Tristan's Quest

Jean and Richard Allen have turned the death of their adopted son into a way to help children like him who have emotional or behavioral problems. Tristan Sovern, an emotionally challenged 16-year-old, suffocated in 1998 while being restrained by workers at Greensboro's Charter Behavioral Health System Hospital. Tristan's case drew widespread attention and national investigations were launched into child-restraint deaths in several states. One Charter worker was charged with manslaughter but acquitted at trial. Charter subsequently closed its local hospital and a number of others across the nation. The Allens settled a lawsuit with Charter for an undisclosed amount of money and used the cash to start Tristan's Quest, a foundation to help children with problems similar to Tristan's. "I think Tristan would be really pleased," Jean Allen said. Tristan's Quest has supplied books and other materials for teachers of behaviorally or emotionally disturbed, or BED, students in Guilford County Schools.It has created a network of sorts for the county's BED teachers by hosting dinners four times a year. And it has created enrichment programs, such as photography projects and field trips. "They play a huge role in the education of kids with behavioral or emotional problems," said Tina Diffenbacher, BED teacher at Alamance Elementary School. Tristan's Quest has also trained teachers to use therapeutic restraint on children physically out of control, Diffenbacher said. Allen's quest has been a personal one. She has been the adoptive parent of five special-needs children and holds a Ph.D. in child development from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. At first, she ran the foundation out of her house. Now, it occupies a building on Battleground Avenue. She has hired a full-time staffer, Debbie York, and uses interns from local colleges and volunteers. She has also created two clubs for BED students who are taught the concepts of caring and giving. One project for the clubs involved the anonymous pasting of smiley-face stickers throughout their school. "Most BED kids don't get to join a club," Allen said. "They're just not accepted. Often, these children are written off as not being interested in doing something kind." She also organized an ambitious photography project for students, providing cameras, expert advice from a photographer, a field trip for shooting photos and even a gallery exhibit of their work. "They've brought an incredible positiveness to the kids," said Jan Meier, BED teacher at Peck. "The best day was when we took the pictures. Every kid had an adult with them, and our kids crave that kind of attention."