Mary Finds Hope
Our first session with Mary was in April of 2005. She and her son just relocated from Southern Illinois. Mary stated that she exhausted most of the resources available to her and she didn’t know where else to go.
Mary mentioned that her 12 year old son Kyle had some behavioral problems and that he appeared to be acting out more often. It was obvious that Kyle’s current living situation was the cause of these episodes. Mary expressed her frustration and she stressed that her son be placed in a residential program that worked with youth. Our number one priority was finding a safe and stable environment for this child.
The Clinical Team at Journeys immediately began calling programs for Kyle. Most of the agencies had an extensive wait list which was useless in this situation. Since Kyle was not a ward of the state or court ordered, he did not meet most program requirements. There was, however, a residential program down south that was willing to take in Kyle. Mary decided to visit the program and afterwards she thought it was an appropriate placement for her son.
Mary felt relieved that her son was safe and getting the help that he so desperately needed. She knew that this was in her son’s best interest, but a part of her was struggling with the fact that her son was so far away and in the care of someone else.
Now, it was time for Mary to start concentrating on herself. Mary entered a Transitional Living Program but just after 6 months was kicked out for not complying with the rules of the program. Mary reported that her son was no longer at the residential program and he was not allowed to stay with her. So Mary had her son stay with a friend of hers in Chicago. Because of Kyle’s living arrangement, Mary would sometimes stay out all night just to be with him. Well this was against the housing programs rules and as a result Mary had to leave the program.
With nowhere else to go, Mary and Kyle started accessing our shelters. Mary felt as if she hit rock bottom again. The situation was very overwhelming for her. She didn’t know how she was going to juggle being a single parent who was homeless and unemployed. The staff at Journeys reassured Mary that our agency was here to provide her family with the support that they needed. Mary trusted that we would do our best to assist her and Kyle.
Mary began posting her resume online and she was also working with staffing agencies. She managed to find part-time assignments but they only lasted a few weeks. Sure she had money coming in but it was not a steady flow of income. With gas and vehicle repairs, Mary really wasn’t able to save enough money for an apartment.
In the meantime, Kyle was doing well. He was now attending a therapeutic day school and making good grades. On the weekends, Mary and Kyle were able to stay with a friend which was nice because it got them out of the shelters for a couple of days.
Mary and Kyle were now approaching 3 months of accessing our shelters. Mary and the Clinical Team at Journeys had contacted a family shelter out west that had availability. Mary voiced her concerns about the commute but she felt this shelter program would bring more stability into their lives. Mary was driving out to the Northwest Suburbs everyday because of work so she decided to keep Kyle in the same school because of the progress that he was making.
While Mary and Kyle were out west, the Clinical Team at Journeys was still trying to locate a program for them in the Northwest Suburbs. Journeys did come across a program that offered affordable housing for lower income, employable families. The program also provided strong mentoring support which we thought Mary and Kyle would greatly benefit from. We contacted the program and shared Mary’s situation with them. The woman said that Mary and Kyle sounded like perfect candidates for their program and wanted to set up a meeting right away. Mary met with the woman and she filled out applications for her and Kyle. Just a few weeks after completing all of the paperwork, we received a phone call from the housing program telling us that Mary and Kyle were approved.
Mary contacted our agency just a few weeks ago. She is employed full-time and loving her new position and Kyle is just enjoying life and doing all the things that boys his age do. Mary feels great that she and Kyle are able to be a family again. Mary is proud that she has a healthy and stable environment to raise her son. It’s wonderful they now have a place that they can call home.
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