Author: truenorthcs
Sara’s Story: Wrap-Around Services
Sara’s story, sadly, is all too commonplace. She is the mother of four children, and having been a stay-at-home mom for over ten years, she found herself with very limited job options after a divorce. An extremely tight budget didn’t allow for any extras like internet service at her rural residence, and the expense of traveling made it very difficult, if not impossible, to even find work or assistance. A long, cold winter and the accompanying heating and energy bills pushed that tight budget to its breaking point, and she found herself in desperate straits. At one point she was left without propane for five days and was forced to use inefficient, and dangerous, electric space heaters to stave off the biting cold.
Sara’s case worker at Department of Human Services (DHS) referred her to TrueNorth, and she started out being assisted through our PASS Utility Program, and later through our emPower Heat and Energy Assistance Program. The TrueNorth Case Worker helping her was able to print hard copies of applications that she was unable to access online, and they developed a great relationship. Sara was also able to catch up on overdue property taxes with help from our Center for Nonprofit Housing’s Step Forward program, equip her kids with all the back-to-school supplies they needed through our Tools for School program, and celebrate a traditional Christmas with her children having “presents under the tree” through our Children’s Christmas program—demonstrating TrueNorth’s ability to assist clients with wrap-around services.
Because sometimes, life throws you more than one curve, TrueNorth works to build self-sufficiency across our programs and services. Rather than simply “hand out” support, our focus through education and skilled support is to encourage positive choices and a proactive attitude.
“It’s even impacted my children—they want to donate extra food from our garden to your Food Pantry to sort of give back,” said Sara. “I really appreciate TrueNorth being there to help people like me in my situation… I don’t know what I would have done.”
You can see Sara tell her story in her own words by viewing the video below.
Alyssa’s Story: More than an iPad
Alyssa is a little girl, and like many little girls, she’s inquisitive, curious, and precocious. She also happens to have Down’s Syndrome and is non-verbal.
When her mother, Alicia was referred to our Parent Education Program, one of her biggest concerns was that Alyssa is also a bit of an escape artist—prone to sneaking out of the house, unattended, to visit her grandmother who lives a few blocks away. Alyssa had been starting to learn sign language at school, but unfortunately the public school she attends discontinued the program, so Alicia was also struggling to communicate with her daughter. After some discussion with Patti, her Parent Ed Coach, they came up with a novel solution to both of these issues. An iPad Mini, loaded with a “touch to talk” program to help her communicate and a GPS so mom could track her if and when she snuck out of the house again.
The only problem with this plan was that there wasn’t any money in the program budget for an iPad Mini, much less the needed software to go with it—expenses totaling over $550. Fortunately, Patti reached out to her fellow TrueNorth staff members and through their generosity and other caring individuals, was able to collect enough money from donations to purchase the iPad, the touch-to-talk software, and an “Otterbox” to keep it safe in the event Alissa accidentally drops it.
Now, Alyssa simply touches the screen of her iPad, which speaks for her to help communicate with others, and since she always has it with her, Alicia can use the GPS tracking feature to locate her daughter whenever she decides to venture out on her own. This is a great example of how technology and TrueNorth’s Parent Education Program came together to make a lasting, positive difference in the lives of one little girl, her mother, and her family… because we believe that all kids should have the opportunity to grow into their best self.
You can see for yourself the positive impact the iPad has made on Alyssa and her family—made possible through the TrueNorth Parent Education Program—by viewing the video below.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2SiJiDIJkM” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Abrielle’s Story: A Life Changing Summer
Abrielle was just five years old in the summer of 2014. Her mother Veronica, who works in TrueNorth’s Center for Nonprofit Housing, was looking for potential daycare options when aco-worker suggested Camp Newaygo’s co-ed day camps. TrueNorth owns and operates Camp Newaygo, making Veronica eligible for the discounted “local resident” rate and her decision was made.
Abrielle was very excited, but her mom was a little nervous as this would be the first time she had spent any length of time away from family, other than for school. There were eight weeks of day camp, each with separate themes: What’s Cookin’, Circus Camp, Adventures in Space, Medieval Kingdom, Arts Around Us, Superhero Training, Mad Science (her favorite), and Wild About Animals. Additionally, each week offered an optional overnight from Thursday to Friday. As the summer went on and Abrielle became more and more independent, she asked if she could take part in the overnights, which would be her first time ever spending a night away from her parents. They agreed and she handled it like a pro, spending three nights at Camp, and one at John Ball Zoo during the Wild About Animals week.
Over the course of the summer, Veronica noticed discernable changes in her daughter, watching her grow up before her eyes. Because Camp Newaygo believes all girls should have a safe place to help them grow into their best self, they offered Abrielle the opportunity to find and build confidence within. She learned to love archery and canoeing, became a better swimmer, and learned to build a campfire. Veronica was so impressed with her daughter’s tech-free summer camp experience, she wrote this note to the Camp Newaygo staff:
“This summer was life changing for Abrielle. With your rock star staff, she was stretched, challenged, encouraged, and believed in. She has truly transformed before my eyes into a strong, independent girl who found an inner voice and spirit. She truly became her best self. Thank you!”
Abrielle’s story is echoed by countless girls, year after year, who find out what they’re made of and who they really are at Camp Newaygo.