Jennie’s Story

Single parent of an 18-month child trying to get back on track

When Jennie came to Champions for Children, she was a young, single parent of an 18-month child who received no support from the father. She had been separated from her daughter due to a struggle with substance use from which she had since recovered, but which left her without stable housing or employment.

Jennie enrolled in our Parents as Teachers home visiting program as part of her reunification plan with her child, but was initially nervous and hesitant to engage with our Parent Educator Lorrie, fearing that she would be judged or treated as a bad parent. As Jennie came to see that Lorrie believed in her as a parent and that home visits focused on recognizing and building upon strengths, she became more relaxed. Knowing that her insights were valued, she began to offer her own observations and ideas for parenting strategies that suited her and her daughter. When she started opening up about her hopes and dreams for her family’s future, Lorrie helped her set goals to achieve them and connected her to several free community resources.

Today, Elena is reunified with her daughter, working in a growing career, living a stable home, and more confident than ever in herself and her parenting. Her daughter is very social, talks and tells stories, and loves “playing school” with herself as the teacher. She credits the support, encouragement, and resource connections she received from Champions with giving her the hope, knowledge, and skills to improve her relationship with her daughter and brighten both of their futures.