NATCHEZ &045;&045; Plans are in the works to create a shelter for teenagers in Adams County by the end of 2005.

Heavenly Home would be a long-term living environment for children ages 13 to 18 that would otherwise spend their time in foster care or on the streets, organizer Brenda Harris said.

Harris and partner Cynthia Campbell received a letter of support from the Adams County Board of Supervisors Monday morning to further pursue funding as a 501-3C non-profit organization.

&uot;We just need the grant money now,&uot; Harris said. &uot;We know it is out there and we are trying to work to get as much grant money as we possibly need.&uot;

Harris and Campbell, along with an eight-person board, have a written proposal for the shelter they are sending to various grant organizations.

The idea for the shelter came from Campbell’s own experience with foster children.

&uot;I have observed them and I see a great need, a hurt in their heart,&uot; Campbell said. &uot;You can help these children to keep them from making the same mistakes their parents have made. They need a lot of attention and to be shown that they are somebody and they can be someone.&uot;

Campbell said many foster children from this area are sent to group homes in the Jackson area or on the coast.

Harris said Heavenly Home would differ from the Natchez Children’s Home because it has a long-term goal of housing the children until they are old enough to live on their own.

&uot;We would be trying to establish them to really get ready for their lifestyle that they need to know when they are on their own,&uot; Harris said.

The shelter would house around 30 teenagers and would be located on Campbell’s land in the county. The plan is to construct a facility from the ground up. Harris said the shelter would have counselors, social workers and tutors available to the children and would do counseling on teen pregnancy and AIDS.

The idea for Heavenly Home began in August when plans for a non-profit cosmetology school fell through.

Harris and Campbell are Natchez natives. Harris spent several years in Chicago before returning to Natchez.

Both women have had foster children of their own.