Living Under Pressure

Jeanie Adams-Smith

Ohio University/ The Chicago Tribune

The Ramey-Estep Home for boys sits on a picturesque farm in Ashland, Ky. But the boys who live here have come from much more tumultuous scenes. Many of the boys, age 10 to 17, have been abused, abandoned and/or neglected. They are here because they committed crimes but have been given a chance to reform through this program. The philosophy of Ramey-Estep is to use other kids to reform the boys. Counselors are always present but the boys mostly work with each other. They are put in groups of twelve, who they eat, sleep and go to school with. These peers become their confidants, someone they can work out their past problems with. With an eighty percent success rate, many feel this is the reform school of the future. Outlaw, A resident at the Ramey-Estep Home for Boys shows off his tatoo from his days as a gang member in Louisville, Ky.

Jeanie Adams-Smith, "Living Under Pressure," in POYi Archive, Item #30847, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/30847 (accessed June 14, 2025).