This month I hit my one year anniversary at the Children's Home. So, I've decided that officially makes me a working woman.
I don't post about work much. After the first few months I quickly fell into some sort of a rhythm and couldn't distinguish what would be an interesting "story" from my normal every day to day work. Not because it has gotten dull, but because it never is. :) I've gotten used to a lot of the crazy things that my clients do or say, and somethings are hard to say without breaking confidentiality.
The Crazy:
I had a few quiet weeks recently. Since most of my client's DCFS cycles fall on the same month, I get some down time on the off months. Work has been relatively slow. And, by relatively slow, I mean I've been bored out of my mind. (I don't ask for more work because then when I'd hit the 'on' months, I'd be going crazy more than I already do) I've gotten a lot of time to read interesting Wikipedia articles, read Sherlock Holmes and other free internet classics, indulge in my name-nerd searching, and play countless games of sudoku. :)
Anyway, my down time ended last Thursday with a screeching halt. A former client came in to the office. She was a mess. She has a 3-week old baby, her boyfriend just beat her up so bad she had to go to the ER, he has an arrest warrant, her landlord is evicting her, she's been denied by a shelter, and she lost her job so she has no money. I spent a portion of my afternoon looking up rental assistance programs and shelters in the area. I think the saddest part is that she has named her son after her boyfriend. Saying his name makes her sick, so she calls him "it".
On Friday afternoon, I received a call from a client who will be turning 21 next Wednesday (emancipating and loosing DCFS services). His landlord found someone for his apartment and since Children's Home won't be paying his rent anymore, they are kicking him out. In a week. He has no where to go, and soon won't have any support to help him find a place, move, or pay for extra costs.
Not a great way to end my Friday, but I think I was able to get him emotionally stable and able to think about his situation rationally, and found him a few possible apartments. It will be a mad dash to get him in to something by the end of the week, but that's the best case scenario, so I hope for the mad dash.
Thoughts:
Recently I've had a few clients emancipate and a few we are preparing to emancipate. Some of the things they say can nearly break your heart.
When I asked my client (above) who she had as a support other then caseworkers or DCFS she told me the only person she has is her abusive boyfriend.
When I asked another client who he could go to for help in an emergency, he responded: "no one, I don't have anyone."
A third client of mine, when asked where he would like to move to, stated that he plans to move to his mom's. The very person that abused him as a child.
No matter how hard we try, the System (the government, DCFS etc) cannot fix the problem. As, hard as we try to set these kids up to succeed- to get them jobs, get them through school, and provide them affordable housing- we will, the System will, always fail. Because, unless the System provides them with loving families to support them and most importantly Christ to sustain them, they will find themselves alone, or back in the same terrible situations as before. It makes my job a whole lot harder. I cannot allow myself to be just the System.
I think I find the more I work, the less I see the thing I deal with as just stories. I struggle with telling their stories, because what good does it do? So in light of the stories I have told, please, please pray.
Pray for me. Pray for my clients. Pray for the system. Pray for foster parents, for adoptive parents, and pray, please pray for parents- the biological parents, that they would find Christ before the cycle even begins.
In Christ
~Michelle
I don't post about work much. After the first few months I quickly fell into some sort of a rhythm and couldn't distinguish what would be an interesting "story" from my normal every day to day work. Not because it has gotten dull, but because it never is. :) I've gotten used to a lot of the crazy things that my clients do or say, and somethings are hard to say without breaking confidentiality.
The Crazy:
I had a few quiet weeks recently. Since most of my client's DCFS cycles fall on the same month, I get some down time on the off months. Work has been relatively slow. And, by relatively slow, I mean I've been bored out of my mind. (I don't ask for more work because then when I'd hit the 'on' months, I'd be going crazy more than I already do) I've gotten a lot of time to read interesting Wikipedia articles, read Sherlock Holmes and other free internet classics, indulge in my name-nerd searching, and play countless games of sudoku. :)
Anyway, my down time ended last Thursday with a screeching halt. A former client came in to the office. She was a mess. She has a 3-week old baby, her boyfriend just beat her up so bad she had to go to the ER, he has an arrest warrant, her landlord is evicting her, she's been denied by a shelter, and she lost her job so she has no money. I spent a portion of my afternoon looking up rental assistance programs and shelters in the area. I think the saddest part is that she has named her son after her boyfriend. Saying his name makes her sick, so she calls him "it".
On Friday afternoon, I received a call from a client who will be turning 21 next Wednesday (emancipating and loosing DCFS services). His landlord found someone for his apartment and since Children's Home won't be paying his rent anymore, they are kicking him out. In a week. He has no where to go, and soon won't have any support to help him find a place, move, or pay for extra costs.
Not a great way to end my Friday, but I think I was able to get him emotionally stable and able to think about his situation rationally, and found him a few possible apartments. It will be a mad dash to get him in to something by the end of the week, but that's the best case scenario, so I hope for the mad dash.
Thoughts:
Recently I've had a few clients emancipate and a few we are preparing to emancipate. Some of the things they say can nearly break your heart.
When I asked my client (above) who she had as a support other then caseworkers or DCFS she told me the only person she has is her abusive boyfriend.
When I asked another client who he could go to for help in an emergency, he responded: "no one, I don't have anyone."
A third client of mine, when asked where he would like to move to, stated that he plans to move to his mom's. The very person that abused him as a child.
No matter how hard we try, the System (the government, DCFS etc) cannot fix the problem. As, hard as we try to set these kids up to succeed- to get them jobs, get them through school, and provide them affordable housing- we will, the System will, always fail. Because, unless the System provides them with loving families to support them and most importantly Christ to sustain them, they will find themselves alone, or back in the same terrible situations as before. It makes my job a whole lot harder. I cannot allow myself to be just the System.
I think I find the more I work, the less I see the thing I deal with as just stories. I struggle with telling their stories, because what good does it do? So in light of the stories I have told, please, please pray.
Pray for me. Pray for my clients. Pray for the system. Pray for foster parents, for adoptive parents, and pray, please pray for parents- the biological parents, that they would find Christ before the cycle even begins.
In Christ
~Michelle
2 comments:
Thanks for bringing this to light. Keep up the good work. We will be praying.
Husband said, "I see it every day I work.
I cannot fathom it fully. We cannot fix things and turn to the One who can in prayer.
May the Lord continue to give you strength and wisdom.
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