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MCLEANSVILLE - Chanisty Mitchell has always had a gift for interacting with teens.

When she worked as a high school teacher in a coastal town, exasperated co-workers would send "trouble" students to her classroom.

"I never had any problems with them," Mitchell said.

Now she'll help girls in the Greensboro area who need support services after home problems, substance abuse, institutionalization or other hardships.

Mitchell has opened "A Place of Their Own," a residential treatment facility for girls ages 12 to 18, and is looking for clients.

The home, owned by Mitchell and her husband, will house four girls at a time.

The home will be staffed 24 hours a day by a minimum of two workers, Mitchell said.

Social service departments and community support agencies will refer girls to the program. Clients must be recipients of Medicaid.

Counselors and other staff will work with the young women and teach them in areas including self-esteem, social skills, time management, budgeting and health. They'll do therapeutic activities, which might include dance, sculpture or painting. Staff will provide transportation to school and doctors appointments.

Each girl will stay from six months to a year.

"The whole goal is to transition them back into their homes," Mitchell said.

Mitchell initially had planned for the home to serve teen mothers, but the arrangement with a business partner didn't work out. Instead, she and her husband decided to buy and renovate the home themselves. Opening a home just for teen girls required less insurance and less time, Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who lives near "A Place of Their Own," said she plans to be very involved in the girls' progress.

Mitchell works full-time as a magistrate judge for the state. "When I get off work, I plan to come here," she said.

"I want to learn, too. I want to get more experience with at-risk youth."

Mitchell said she wants to help the girls build goals for themselves. "We're going to do the college tours ... the trade schools, the community colleges," she said.

Mitchell said she plans to check on the girls during school hours to make sure they're in class and to find out who their friends are.

The home will be a safe and nurturing - but also structured - place, she said.

"I don't want them to think they're in jail, but I don't want them to think they came to a party, either," Mitchell said.

The girls will have chores and adhere to a point system, which will earn them extra phone or Internet time, she said.

Mitchell said she wants the girls to have such a positive experience "they don't want to leave" by the one-year mark.

She hopes eventually to open other residential treatment centers, including those for teen mothers, at-risk boys and young adults exiting the foster-care system.

For information, call 382-0178.

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at jamie.kennedy@news-record.com or 449-4610.