One of City Impact’s therapists met with a young Hispanic single mother with two daughters, ages 5 and 8. A Child Protective Services social worker referred the mother to City Impact’s Counseling Center. Due to inappropriate parenting, the 5-year old daughter was anxious, irritable and dysfunctional in her relationships.

During therapy, the mother learned how to recognize the multiple stressors impacting her daily life and her family’s. She also discovered that talking about these issues without being judged helped her to relax, while prioritizing life-enhancing choices for her and her children.

She credits her continued parenting skills education with helping her build a positive, nurturing relationship with her daughters and contributing to their success in school.

Simon is a toddler in City Impact’s Family Literacy Program. The teachers noticed that he did not interact with other children. With the teachers’ assistance, Simon began interacting more. If his mother had not enrolled him in City Impact’s Literacy Program, Simon would not have received any services until he entered kindergarten, three years later.

Simon’s mother tells us that he now plays with his dad, which is something new for him, and has developed better relationships at home, with his peers and his teachers. His teachers are optimistic that he will be ready for kindergarten. Because he was identified and helped at a young age, Simon will not become a child “at risk.”

I met John in December when City Impact was recruiting boys for the Thousand Oaks support groups. He is an only child and his parents are not home very much, so John sometimes gets lonely and depressed.

City Impact’s support group has become a safe place for him to express his feelings and ideas with people he trusts. During our group sessions, we discussed the boys’ future dreams and plans by asking if they wanted to go to college, a trade school or join the armed services. Most of the boys did not have a plan or even dreams, though John responded, “I want to work on cars as an auto mechanic or auto body repairman.”

Through our discussions and his research, John realized that he has many career options open to him. John decided that he’d rather work with people than with cars. He is currently volunteering at a local animal shelter and is applying to volunteer at the local library to work with kids during their reading programs.

The mentoring program has also helped John learn how to manage his time better and not feel pressured to grow up so fast.

John enjoys our relationship, and so do I.