| Big
Brothers Big Sisters:
Jeff*, a 15 year old,
living on a rural farm has been struggling
in his teen years. He has faced
the difficulty of being overweight for
his age as well as being socially and
academically behind his peers. As
a result, Jeff started to display low
self-esteem and depression and was often
the target of ridicule from his classmates.
In attempt to help her son, Jeff’s
mother decided to change his school environment
and enroll him in the Big Brothers Big
Sisters program.
Jeff was matched with
Big Brother Peter* during the summer of
2005. The match, and resulting friendship,
has made a remarkable difference.
Jeff and Peter do many different activities
together ranging from musicals, to sporting
events, exploring historical sites and
museums. Peter has been able to
introduce Jeff to many different social
and educational opportunities he would
not otherwise have due to limited family
resources.
According to Jeff’s
mother, Peter has been the best thing
to happen to Jeff. Peter has been
able to boost Jeff’s self-esteem,
has shown him how to interact with others
and how to take the right approach to
many life experiences. Jeff now
strives to be the best he can and more
importantly, he has a friend for life.
* Names have been
changed for confidentiality purposes.
Consumer
Credit Counseling Services/Graceworks:
A couple, in jeopardy
of filing a second bankruptcy, came into
Consumer Credit Counseling seeking assistance.
The couple was in default on their home
mortgage, had over $37,000 worth of unsecured
debt, which included payday loans costing
them approximately $800 per month.
After analyzing the couple’s
expenses, Consumer Credit Counseling was
able to give them cost cutting tips and
put them on a Debt Management Program
that helped reduce their monthly spending
by over $550 per month. With the
additional savings per month, a payment
plan was made to bring and keep their
home mortgage current. Consumer
Credit Counseling was also able to make
payment arrangements with their creditors
to payoff their unsecured debt.
If they continue to adhere to the program,
the couple will be debt free in 34 months.
Catholic
Social Services:
Mary*, suffering from
a high degree of anxiety, depression and
panic attacks contacted Catholic Social
Services for help. Mary was seen
individually as well as with her husband.
The sessions helped her with communication
skills, relaxation methods and dealing
with her panic attacks. Prior to
her sessions, Mary’s condition affected
her marriage and she was withdrawing from
her family and friends. After Catholic
Social Services taught her how to reframe
her anxious thoughts, she is now able
to attend church and activities with her
children.
*Names have been changed
for confidentiality purposes.
Wilma
Valentine Creative Learning Center:
Beth*, born with a brain
condition that caused seizures at an early
age and developmental delays, started
attending Wilma Valentine CLC when she
was 3 years old. At the time, her
parents had no idea how much of an influence
Wilma Valentine would have on her behavior,
social and developmental skills.
Beth looks forward to going to the Center
because of all the fun things she gets
to do and the consistency it provides.
The Center provides Beth,
and other kids in the program, a wide
variety of activities to expose them to
different situations. Some of the
activities include art projects, going
to the pool, playing outside on the playground
equipment, using a computer and various
field trips. All of these activities
show Beth how to interact with her peers,
follow directions and communicate with
others.
Beth’s social skills
and speech have greatly improved while
attending Wilma Valentine CLC. She
can now use her words to communicate with
other children, which is a comfort to
her parents.
*Names have been changed
for confidentiality purposes.
Shelby
County ARC and Residential Services:
Justin* has Prader-Willi
Syndrome, a genetic disease characterized
by low muscle tone, short stature, cognitive
disabilities, behavior problems and the
involuntary and uncontrollable chronic
feelings of hunger. With the help
of ARC and Residential Services, Justin
was able to move from his parent’s
home into a staffed home. The staff
works with Justin and helps keep him on
a strict diet. Since living in the
home, Justin has met his weight loss goal
and is also able to meet his need of approximately
2 hours of exercise a day.
*Names have been changed
for confidentiality purposes.
New Choices:
Mary* sought help from
New Choices after being in an abusive
marriage for 10 years. To most,
Mary’s life and marriage appeared
normal. Her husband was a well known
man in the community; however, Mary feared
for her life and did not know how to leave
her husband due to his ties in the community.
Mary stayed in the emergency
shelter for several weeks while New Choices
assisted her in receiving a civil protection
order and locating a new place to live
safe from the violence that had haunted
her life for over 10 years. Mary
has filed for divorce from her husband
and attends weekly support groups at the
shelter. She also offers support
and guidance to other residents in the
shelter.
*Names have been changed
for confidentiality purposes
Northern
Miami Valley Chapter American Red Cross:
Jack*, who lost everything
in Hurricane Katrina, came to the area
to stay with his sister while he contemplated
how to recover from his loss. Jack
came to the Red Cross chapter seeking
assistance and was provided with essentials
to get him back on his feet.
Jack enjoyed working with
his hands and was in the construction
business while living in Louisiana.
During one visit to the Red Cross, he
shared with them the devastation he felt
due to losing all his tools. The
Red Cross continued to work with Jack
and found a donor to furnish him with
tools. With the tools, he was able
to get a few odd jobs in the area before
returning to his home state. Several
weeks after Jack returned to Louisiana,
he called the local Red Cross chapter
to say he was alright and had found a
permanent construction job. With
great emotion, he explained that it was
due to the care and concern of the local
Red Cross and the people in the area that
he was able to find normalcy and the ability
to move beyond the tragedy of the hurricane.
Adult
Day Services:
A 61-year old female,
suffering from depression and diabetes,
was invited to attend Adult Day Services
by a friend. Her very first visit
led her to become a daily participant
in the program. By attending Adult
Day Services, she has received the emotional
support and friendship she was lacking
in her life. With no close family
members to depend on, the staff helps
her with her medical and shopping needs
as well as transportation for medical
appointments.
She feels like her quality
of life has improved and she is learning
to make better and healthier choices for
herself. She enjoys her time at
Adult Day Services and feels that the
kind and generous staff has made her life
better.
Alternative
School:
One young man who started
at the Alternative School was extremely
defiant and refused to follow directions.
On several occasions, he would get into
altercations with other students and would
be disrespectful to the staff. Eventually
the student realized that the staff was
not going to give up on him and that they
cared for him. As a result, he started
to complete his classroom assignments
and eventually earned his credits and
graduated from high school.
Currently he has a very
good job and is married with a family.
He frequently visits the Alternative School
to talk to students about how important
it is to get their high school education.
He also visits to say hello to the staff
and thank them for not giving up on him.
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