When Allen, one of our dedicated Family Visitation Specialists, first met the Johnson family, everything felt fragile...
Their two boys, ages 9 and 12, had not been able to spend meaningful time with their parents in quite some time. Court-ordered supervised visitation brought the family to Home Start, seeking help to rebuild those vital connections.
Even getting started was hard. Communication stalled. Paperwork had to be redone. Eventually, the case had to be closed temporarily.
When Allen was able to revisit the Johnsons’ case, the boys were eager to see their parents. Visits began, but stability was still hard to come by. Week after week, locations had to shift due to circumstances outside anyone’s control. It wasn’t easy on the children, the parents, or our staff. Still, the family kept showing up — and so did we.
Slowly, something remarkable began to happen.
The boys’ mother completed her sober living program. Their father successfully finished his own program. With each milestone, the trust grew, and visitations moved from supervised… to partially supervised… to fully unsupervised. The boys started talking excitedly about longer visits — even overnight stays. For the first time in a long time, they could see a path toward being a family again.
Recently, Allen was able to close the Johnsons’ case with confidence and hope. The children are reconnecting with their parents, and their parents are building a healthier, safer future for their family.
This is what your generosity makes possible.
You give families the chance to heal. You give parents room to grow. You give children the gift of stability, safety, and hope.
Because of you, the Johnson boys have parents back — and a future that once felt out of reach.