Mission Moments

Some of our favorite moments and stories.

October 2018

We received a referral from the school with concern on the inability to reach and communicate with a family. There was a boy in the home that had many challenges and wasn’t doing well. Our Social Worker was able to connect with the family and serve them for a little over a year and see miracles happen.
     The family had limited English and one of their children had the diagnosis of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI).  Otherwise, this is known as brittle bone disease. The family had a fear of school and authority, as often the child with OI was perceived as experiencing abuse, rather than the understanding of his disease being able to be communicated.  The family was managing multiple doctor appointments, extreme financial strain, difficulty in school and having trust with the school and community.
     One year later we are happy to report that the parents have reliable school and community members they engage with. Our Social Worker attended multiple Individual Education Plan meetings with the family and school. The child with OI has transitioned to middle school well. His academics, friendships and confidence have all increased! The family reports seeing the school as their ally. They were also referred to a bicycle event for special needs and received a bike and the family enjoyed bike rides together over the summer.  Miracle workers!
 

August 2018

We had a family that has a chronic medical issue, referred by a school social worker.  During the first home visit our Counselor was informed the Mom has diagnosed schizophrenia and has struggled with her illness and has been in and out of medical facilities. There are three children and two of them have mental illness diagnosis.

After one visit, Mom told our Counselor, “I’m so happy you made this easy for me”. Mom expressed feeling heard, supported, and hopeful.  We will have weekly home visits with this family for a year.  We are so grateful for the trust we have with the schools and partners and the impact, in turn, to the community.  We are prevention, compassion, and empowerment.

July 2018

We were able to move a Mom and her child with special needs off our waitlist, three months ago.  This family was on our waiting list for THREE YEARS.  She attended our workshops and waited patiently. Mom had been sex trafficked and a victim of violent assault, experienced homelessness and poverty. Referrals were made to other organizations…..and she waited patiently for the one on one Mentorship through Project HELP. Due to our partnership with the YWCA Metropolitan, we have been able to move her off the waitlist and receive weekly mentoring from our Project HELP Social Worker. Our staff has worked  with a local non profit to provide travel to our counseling services for sexual violence survivors at the Y and she is proactively seeking professional development through our resources at the YWCA. We have helped her navigate the school system to understand and advocate for her child’s needs.

     Here is what is so fantastic: Mom reported out this week that she “feels motivated, hopeful and blessed to have the support of a team”. Anything is possible. Anything.

June 2018

“I feel like Project HELP has helped me parent, co-parent, have self-care, in ways I have never been helped before. I am different, my kids are different, all because of this program that feels like a family. I smile often.”

-Domestic violence survivor and DCFS involved parent

“It feels nice to open up and talk, I haven’t done that in a while.” “I am seeing how my childhood effects my children.”

-Father of 5,  an abuse survivor, receiving our Parent Mentor Services, and keeping his home visits, despite a 3 hour bu/public transportation commute to work each way.