Cassandra

At only 5 years old, Cassandra and her younger brother had already been traumatically abused by their mother’s boyfriend.

Justin

Justin came into State custody as a four-year--old.  He was severely neglected and abused as a child, and had complications of mental illness and retardation due to his mother's drug use while she was pregnant.

Brothers

Since they were in kindergarten, Gabe and his younger brother Shawn, had to go outside to the cold garage an hour before the school bus arrived to pick them up because their mom didn’t like them to be in the house.  She said they “got on her nerves”.

Shannon and her young son

Shannon and her 4 year old son came to the shelter for Domestic Violence with just the clothes on their backs and a few supplies.

After years of suffering physical, emotional, and economic abuse at the hands of her live-in boyfriend, Shannon found she could no longer stay in her situation and protect her son.  

Cindy

When Cindy found her mother dead from a drug overdose, authorities took Cindy and her younger sister into care. Their mother had struggled with her addiction for most of the girl’s lives.

Jennifer

Jennifer’s parents both died of aids. The young girl watched as first mom, then dad slowly passed from this world, leaving her alone. True, there were grandparents, but they had become estranged from the family due to a terrible misunderstanding regarding her parent’s illness.

Little Benjamin

Little Benjamin didn’t know why the authorities took him from his mother’s arms to those of a stranger. He didn’t understand the danger that his mother’s filthy house filled with bugs and rotting food placed him in. Benjamin was only 6 months old when he and his two older siblings were taken by authorities and placed in a foster home.

After just 6 short months of mom working with the courts and her Children’s Foundation of Mid-America Case Manager, she got her life back in order. When she was on her way to interview for a third part time job, our case manager called her to tell her that her children would be home in time for a birthday party for little Benjamin. 

The foster mom was awesome, working with the courts to be sure the children got back home where they were loved. In fact, foster mom attended that birthday party for Benjamin – it was a happy day.

Tammy

Six years ago, Tammy and 2 younger siblings were removed from their home due to neglect. Their mother was severely mentally ill and drug addicted. Due to her mother’s inability to care for the children, Tammy had often taken the role of mother to her younger siblings.

Val

Val came into our care almost completely dysfunctional.  His self-esteem was so low that he sat in the cottage and refused to go to the dining hall. “They will make fun of me.” “I can’t be near other people.” “Please don’t make me eat in public.”

Trisha

When Trisha came to our care, her most evident characteristic was her rebellious attitude.  She was very strong willed and was determined to not follow our program.  Trisha fought the system every step of the way. 

However, patience and persistence paid off and Trisha made a remarkable change.  The same strong will that propelled her rebelliousness became the vehicle that brought success.