Join CAFA in helping At-Risk Families
A Time for Reflection
This time of year often brings with it a flood of emotions and memories. Depending on your life experience this can be either a good thing or something extremely challenging. At CAFA we are in the business of meeting people exactly where they are and working with them to bring a greater sense of healing, health, and recovery. We work to celebrate the victories, mourn the losses, and everything in between. The following is a story that will share some of the insight into the work we do at CAFA and how you can be a part of it!
Progress
Tim and Ann have been faithful participants in their counseling including weekly individual counseling, family therapy, and neurofeedback at CAFA. They have both successfully graduated from drug and alcohol treatment and recently celebrated two years clean and sober. Their DHS child welfare case is closed and their children are getting ready for their next Christmas as a family. Tim has been able to secure low-income housing which allows shelter, but remains a challenge to his family’s stability due to the high crime and drug use all around. Tim also recently met a major treatment goal of securing a job, which he hopes will be their ticket into healthier living conditions for his family.
The Need
Families like Tim and Ann meet with our counselors at CAFA every day. They often face difficulty finding work due to issues with their past. Housing is always a challenge for similar reasons. After Tim started working Ann was driving her son to work for months in utter fear due to lacking a valid driver’s license. The fees she owed to ODOT to reinstate her license were completely out of the family’s reach. This year they also faced new uncertainties due to the coming and going of food subsidies and other governmental assistance. A recent research study from the National Institute of Health indicates that poverty issues negatively emotions and brain functioning. The stabilizing of mental health counseling as well as CAFA’s ability to advocate and provide extra financial assistance to families like Tim and Ann could make the difference in keeping a family off the streets, together, and breaking the cycle of addiction and homelessness that Tim and Ann experienced.
Join Us to Make the Difference
A Family Restored
Around two years ago Tim and Ann were praying for a miracle. They had just given birth to their second child who had been removed by child welfare along with their 6-year-old son. This gave them the wakeup call of their lives and sent them on a fast track to recovery. They were taking every class they could, talking with every advocate who would listen, and were both connected with counselors at CAFA. They were told not to expect much, as the system was bogged down with people like them, all of who wanted a Christmas with their children. Tim’s hope for a miracle was answered! The caseworkers saw their sincerity, the hard work they were putting in, and the difference that their counseling was making. Just before Christmas the family was reunited!
A Family Restored
Around two years ago Tim and Ann were praying for a miracle. They had just given birth to their second child who had been removed by child welfare along with their 6-year-old son. This gave them the wakeup call of their lives and sent them on a fast track to recovery. They were taking every class they could, talking with every advocate who would listen, and were both connected with counselors at CAFA. They were told not to expect much, as the system was bogged down with people like them, all of who wanted a Christmas with their children. Tim’s hope for a miracle was answered! The caseworkers saw their sincerity, the hard work they were putting in, and the difference that their counseling was making. Just before Christmas the family was reunited!
Would you consider making an end-of-year donation to CAFA to help us continue to keep families and children together, and make a safer world for children? Your gift helps keeps families in counseling when their insurance or funding becomes unstable. You also help us to provide for vital financial needs associated with overcoming trauma, poverty, and hardships. Your help keeps Tim and Ann healthy enough to break the cycles of abuse, addiction, and trauma, so that their children grow up in a safer world!