Graduate: ‘The love and caring that I’ve found here have made me a better man’

BY SHEILA HARRIS sheilaharrisads@gmail.com

Five adults and six children — representing four families — received diplomas from F.U.E.L. Academy in a special graduation ceremony held at Lakeside Christian Church in Shell Knob on June 6.

Operating within the His House campus in Shell Knob, the faith-based F.U.E.L. Academy offers families at risk the opportunity to turn their lives in a different direction through education and love.

Graduates Kenneth Durossette and his wife, Allissa Dutton-Durossette, attest to the way the non-profit residential program has impacted them.

“We were accepted into the program and moved in last summer when our daughter was one-day-old,” Allissa said. “I immediately felt right at home.”

Allissa said living in His House has provided her with the means to be a quality mom to little Olive, who is now almost a year old.

The spirit of love that he’s found in Jesus Christ while at His House has been transformational for him, said Kenneth Durossette.

“Now, I can apply what I’ve learned to my everyday life,” he said. “The love and caring that I’ve found here have made me a better man to my wife Allissa.”

In addition to the Durossettes, parents William (Rocky) Hartley, Kimberly Mullins, and Hannah Boemmels also received diplomas after completing their first year at F.U.E.L. Academy.

Each of the parents and their children come from different areas and different circumstances, but met on common ground in Shell Knob last summer after their applications for residency were approved by F.U.E.L. Academy directors.

Kimberly Mullins and her four children were facing homelessness before being accepted into F.U.E.L. Academy. Now, Mullins said, she has hope for the future.

Mullins, who has taken on the oversight of kitchen operations at His House, credits God with the changes she’s seen in her and children’s lives over the past year.

“Requirements for the F.U.E.L. Academy program are tough; it’s not for everyone,” said Trina Colwell, president of the Board.

Residents must hold a job, as well as participate in the upkeep of the building and grounds, which includes playing a part in seeing that residents are provided with a community evening meal. Their daily attendance at a 6 a.m. devotional “Smart Start” Bible study is also required, plus attendance at twice-weekly church services. On week nights, classes in financial responsibility, parenting skills and conflict resolution are on the itinerary.

Children are key to entrance into the F.U.E.L. Academy program, Colwell said.

Most of the residents of His House’s F.U.E.L. Academy come from backgrounds of drug addiction with its accompanying complications, including, in some cases, the removal of their children from their homes to the care of the state.

“The courts view His House and the F.U.E.L. Academy program as a safe space for children to be reunited with their parents,” Colwell said. “We require that residents be clean and sober, with proof of having completed rehab within 30 days prior to being approved.”

As word of His House and F.U.E.L. Academy’s non-profit residential program has spread, a long waiting list has formed.

“We have an application and interview process, but unfortunately we’re not able to accept everyone who applies,” Colwell said.

Entering its sixth year, F.U.E.L. Academy will welcome five new families at the end of July, while the recent graduates will remain to serve in mentor capacities for the newcomers.

“We’ll have approximately 30 children living here under one roof after the new families move in,” Colwell said. “That’s the most we’ve ever had at one time.”

For more information about His House Foundation and F.U.E.L. Academy, people may visit https://www.hishousefound.org.