In July 2017, a single mom with five children came to the shelter from a different shelter from another county (the other shelter was an emergency shelter and she had already extended her stay there). When Ms. S arrived, the family was in chaos and we discovered very quickly that this single mom and her children had been jumping from home/couch to couch for a very long time – never a home to call their own. Ms. S and her children had MANY challenges that consumed their entire family and our staff discovered quickly that her individualized pathway would be extensive and critical.
By the time school started, Ms. S and her family began utilizing several services for mental/behavioral health related challenges. Many supportive services wrapped around this family and by September/October 2017, there were approximately 10 different supportive services meeting with Ms. S and her children. Unfortunately, part of her life story includes the moment when her children were removed from her care and put into foster care just days before Christmas. However, with that said, Ms. S continued to work on her personal challenges so that she could begin having visits with her children.
Along Ms. S’s journey through our Pathway Program, Ms. S was eligible for permanent supportive housing and was able to move into her very own 4-bedroom home in April 2018. Ms. S receives supervised visits with her children and the hope is for reunification of all children with their mom. We now provide outreach services to Ms. S to ensure that she is meeting all expectations of the Division of Children Services and all the supportive services connected with her. We believe Ms. S continues to make great strides in life improvements and self-sufficiency. Ms. S has this to say about her journey through our program, “Someday, I hope to give back to other mothers who have gone through what I have gone through. Mission25 gave me a platform for change that I could not get from society. Mission25 gave me a chance. I think about what people have done for my children and myself, and I know it has put me in a position to find the ways to change and to be better. I am thankful to be a better mother, to be clean and to be a homemaker once again.” Ms. S