Stories of Hope

  Rose had asked her 19 year old son, Brian, to move into her home.  Most parents would abhor the thought of adult children “moving back home,” yet Rose was mostly just heartbroken.  You see, Brian is terminally ill from the progression of an, until recently, undiagnosed tumor.  Her son could no longer continue working and was unable to maintain his own apartment. 

Rose needed something larger than her studio apartment to accommodate Brian.  However, she could not cover the expenses of rental deposits, utility deposits, the rental truck to move her furniture, and the gasoline to fuel the truck for moving. 

HopeLink was able to assist in paying the deposits for moving into a larger apartment.  With support from community members like you, Rose was able to maintain housing for she and her son, and continue working her full-time job.  She is grateful for the time she spends with her son, and is hopeful for the future.  Hope is mostly what Rose clings to these days. 

  The case manager quickly became aware that the family of four was living in their car and appropriate medical care was last on their list of priorities for survival. 

Susan and Jack, along with their children were placed in emergency shelter for 28 days.  A public health nurse visited the shelter daily to educate the parents and child on disease management, and diet restrictions associated with diabetes.  Susan continued working her minimum wage, fast food restaurant job.  The family was able to save enough money for the first month’s rent and was moved into the HopeLink transitional housing program.  They were provided decreasing levels of rental subsidies over the first three months while they reestablished themselves into their own home. 

Susan continues to work her full-time job, and will be graduating in February 2009 into a medical technician position.  The lives of this child and family have been significantly impacted by the assistance they received through the generosity of donors like you. 

She had carried this skill into adulthood but unfortunately it could not help her in the real world.

After Cindy was sober for almost 14 months, she came into subsidized housing program at HopeLink. With the help of her case manager she regained custody of her child and began working toward self-sufficiency. A Christmas tree was provided to Cindy and her 6 year old daughter through a donation to HopeLink. They both commented that this was the first Christmas tree either of them had ever decorated. With your gift of $1,500, this 6-year old girl can have a second chance at living with her clean and sober mother.

A verbally abusive caretaker carried out this mind game in order to keep Scott under thumb. Scott is a grown man but was unable to protect himself against the abuse because he is blind. After escaping the exploitation, Scott entered a program at HopeLink which allowed him to seek retraining and still maintain his housing.

Scott has now earned an associate’s degree, is living on his own and has moved out of the HopeLink program that helped him reestablish his life. You can help a domestic violence victim escape their abuser with a $500 gift.

However, a $40 health card is required prior to working in a fast food restaurant. In addition, she must pre-pay one week of childcare ($145) prior to enrolling her child in daycare.  She wants to work, but doesn’t know how to raise $190 before she even has a job.  You can help Jessica secure employment with a $200 donation.

The program prevents child abuse and neglect by providing resources to families who are identified by schools as struggling with a variety of issues, from housing, to counseling needs, to support for improved parenting skills.  This program enables the family to get help before the situation gets to the point where the school is mandated to report the family to the Child Protective Services Hotline.  Family Support Intervention Services were created to provide intensive case management based on family oriented, strengths-focused assessment, provision of direct services, referrals to community resources, parent training, and other program linkages as necessary to meet the unique needs of the family.

Ann and her family are exactly the type of family the program was intended to serve.  The family was dealing with a variety of stresses from multiple sources.  Both Ann and her fiancé were unemployed and the children’s grandmother was paying all of their rent and utilities.  In addition, Ann, who recently gave birth, was suffering from post-partum psychological changes and was a long time alcoholic.  Ann’s two older boys, aged 9 and 11, were suffering as well, as the financial and mental health issues affecting the adults in the household began to impact the children.  Ann knew she needed help and had gone to the boy’s elementary school hoping that they could advise her.  The school referred Ann to us and that is when Cindy began working with the family.

Ann was an extraordinary client from day one.  When she came in for her first appointment, she immediately made an impression on Cindy because she knew exactly what her issues were, and what she needed to do to improve her situation.  Ann admitted that she was an alcoholic, and that her addiction was affecting her relationship with her kids and her behavior with her family.  She knew that she was ready to give up her addiction to save her family but she didn’t know how. 

Immediately following that appointment, Cindy made intensive efforts to determine what resources were available to get Ann into a detox program that was affordable, accessible, and had an opening that would allow Ann to be placed into residential treatment immediately.  With her fiancée recently employed and starting to work evenings, his mother volunteered to stay and care for her two elementary school aged boys and the 5 month old baby.  Her family support and HopeLink’s relationship with the rehabilitation facility enabled her to start rehab immediately.

In addition to conducting a search for the right rehabilitation and treatment facility, Cindy has worked with Ann on the development of a plan that will teach Ann techniques to reduce her family’s stress now and into the future.  She has helped in development of a chore chart for the two older boys that not only helps out the family on a short term basis, but builds the structure and discipline necessary to help the boys grow into functional and secure adults. Ann has been referred for psychological support through her therapeutic outpatient follow-up, which she might be able to obtain through an established partnership HopeLink has with Head’s Up Counseling services.  Cindy will be able to monitor Ann’s progress and enjoy watching a family once on the edge use the tools they’ve been taught to begin to thrive.   

Ann has been sober now for 13 days and although it is just the beginning, admitting you have a problem is half the battle.  She and her family are walking together on the road to recovery, taking things one day at a time.  With the proper tools and strong support along the way, we are confident that Ann and her family are making strides to succeed.