Marine giving back to home for boys that helped him

Lucas Wright, 22, is a staff member at the Ragged Mountain Home, a therapeutic group home for teenage boys in Albemarle County.
Wright works to help residents turn their lives around and become productive members of society. He leads recreational activities, such as runs through Charlottesville or basketball games. Recently, he took residents of the home on a trip to Busch Gardens.
Wright is one of about nine full-time staff members at the home. What makes Wright unique, however, is his background. Only six years ago, Wright himself was a resident of the home.
When Wright was 16, he was taken into the custody of social services due to family issues. Wright was placed in the Ragged Mountain Home, which was co-founded in 2001 by Paul Anama and Gene Conti.
During Wright’s 19-month stay at the home, the staff helped him work through some anger and societal adjustment issues.
“Lucas wasn’t a saint when he got here,” Anama said. “But he did a good job and we’re so proud of him.”
Wright credits the home for his turnaround.
“I really liked it here,” Wright said. “It was a very warm atmosphere. I felt like I had the support and resources I needed.”
After graduating from Western Albemarle High School in 2003, Wright enlisted as a Marine and served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Iraq, Wright was involved in Operation Steel Curtain, an offensive launched in November 2005 near the Syrian border to stem the flow of foreign insurgents into Iraq, as well as the search for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the then-leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
“That was pretty messy,” Wright said.
After those tours of overseas duty, he became an urban warfare instructor back in the United States.
Last June, Wright decided to take on a new challenge. He turned down a $40,000 re-enlistment bonus and instead took a job back in Charlottesville at a familiar place — the Ragged Mountain Home.
Wright felt that coming back to the home as a staff member would allow him to both grow as a person and give back to a place that had helped him earlier in life.
“I was right about that,” Wright said.
While in the Marines, Wright kept in contact with the staff at the home on a regular basis.
“Lucas really respected the staff here and we really respected him, so there was a close bond” Anama said.
Anama placed one condition before hiring Wright — that he also go back to school. So Wright enrolled at Piedmont Virginia Community College, where he is pursuing a general studies degree.
Working with residents at the Ragged Mountain Home, Wright strives to be a role model. He also makes sure to abide by one of the most important principles he has learned over the course of his life.
“People act like the way they feel like they are being treated,” he said. “If you treat them argumentatively, disrespectfully or are degrading towards them, their behavior will reflect that. If you show people dignity, understanding, respect and discipline, they will reflect those things.”
Other staff members at the home have enjoyed having Wright as a colleague.
“Lucas has been a great addition,” said Dr. Ralph Chester, the home’s clinical psychiatrist.
Services provided by the Ragged Mountain Home include group therapy, medication management, case management, educational program monitoring, vocational skills development, independent living skills development, coping skills development, behavior modification, anger management and assertiveness training.
“This place is very well-run,” said Dr. Abbey Fischman, the home’s clinical psychologist. “It focuses on teenagers, helping them develop interpersonal relationships, build self-esteem and to integrate into the community.”
The Ragged Mountain Home currently has five residents and has a capacity of 16 residents.
“We’re essentially a big family here,” Anama said.
Perhaps because of its off-the-beaten-path location near Ragged Mountain, the home does not attract much attention.
“Someone said we’re the best kept secret in Albemarle,” Anama said. “I think we do good work silently.”
At some point in the future, Anama, 47, hopes to hand the mantle of leadership over to a younger generation, possibly including Wright.
“This place is a mission for me,” he said. “It’s a legacy. But I’m getting old and I want to pass this on.”