Willie
Willie and his mother were both abusing drugs and alcohol. He was struggling with an abusive home environment, choosing destructive friendships, and flirting with criminal behavior. He was at risk of being kicked out of school. Willie stayed at Jackson Street off and on for several years continuing to struggle, but with the help of case management he learned independent living skills and kept working on his GED. One important personal goal Willie identified was to spend more time with his lttle brother, and to become worthy of being his brother’s “role model.”
NOW: 2011. Willie turned 18 at the shelter, and his struggles didn’t magically end on his 18th birthday. Things are still hard for him, but he continues weekly meetings with his JSYSI case manager, setting goals, and working to accomplish them, one thing at a time. He is still struggling to live on his own, with all that entails, but he is also still working on that GED and has become a strong advocate for the shelter.
Dena
Dena was referred by another agency after an incident of abuse from her ex-boyfriend. Dena lived with a guardian, but due to the guardian’s long work hours she felt unsafe in the home. Since Dena was willing to talk about what had happened to her, we were able to address her concerns by providing information on restraining orders so she could legally protect herself from her abuser, addressing her concerns that she was pregnant, working with the guardian to brainstorm ways that she could be in the home more often, and, most importantly, developed safety plans for each situation that Dena felt she may see her ex-boyfriend. Dena moved back into her guardian’s home within the week, and both she and her guardian feel “things seem better.” Now a student at LBCC, Dena keeps busy with her studies and is working towards her personal goals.
NOW: 2010. Dena was able to graduate from high school, obtain stable employment, and start volunteer work for another social service agency. She has also chosen to “give back” to Jackson Street by becoming a volunteer mentor, providing positive one-on-one interaction with a current JSYSI client.
After a break from schooling, she enrolled in LBCC to obtain a degree in social services. She formed a healthy relationship and is now engaged to a caring young man. She continues to be a role model and support for youth like her in our community. From time to time, we run into Dena at her place of employment and love to see that she is doing very well.
Molly
Molly came to us in March 2006 when she was sixteen. At the time, we were housing her boyfriend, who was worried about her situation at home. He told Molly about Jackson Street and urged her to get help, and eventually she called the Crisis Line and asked if she could come stay at the shelter. Molly’s mother reluctantly signed the papers to allow us to house her, but she was never very cooperative.
Molly’s family was experiencing more than a temporary crisis. Her home was in chaos; her mother was always angry, always yelling, and sometimes abusive. And shelter staff soon found out that Molly’s life was even worse than it seemed. It turned out that Molly’s father had been arrested for physically and sexually abusing Molly. Molly’s mother never allowed her to seek therapeutic help for these attacks and never really acknowledged what had happened to her. Molly’s mother and sister claimed they didn’t believe what she told them about her father, and made her feel like SHE was the one in the family who did everything wrong.
In 7th and 8th grade Molly had been suicidal; she repeatedly cut herself and once took an overdose of pills. She was in and out of school, surrounded herself with a very negative group of friends, and was sexually promiscuous. Molly began to starve herself as a way of punishing her body. She also showed signs of mental health issues (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and was sometimes obsessed with keeping herself and her surroundings clean.
Molly stayed in Shelter off and on for about 18 months. During that time, she enrolled in school, obtained her GED, and engaged in individual counseling sessions at the Old Mill Center. It was discovered that she had drug and alcohol issues and she tried several treatment approaches, finally leaving Shelter to enter a residential treatment program.
On probation for misdemeanors and drug use, Molly was one of the first participants in Benton County’s Juvenile Drug Court, which offers a nine-month program of structured support for youths to end substance abuse and expunge their juvenile court charges. Molly succeeded, graduated from the program, and saw her juvenile record shredded.
Molly faced her father in court and was able to testify against him; he is now in prison, convicted of both sexual assault and domestic violence. Molly was able to obtain victims’ assistance through the court and began counseling sessions with a therapist to work through the emotional trauma her father’s abuse caused.
One outcome of this damage became apparent when JSYSI staff discovered that Molly’s relationship with her boyfriend was abusive. (Sadly, this was the same young man who had urged her to seek shelter at Jackson Street.) Working with the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV) we found Molly a safe space stay while her boyfriend was transitioned out of shelter. (He found a home with a responsible adult out-of-state, and later got help for his problems with substance abuse and violence.)
Molly came back to a safe environment at Jackson Street, but it took her a very long time to understand why her relationship with her boyfriend was so destructive. Caseworkers spent a lot of time working with Molly to help her understand the process of abuse and realize that she was living that life. Slowly she began to realize how a healthy, caring relationship between two people should function.
At Jackson Street, we involve every client in crafting his or her individual Case-Management Plan. Molly participated fully in case management and did a wonderful job making slow, steady progress to accomplish her goals. After she left shelter, Molly continued to work on improving her life, and maintained an “after-care” relationship with us; she checked in with staff weekly and continued to set and meet goals.
Molly has accomplished a great deal, but it hasn’t been easy. For a time she continued to struggle with the issues of healthy relationships, boundaries with friends and family, and drugs and alcohol. But a while back, Molly made an important decision: She reached out to JSYSI and stated that she was ready to change, grow up, and make something of herself. She recommitted to her therapy through the victim-assistance program. She asked to work one-on-one with Kendra Sue to write a resume, find a job, and continue to work on her issues with drugs and alcohol. As a first step to independence, she got a job cleaning motel rooms and she stuck with it.
Kendra Sue was a shoulder to lean on, someone to help implement her plans to get an apartment, open a bank account, get a license, buy her first car, etc. Now, Molly has stayed clean for about 2 years. She is having a lovely time learning about living independently, but she also has a healthy relationship and is engaged to be married. She wants to “pay it forward,” too. She has joined JSYSI’s Mentoring program to help other young people, and acts as an informal mentor for several people in her life. She has become a capable and dependable young adult, and has now been employed at Jackson Street as a part-time caseworker for about 18 months. A new chapter in Molly’s story will open in January, when she begins studying Criminal Justice at Linn-Benton Community College. She’s come a long way in the last five years, demonstrating amazing courage, strength, and perseverance. We are SO proud of her! And we are so proud JSYSI could be there to help.
