I hope it includes sharing her survival story with teens who need direction. They have helped many foster youth transition into adulthood and maintain. Gibson will discover her next stop on the way up. Meet the Hargrove family Levi and Maria are passionate about caring for teens. Before I entered the Adult & Teen Challenge program I used and sold drugs. “Ideally working with either battered women or environmental causes,” she said. Success Stories Archive Adult & Teen Challenge Central Canada. If she can find financing, and this woman is great at that, she hopes to earn a master’s degree in English and write grants for nonprofit organizations. Receiving her four-year degree this week won’t close the book. She also received financial aid from Husky Promise, a program for low-income students. Working in a hospital cafeteria, living in a studio apartment, student loans helped her at the four-year college. “When I graduated with my AA degree I knew I could do more, but I was in disbelief when I got the acceptance letter from the UW.” “I must not have slept very much.”Īnd hallelujah, she got away from drugs, by focusing on what was important in her life. “It all seems like a big blur now,” she said. “I worked full time at a pizza restaurant so I could pay rent, the rest of my bills and for my books.”įor three years, she attended Everett Community College. “I figured I needed to keep going in school so I didn’t have to waitress for the rest of my life,” Gibson, 24, said. Then it just seemed logical to move on to community college, Gibson said. ![]() They made me believe for the first time that I could move past the traditional ending for a drug-addicted kid.” “I think it was the principal, Joy Peterson, and my other teachers that helped me pull myself up. “Lessons were tailored to the needs of the youth in a richly staffed environment.” “I understand Cocoon School was highly successful,” Trevithick said. He said Gibson must have attended a program at the shelter that is now housed at an alternative school. Kids who consciously cultivate gratitude, love, happiness, peace, awe, inspiration, optimism and faith. Unfortunately, Cocoon School no longer exists, said Lee Trevithick, Executive Director at Cocoon House. Successful teens, however, understand that cynicism is a marker of fear, not intelligence. They would have done anything in their power to help me better myself.” Moving away from the world of fiction, there are many such real life stories. Many a film and novel with such stories have become popular. ![]() “They were intensely concerned with the outcomes of their students. Particularly, when the success story involves the protagonist fighting against all odds and overcoming adversity to taste the fruits of success. ![]() Being able to make recommendations on how the training component has and can continue to successfully equip incoming parents with the proper training and education is a value add that Heartland has really welcomed input on.“The teachers and principle were the most inspiring, helpful and caring people I had met in a long time,” Gibson said. What we've gained as FPMs is a heightened level of understanding of how important it is to identify the needs of incoming Foster Parents. When we were approached with the opportunity to be an added support for incoming Foster Parents, we jumped at the opportunity because we saw the value in having someone who other Foster Parents could relate to as being an invaluable resource especially, if the individual(s) were completely new to the fostering and/or parenting experience.Īs FPMs through Heartland, we've had the chance to interact with incoming Foster Parents on many levels including assisting with respite, providing guidance or best practices with difficult behavioral issues, advocating for a child who had to be moved from one home to another, making recommendations on working with case management, providing another vantage point through the process of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and many other areas that Foster Parents can encounter during their first and continuing years of child advocates. My wife, Joy-Lynn and I became Foster Parent Mentors (FPM) through Heartland for Children in 2012. Mixon believes in ensuring the children are actively involved in community activities and athletics. She has a 17 year old male that has been residing in her home for two years. Theresa Mixon has been fostering since 1998 and is currently fostering two children.
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