"Case Manager" is my professional title at Casa Teresa but, I act as a mom, friend, accountability partner, and counselor. I feel it is my role to empower our residents to work toward understanding their worth, and to guide them in a positive direction fostering personal growth. This includes everything from survival needs, to expunging criminal records, or reunifying family. Each woman’s situation is different and therefore case plans vary in structure. The one common denominator is that they are all embarking on the journey of Motherhood. I have a passion for growth and change. For many years, I did not believe it to be possible. I come from a familial cycle of poverty and alcoholism, and left home at 15 years of age from Seattle to California. Needless to say, my journey was rough, troubled, and insane. My mis-spent youth took me into my twenties seeking something different. I turned my life around with the help of a community that knew what I needed. I was eventually able to let go of the negative and allow the support in. This is an extremely difficult process that many cannot persevere. When I sit down with my moms, I feel the same despair, discomfort, and vulnerability that once imprisoned me. I want our moms to know that they deserve a good life; they deserve to be happy and joyful, no matter what their past looks like. As humans, we all have our own personal struggles. Working towards change by trying to develop a healthy family dynamic can be challenging and uncomfortable to those who have never experienced it. I love helping our moms work through these feelings and eventually find a new way to see the world (it’s all about perspective). I feel that if I was able to do it, anyone can. I want our moms to know they can as well. It just takes is one person to break the cycle. I was the first in my family to go to college and graduate. I graduated from college when I was 40 years old and often share that with the moms that believe they lost their chance at an education. It is NEVER too late and I am living proof. Healing broken relationships with family members is truly paramount. Many times hurt feelings and fears of being judged keep us from reconnecting with our families. Some people will go a lifetime not speaking to each other. Many of our moms do not have a family, parents, or role models that have been there for them. As staff members at Casa Teresa, we often play the role of surrogate family to these women. I feel like a mom to all of them and many see me that way, as well. When they leave our program and move on to their new lives, it is very bittersweet for me. Fortunately, most of the alumni keep in contact, which we absolutely LOVE! If there is one thing that I would like others to know about Casa Teresa, is that we changes lives. I have literally watched young women grow up in our program. To watch them as their confidence lifts over time and the self- loathing diminishes is quite a miraculous process; it is inspiring to all that witness. The team here at Casa Teresa all contribute to this process through our love, support, and most importantly, our grace. I have been walking alongside the expectant mothers that walk through the doors of Casa Teresa for 10 years, and personally, for the first time in my life I feel I am right where I am supposed to be.
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