Youth Villages stories

long time foster parent, Joseph Morton with one of his foster children

He’s fostered 85 teen boys, leading them toward success and stability

Oct 29, 2024 | Foster Care Stories, Media Coverage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man tells us his story puts him in a unique position to help others in the most formative years of their lives. The number of people he’s helped is nothing short of staggering.

“This is where I’ve got their chores,” said Joseph Morton, walking around his home. “There’s the day to take out the trash. Then, we have the yard work. Wash clothes days. I try to do all I can to have things set up for when the new kid comes in. I tell all the boys we can’t change what’s happened. As much as I want to change what has happened in their life, I can’t. What I can do is take today and move forward.”

He treated me like a man, a young man.
- Carter

For 20 years, Joseph was a juvenile officer at what was then-called Woodland Hills Youth Development Center. He learned the teens in there were often coming from complicated situations. Years after leaving that place of work, he believed he could still help teens.

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