Intake Matters: Saying "Yes"

By Intake & Resident Specialist Holly Gardner

There are times during the screening process when I can see great potential for a family to move forward, make a plan and meet their goals.  There are times when I can see this in spite of what may seem like insurmountable challenges, when the family has a difficult time seeing this for themselves. This was the case when we screened Ms J.

Ms J is a young, single mom with a healthy beautiful little girl almost school age.  She shared with me that she really felt lost, unsupported and scared of what her future was going to hold, especially for her daughter.   Her first priority was a safe place to sleep and care for her daughter and she wanted to pursue a job to have income again. This was her goal in spite of great fatigue and declining health.

Her major barrier was health.  Although diagnosed with serious illness years ago, she had not faced the reality this illness was bringing in to her young life and to the people her life touched.  She didn’t have the ability to cope or to reach out for the professional help she was going to need to make informed decisions. Her family was toxic.  She really was lost.

I wasn’t sure how our program would impact her, but I could envision our staff providing the much needed resources and referrals to our community. We could encourage her and hopefully start filling those voids.  This is what we have done.

This young mom has decided to apply for disability, which she did not know she qualified for.  She is opening herself up to more information, she is beginning to lift the veil and deal with the reality that she may not be in her daughter’s life for as long as most moms.  As difficult as they are, she is taking her next steps.

Ms J’s housing journey is unique. My hopes are that she can take her next steps from here with more courage and information than she had when she came. She asked us to give her a safe place for her daughter’s sake, a place where she could make a meal for herself again, a place she could ask for advice, a place where she could calm down the turmoil around her.

 

I’m happy to say we said yes.