keep the place running. The center has received donations from local celebrities including the Jason Taylor Foundation and now the Scott Stapp Foundation.

Tough life turns to music

Born to a single mom and living on welfare, Stapp recalls sharing a bed with his two sisters and “being the poor kid in school.” That’s why he’s feels a connection with the boys at the Haven.

“I have a heart for these guys. I’ve been through it,” he said.

In his teen years, Stapp said he was on the wrong path running the streets and having run-ins with the law. “I was heading down the road to jail.”

But when his mother married a dentist and former air force officer, his outlook changed. “He put something in me and I finally understood.”

A music career, however, wasn’t always on his mind. He attended college on a baseball scholarship, but changed his focus to music after hearing a band one night at a party.

“I went to a party and there was a band and I saw all the girls watching. I thought I can sing better than that guy,” he said, joking, “Everyone knows you get into rock and roll or play the guitar to meet girls.”

But he started much younger singing in plays and at malls when he was only 8 years old.

“I’ve been involved in music my whole life and never thought of it as a career. It just took awhile to figure it out,” he said. “But then I had the dream and I made the decision to be the biggest rock band in the world.”

And thus Creed was formed.

Advice

Stapp told the boys he’s always available to talk and would stop by to “hang out” and “play basketball.”

He left them with advice he’s lived by, “The best is yet to come. Remember the best is yet to come,” he said. “Don’t give up hope.”

.Nicol Jenkins