3D Life aims to put boys on right track

By ASHLEY BATES
The Times

Body, soul and spirit is what creates a three-dimensional life, at least according to Mike Nixon.

Nixon's belief is what brought 3D Life, a nonprofit home for troubled teenage boys ages 15-19, to Gainesville. 3D Life operates the 55-acre December Farms in East Hall.

"They are kids, and drugs and alcohol have robbed them of the experiences while being a kid," Nixon said.

The founder and program director of 3D Life, Nixon is a native of Athens and has lived in Hall County for two years with wife and co-program director Colleen.

"My main asset is that I was a teenage addict myself," Nixon said. "I had to make some choices to get out of that cycle. I have a passion to do this and we teach the guys a way to be proud of themselves."

The boys' home began operation in eastern Hall County in January 2005, welcoming boys who have addiction problems, behavior problems and a need for change in their lifestyle.

3D Life has served boys from Florida, Forsyth, White, Habersham, Cherokee and Hall counties, with 12 boys presently in residence.

The program is split into four phases over a nine-month period.

The first phase, or "Welcome Home," focuses on developing a sense of ownership and security in the new environment.

Phase two, "The View," shows the student what effect decisions make on their past, present and future.

The third phase, "Equip," gives each teen the "equipment," or life tools, needed for success.

Finally, the fourth phase, or "The Journey," helps the teens plan for their future.

During the teens' stay at 3D Life, education is provided through Faith Academy in Buford.

"The guys can actually come into the program and when they leave they haven't skipped a beat," Nixon said.

During all phases of the program, the boys are involved a work program at the farm.

"Each guy has their own field," said Tommy Hart, December Farms work program director. "We have harvest pumpkins for sale during Halloween; one guy is the house man, one guy is the cook and cooks three meals a day for 13 to 14 people, there is an office assistant, (and) a guy that does the maintenance around the farm."

Families are able to visit teens each week.

Jesse Parr, 18, has been in the program for five months and has seen a huge difference in his life.

"I am a totally different person from six months ago," Parr said. "I have to have a goal and I want to start college probably in December at Georgia State."

Hart, a Gainesville native, was the first member of the 3D Life program two years ago.

"I showed up on Mike's doorstep and told him I'll do whatever for however long to help myself," Hart said.

December Farms is a 55-acre Christmas tree farm. The Christmas tree sales begin on Thanksgiving Day. The farm offers choose-and-cut trees, pre-cut Fraiser fir and fresh wreaths.

"The majority are grown here but people like the Fraiser firs and we get those from North Carolina."

This year the farmed moved beyond trees, growing tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, squash and potatoes, among others.

"This is the first year for vegetables and our third year in operation with the (Christmas trees)," Hart said. "Last Christmas we sold 500-600 trees."

Each day the teens begin the morning at 7 a.m. for a workout, have breakfast, have group or personal devotion, morning chores, two classes taught by Nixon, lunch and then work on the farm from 12:45 to 5:45 p.m.

"We are all about getting the guys into the way things run," Hart said. "We want to teach them how to grow the vegetables, how to clean them and how to store them."

3D Life is a faith-based teen program but spirituality is not the entire focus.

"The class schedule is basically me teaching or someone else teaching the guys about life skills or spiritual life," Nixon said. "I take them to church and we talk about the Bible but I don't shove religion down their throat.

"There are some things said in our curriculum and our program to point you in the right direction and what I think is true so while they are here they have the opportunity to have a relationship with God and know what that is like," he said.

Nixon takes the boys to Free Chapel most Sundays but they also visit other churches like Crossroads Community Church in Lawrenceville and North Point Community Church in Alpharetta.

"I am a member of Free Chapel but I'm not trying (to make) the guys to see it one way," Nixon said. "If you know God and the way he works it is going to help you make the right decisions, you'll at least have an outline at what life could look like."

While at 3D Life the boys, along with interns, staff and directors, live in a 4,500-square-foot cabin on the center of the property.

"As the guys graduate they move rooms and get a better room," Hart said. "We are pretty much maxed out with 12 guys, but our vision is to have two or three more cabins and collectively this whole farm would hold 50 guys."

Nixon says what separates 3D Life from other homes dedicated to changing the lives of teens is 3D's Character Building Adventures program.

"We take the guys on outdoor adventures," Nixon said. "You can tell a kid that the sky is the limit but if you actually take them there it means so much more and is memorable."

Last year 3D traveled to Colorado for a seven-day snowboarding trip and later this year they will embark on their first Appalachian Trail hike.

"We'll take the guys through the entire Georgia portion from Springer Mountain to North Carolina," Nixon said.

The hike will run about 79 miles through the north Georgia mountains.

Contact: abates@gainesvilletimes.com, (770) 718-3414.

Originally published Tuesday, July 18, 2006