Approximately eight years ago the idea for Renaissance Village was conceived when Father Leo served on the Drug, Alcohol and Mental Health Board (the former state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services) and witnessed firsthand how severe the need for services for at-risk youth had become. And this situation has yet to improve; today Florida ranks 48^th in the nation in terms of childcare services and education, leading only Louisiana, Mississippi and the District of Columbia. On the local level, in India River, St. Lucie, Martin, Okechobee and Palm Beach Counties alone there are a total of only 30 not-for-profit beds available for drug and alcohol dependent adolescents – 30 in 5 counties. "If you’re an adolescent and have a drug or alcohol problem and you want to get help but have no money or insurance, you find a six month waiting period on each one of those beds. It’s a real sad testimony to what will be the third largest state in the nation, passing New York by the year 2000, that we have such a dismal record of taking care of our youth. We are delaying paying for the treatment of the problem, but we are going to pay for it eventually – only later on it will be much more expensive."

Renaissance Village will be a brand new, residential rehabilitation center to assist Florida’s troubled teens who have problems related to substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse, suicidal tendencies and dysfunctional families. Renaissance Village will be treating children with multiple problems "because rarely does a child have just one problem," Father Leo explained. "We’re building this for people who have no money, because people with money and insurance can go anywhere. The first pre-requisite is addressing people who are falling through the cracks with no place to go. That means not only working with the children, but working with the family. The family structure has changed and 3 out of every 5 marriages are ending in divorce. We have to provide services to enhance communication and parenting skills with focus on the family but emphasis on the children. We don’t want to just give people fish; we want to teach them how to fish."

One of the most unique aspects of Renaissance Village is the campus’ holistic approach to recovery. Treatment will focus on therapeutic intervention, spiritual, educational and vocational programs as well as a three-step rehabilitative process. Intensive Treatment Centers will house those teenagers with the greatest need for 24-hour supervision (i.e., suicide, endangering of others, etc.). Moderate Care Homes will also be supervised 24 hours a day for children who need stringent supervision but are not in immediate danger. And Group Homes, designed to house 10-12 residents, will serve as transitional living spaces for those who are in the process of reintegration into the mainstream of society.

So what does all this have to do with golf? Creative marketing, and Father Leo knows all too well how to motivate serious decision makers to do something other than buy a cake on Sunday at a church bake sale. Father Leo believes, "people want to give their money to something worthwhile, yet they don’t usually get to see the end product. With Renaissance Village, people can come back and play golf as members of the private club. Memberships and other fund-raising activities will continually raise money for the rehabilitation programs. The investors can drive around the course and say, ‘I helped build this,’ or see one of the kids and say, ‘I helped heal that child.’ It’s a huge return on their investment." Father Leo has already raked in $11.5 million dollars of his $55 million dollar project, but he still has a long way to go, given that the program will rely on private funding. Father Leo elaborates, "the Church doesn’t want the legal liability, and without the government we can more fully develop spiritual programming, respecting the individual denominations of every person who comes in there."

One of Father Leo’s biggest fans is Bernie Kosar, former quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. Joining Kosar’s enthusiasm are Dolphin comrades John Kidd, Dan Marino and Jimmy Johnson. Those big guys, with even bigger hearts, are obviously accustomed to working together. But how in the world does one get Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Pete Dye and Tom Fazio to collaborate on the design of an 18-hole championship course? Clearly, hurricanes and floods are not the only acts of God! Father Leo said, "these five men working together is unheard of in the golf-architecture field." As Nicklaus joked, "the hardest thing about the project is putting the five of us in a room and seeing if anyone comes out." And Fazio remembers in his first meetings, "how do I tell him Renaissance Village is a horrible idea? Anytime I had a meeting with Father Leo about fund raising, he had his collar on…" Even Player remarked, "I never thought something like this would happen…but isn’t it a great idea?" So, yes, the golf gurus themselves are still surprised at the Divine Intervention that led them all to Renaissance Village. Father Leo has had invaluable exposure to sports figures and admits since the inception of Renaissance Village, the people he meets through golf is "almost scary, in a good way…it’s like getting slapped n the face with a miracle every time I turn around."

So what’s next? More fund raising, so watch out! If Father Leo finds out you’re a CEO or president of a major corporation, he’ll invite you and three friends to play golf for the day. Where else could he get your undivided attention for four hours without phones, faxes or interruptions? He’ll remind you the cross is "two-dimensional; the vertical direction is you and God – the horizontal, you and your neighbors." And he’ll sell you Renaissance Village, which will begin construction in mid-1998. The good news is, if you give Father Leo donations or in-kind services, he won’t come knocking on your door to ask for money ever again. The bad news is, if he can’t sell you or your corporation on the project, he’s "getting out of the business," and given the Boss Father Leo answers to, it would be in our best interest to keep him on our side!

For more information contact: Renaissance Village, Inc., 11380 Prosperity Farms Road, Suite 209A, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 3410 or call (561) 776-0890.