Putting the Pieces Together at Broken Shackle

Broken Shackle Ranch is a sanctuary setting that has provided assistance to at-risk youth since 1984. More than 8,000 young men have passed through its doors in the past 40 years. The sprawling area of property, set among the tall, forested stands of longleaf pine trees in east-central Georgia, is two-and-a-half hours southeast of Atlanta, and about four miles east of the small town of Davisboro. The ranch also has two other branches, one in Statesboro and the other in Augusta.

Broken Shackle Ranch isn’t the easiest place to travel to in Davisboro, but the isolated location works well to support its mission. Without the outside distractions that come with a more active urban environment, the young men at the ranch are better able to focus on themselves and tasks at hand that will help them learn and grow.

The ranch gives these young men — who may be struggling with addiction, behavioral issues or broken homes — the space and freedom they need to collect themselves and develop skills to become the best men they can be, while assimilating back into society.

Healing and Opportunities

The program at Davisboro is for young men 16 years of age and older. The ranch offers a Christian-based residential community that fosters healing and the opportunity to mature and grow academically, spiritually and vocationally. While at the ranch, young men obtain the skills they need to go beyond the ranch and live full, productive and independent lives.

Part of the criteria for admission to the ranch is that the program must be able to meet the needs of the applicant, and the individual must want help, realize the need for a change in his life, and agree to all aspects of the program.

At Broken Shackle Ranch, which has a staff of more than 40 employees, young men can take advantage of tools that will help them today and in the future.

Technical and Career Training

The ranch also has a technical school on-site which includes National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) training in construction crafts like cabinetry and welding. Other technical career courses offered include automotive maintenance, Culinary ServSafe and grounds maintenance. Those who haven’t earned their high school diplomas can earn a GED.

A student has the option to enroll in one or two professional areas depending on his interest. To graduate, students need to devote 150 hours to class time and complete a curriculum that involves safety training and their trade of choice. During class time, they will also work on real-life job projects to gain valuable experience that makes them more marketable once they enter the workforce.

The average length of stay at the ranch for most students is nine to twelve months, but some can complete their program goals within seven months. It is the ranch’s aim to establish set goals during a young man’s stay, attain those goals and help him to become a responsible, dependable adult.

Real-Life Job Projects — Building A House

Kent Castleberry, Director of Sales with Huber Engineered Woods, led one of those “real-life projects” with a group of young men from Broken Shackle Ranch and 11 employee volunteers from Huber, assembling and installing the wood frame walls on a home build project in Statesboro, Georgia.

“We wanted to do something for the community,” Castleberry said. “I reached out to Dave [Cobb] with Broken Shackle Ranch. To be able to come here and give back, it hits home. Not only is it something we’re doing to help give the kids confidence in something they can do, but also, we take this back home and kiss our kids goodnight realizing how fortunate we are. I think that’s important. A couple of my guys came up to me and said, ‘This is awesome!’”

Giving Back to the Community

Castleberry described a conversation he had with two of the young men over dinner and they told him they loved to work with their hands in the wood shop. “It’s great that these kids are getting pointed in the right direction here, but what happens when they go back to their town?”

Since Huber is in the building industry, Castleberry and his company started thinking, “How can we reach out to our contacts in these little towns? Can we reach out to a cabinet shop owner or to a construction guy and say, ‘can you give this kid a chance?’ They give these guys some hands-on experience with a trade and in turn the kids can give back to their community. They’re being an active member of society.”

Castleberry continued, “The reason I picked the ranch is it’s a place we can come back to year after year. Not one and done. This is something I would like to do over and over.”

Promising Future

From humble beginnings in 1984, Broken Shackle Ranch has grown over the years into a bright beacon of promising light, helping young men get back on their feet and find their way. Through hard work, including craft training, hundreds of men are now productive members of society.

For those who accept and meet the challenges presented at Broken Shackle Ranch, opportunity awaits. The benefits from focused technical training give these young men a chance to find a passion for years to come. As the old saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”