• WELCOME TO BLACK MOUNTAIN HOME – Begun by Rev. Robert Perry Smith in 1904 as Mountain Orphanage, the Home began its ministry taking in children whose parents had died or disappeared. Today, we serve youth from birth through college graduation and beyond through family foster care, residential care, transitional living, and independent living.

At Black Mountain Home for Children we have seen a distinct need for programming that will provide opportunities for youth for whom a traditional educational setting may not be the best choice. Developing a program that offers youth who are currently slipping through the cracks in the system hope for the future is a critical need that allows us to address big-picture issues such as:

  • Providing youth who are likely to become dependent on governmental assistance with a way to be productive, contributing members of society.
  • Stepping into the gap to assist youth who are likely to face issues such as homelessness, difficulty managing daily activities, and even imprisonment.
  • Creating apprenticeship opportunities for youth to find gainful employment while taking advantage of existing relationships with BMH staff. Our goal is to help youth earn a living wage.

The Apprenticeship Program will initially include four training tracks: culinary arts, outdoor leadership/recreation, hospitality/housekeeping, and maintenance/automotive. Youth will participate in a year-long training program that includes hands-on experience on our campus before being paired with a local business providing a paid internship. Once youth complete the program the goal is for the sponsor business to consider offering them continuing employment at a living wage. We have entered into an agreement with a nearby conference center/camp to provide apprenticeships and are working with other local businesses to firm up partnerships. Funding is in place for a training kitchen that will allow us to launch our culinary arts track in 2019.

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