Omaha Home for Boys

The Omaha Home for Boys is a non profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to support and strengthen youth and families.

The Home’s residential care program provides a safe, structured living environment in a cottage setting with loving House Parents, warm clothes, nutritious meals and educational support for children and teenagers ages 10 – 18 years. Each year over 100 boys are taught basic behavioral, disciplinary and living skills. All youth attend public school. Additionally, over 50 young men and women, ages 17 – 21, who have “aged-out” of group home programs can continue to receive help as they are taught how to live independently and transition into adulthood through the Home’s Transitional Living program. Further, over 150 boys annually, ages 14 – 18, receive special psychiatric treatment with total family involvement to help them function successfully in society through the Home’s Cooper Village program. The newest program to the Home is Journeys, a substance abuse treatment program designed specifically for youth ages 12 – 19 years.

The Omaha Home for Boys was founded in Omaha, Nebraska on October 12, 1920. After Father Flanagan’s Boys Town began preparations to move from downtown Omaha to a new location west of the city, the Chamber of Commerce recognized a need for a safe place to send orphaned, neglected and wayward boys within Omaha’s city limits. Tinley L. Combs, a prominent jeweler and President of the Chamber of Commerce at the time, thought the project would be more appropriate for another organization he was affiliated with – the Masons. In addition to Combs, 11 other businessmen belonging to various Masonic Lodges in the Omaha area founded a non-denominational safe haven for boys of all socioeconomic and religious backgrounds called the Nebraska Children’s Homefinding Association, later to be known as The Omaha Home for Boys.

The Omaha Home for Boys has had three locations over our 85+ year history; 304 North 22nd Street from January, 1921 to April, 1923; 2137 South 33rd Street from April, 1923 to July, 1945 (The Megeath House); and the current Inspiration Hill Campus at 4343 North 52nd Street since July 1945.

The 59 acre campus supports eight cottages housing up to eight boys and two house parents per cottage. The campus also has a dining room, education center, recreation center, woodworking shop, administration building and Youth and Family Services building. The Director of Youth Services (and his family) also lives at the campus.

The Boys' Home also operates an extensive 4-H program at our 112 acre Cooper Farm facility located three miles north of the Inspiration Hill Campus. Cooper Farm is also the location of Cooper Village -- a subsidiary of the Home -- providing psychiatric residential care for boys.

The Home's residential care is supplemented by other support and training programs. These include behavioral counseling, academic tutoring, youth mentoring, intramural athletics and scholarship opportunities.

The Boys' Home also offers services directly to parents and families in the community. Parenting classes train parents in the latest techniques of conflict resolution, effective communication and youth management.

The Independent Living program gives young adults (17 – 21) a chance to learn practical living skills in a moderately structured environment. The facility, called Jacobs' Place, is an apartment complex owned by the Boys' Home and supervised by trained staff. The staff serves as role models for the young men and women residing at Jacobs' Place, and offers guidance in handling the daily problems associated with living independently.

Click here to read our 75th Anniversary history book (complete with all the wonderful pictures) in .pdf format.
Or Click here to read our 75th Anniversary history book (without all the wonderful pictures.)