During the past two years in my role as Family Services
Coordinator, I have observed many families’ stories. These stories are one that
needed to be shared.
* A pregnant mother at age 20, stuck in the cycle
of financial abuse from her family, wanted so badly trying to find her own place
to live. Her minimum-wage job at fast food restaurant barely paid the monthly
rent, let alone anything else to provide for herself and her 2-year old
daughter. A Crittenton staff member took it upon herself to help this young
mother take an employment test online, as well as purchase her some items for
her first apartment. She bought her
blankets, dishes, towels, etc. This teen said, “I don’t have much to give you
to say thank you, but I want to buy you something.” She came in the next day
with a coffee and a handwritten card that said, “I don’t get much help in my
life. So when someone helps me, it means a lot. Thank you for doing this for
me.”
* With five children under age ten, this mother did
not get much time to herself. Struggling with depression, our Parent educator
brought the children “calming corner activities” and offered to make their next
home visit at McDonald’s so the kids could play and get some energy out. When
our parent educator offered to buy this mother lunch, she was nearly in tears.
“We NEVER get to go out to eat,” she said. “I don’t even know what I would
order.”
The families we serve deal with small crises every day. They
live without secure housing, a living wage, their own transportation, and do not
always know where their next meal is coming from. Our role is to help lighten their load by
strengthening the family unit. We are teaching parents the importance of play
and quality time which are both powerful tools to help a child learn about the
world around them as they form a secure attachment with their parent. We leave
books at every visit to teach families how important literacy is to brain
development from the time of birth. With weekly support visits, parent education,
parent-child interaction activities, resource referrals, and goal-setting; our
Parent Educators are changing the lives of two generations at a time.
Weekly home
visiting programs are a proven prevention strategy for breaking the destructive
cycles of abuse and neglect. Last year, our Parent Educators provided 701 home visits
at no cost to the families to fulfill our mission of protecting and nurturing
children and families.
Sarah Chapman Family
Services Coordinator
