Making the difficult and brave choice to leave an abusive relationship, Stacie and her 15-year-old daughter, Dylan, arrived at the Department of Social Services with nothing but the clothes they were wearing and a few precious belongings in a backpack. Having walked away from everything they knew and owned, they knew they were facing an uncertain future. But for Stacie and Dylan, fear of the unknown was better than fear of the known.
Following their referral to Family Care Network’s Housing Support Program, the two were quickly placed in temporary housing. Once safe, staff made sure that Stacie and Dylan had the essentials—fresh clothes, toiletries, bedding, and food—equipping them to regain some semblance of normalcy while they tried to make sense of their new circumstances.
Staff quickly noticed that Dylan was struggling—she was having nightmares and retreating into herself. Due to fears for her safety, she hadn’t returned to school yet and had no access to her friends because she left her phone behind. The team talked through options with Stacie and came up with a new plan: Dylan needed to be able to talk to her friends, and she needed a healthy way to express herself.
Through the generosity of donors like you, Dylan was given a new phone to text with her friends, and writing/art supplies to help process her emotions. These things—a refurbished iPhone, colored pencils, and a journal and sketchpad—might sound small, but to Dylan, they were tools that reunited her with her support system and helped center her amid so much uncertainty.
Your support didn’t just ensure a family’s safety—you renewed their hope and provided comfort to a frightened teen when she needed it most.
