|
Matt
We first met
Matt in the summer of 2004. He walked through our doors with a
younger brother and the biggest smile on his face. We enjoyed
getting to know him and his family throughout the summer. Once
the school year began, Matt attended our Children's Center each day. We
soon noticed that he was having difficulty academically. After
talking to his parents, we discovered he has a learning
disability which was preventing him from reading and
doing simple math problems.
Matt continued to work with his
America Reads tutor 3 days a week and also received tutoring
daily from a volunteer at the Center. Matt brought us his first
A+ spelling test, which consisted of 5 three-letter words that
he had finally mastered! His tutors initially were unsure how to
proceed in helping this lovely child overcome his severe
limitations in learning. We obtained a copy of his IEP from the
school and began to work towards each goal listed. Our
tutors found ways to be "creative" in teaching Matt, often using
a stopwatch, sports literature, and other visuals relating to
his passion for sports.
Matt is now in
the 7th grade and is making slow but steady progress
to meet his academic goals. Matt amazes us as he has such a
strong desire to learn, despite his limitations. On any given
day you will find him in "his spot" at the Center, working
one-on-one with his tutor. Learning has a whole new meaning to
him, and he continues to surprise us each day with his
persistence and enthusiasm. We know there is a bright future
for this enthusiastic young man.
Mary
& Maria
Mary was
vivacious and outgoing, talkative and fun. She was a
cheerleader. Maria was moody, angry, depressed and, at the
time, not very likeable. However, when they were at the
Teen Center or the RESPECT meeting, both girls were relaxed and
got along easily with others. In the 4+ years that these
girls have been in RESPECT they have made substantial progress.
Each now
maintains a 2.5 to 3.0 GPA. Mary is employed by this
ministry as a lead aide in the Children's Center and now has
four years of experience. She is also employed in the fast
food industry. Maria is also employed in the fast food
industry and is a trained aide in a nursing home. She is
paying the tuition for her 6-year-old niece to attend a charter
school. Maria has organized a dance team, selects
appropriate music and choreographs some of their routines.
Mary is active in cheerleading and Maria is a strong athlete in
track and basketball. They have blossomed into confident,
competent individuals. They just graduated from high
school in June 2007. Both are planning to attend college
or vocational training in the fall. Their older sister now
has two small children, an example of the cycle of poverty for
many young women in this area. However, the these girls
have a bright future ahead of them due in part to their
involvement with Hamilton Living Water and the RESPECT Program.
Elena
Elena is a single mother of
two children. She moved to the community this past year,
looking for work. Her second child was born this past
October at Fort Hamilton Hospital. Unfortunately, her son
was born with an illness that required an extended stay in the
hospital for tests and treatment. Elena did not have
health insurance. The social worker who spoke to Elena at
the hospital did not speak Elena's native language and therefore
she did not fully understand that she may be eligible for
assistance from programs like Medicare and WIC. Elena
shared her concerns about the cost of her son's health care with
a neighbor, who recommended that she contact the Neighborhood
Service Center for assistance.
Elena came to the Neighborhood
Service Center and explained the situation. When our NSC
Coordinator realized that she had not understood the social
worker at the hospital, he explained that Medicare and WIC were
available to her, gave her an application, and helped her fill
out the form. Our Coordinator and Elena went back to the
hospital to speak to the social worker. Our Coordinator
provided translation services to facilitate the completion of
her applications, which were submitted and approved. When
she took her son for a follow-up appointment later, the costs
were covered and everything went smoothly. Elena called us
after the visit to say how grateful she was that her son can now
get the treatment he needs, which would have been financially
impossible without Medicare. |
