PHOTOJOURNALIST

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© Laura Bilson 2025

Youth resiliency programs strive to meet the needs of school-aged children in Athens County, the poorest county in Ohio. Afterschool programs like The Hive, drop-in centers like Sojourner’s Resiliency Center, and religious youth groups like the one run by the First Presbyterian Church of Nelsonville each have their own approach to addressing the needs of these kids. However, they all host activities, offer emotional support, and provide positive role models for becoming successful adults. Each group offers a safe space to socialize and just be kids.

Von Vohlkin (top right), Kaylee Wamsley (left), and Jazabella Robson (bottom right) dance to some music being played before a dance class hosted in The Hive’s gym.
Eliza Coulter, a part-time volunteer and parent of two boys who go to The Hive, slides down a slide with her son Ivan, 3, as other Hive kids run around the playground. Many Hive kids use the public park behind The Hive during their hours there.
Bentley Shumway makes a snack for himself out of canned tuna, crackers, and cheese puffs. All ingredients are from the pantry at Sojourner’s Resiliency Center.
Kylee Smith gets out of The Hive’s van to walk to her house. The van can seat seven kids. Martinez gives rides to an average of six kids a day, but some days he takes up to two full trips.
Molly Sanders inspects Kaylee Wamsley’s hand after it had been hurt while playing.
Breyonna Young (center) looks at Lauren Shumway (right) while Aaliyah Matheny (left) braids her hair at Savannah Loving’s fifteenth birthday party. These girls spend a lot of time together, but there seems to be some animosity between them at times. All t
A fight breaks out in the Gaga Ball enclosure while kids watch outside the Hive.
Katie Fox, The Hive’s coordinator, looks for Hive kids after a fight. A passerby called the police and a couple of the older kids wanted to share their side of the story with the officers that were called to the scene. Fox wanted to take them back to The
“Just one more,” says Breyonna Young, asking to look through another box of clothes to avoid going home. Jonathan Martinez is trying to lock up The Hive for the night and he insists that she has to go home.
Jonathan Martinez gives Dalton Oakes (right) and Leon Rohn (left) a ride home in The Hive’s van after The Hive closed for the day. Martinez drove an extra fifteen minutes through winding hills to drop off Oakes.
Samantha “Sam” Baldridge reacts to a difficult question asked by her daughter, Aliza Carsey (bottom right), as Carsey holds her younger cousin. Carsey asked, “When can I come stay with you?” Baldridge responded, “You know you can’t ask me about that, swee
Lori Crook holds a framed photo of Dottie Fromal’s foster daughters after Fromal’s eviction hearing, in hopes that the opposing legal team will see it. If Fromal loses her housing before she finds another place, she could lose custody of her foster daught
Savannah Loving (center) lovingly flips off her friends while they hang out in her room during her fifteenth birthday party. Loving and her sister, Makayla, are the foster daughters of Dottie Fromal and they regularly attend The Hive and the First Presbyt
Kids hot glue each other’s fingers at the Hive.
Abri Withrow and Audyn Smith watch a video as they lay on bean bags in The Hive.
Leon Rohn climbs a swing set outside of The Hive.
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