Denise’s life was difficult -- even before she was born. Her mother was addicted to crack cocaine during the pregnancy so upon her birth, Denise was a “crack baby” who had to suffer through severe withdrawal symptoms. Throughout her early years, Denise lived with various relatives and was in and out of foster care. When she entered school, she was assessed with behavioral and learning problems and put in remedial classes (Exceptional Education classes).
By time she reached the ninth grade, Denise, now living with her aunt and cousin, had been in counseling for years with very little to show for it. Her anger problem continued to worsen both at school and at home. A month into the ninth grade, she had been suspended several times and was growing more and more violent at home. It was at this point that Denise’s aunt called Charity Family Life.
When the CFL staff met with Denise’s aunt to consider her request for Denise to attend the after-school program, she was distraught and frustrated. She didn’t want to send her niece back into foster care, but she felt as though there was little else she could do to help Denise and she had little hope that things would get better. At the meeting, the staff decided to accept Denise into the after-school program with the provision that her anger problems did not jeopardize the safety of any of the other students.
For the first several weeks in the after-school program, Denise was sullen and moody and wouldn’t open up to anyone. She hated the after-school program and often tried to skip it. However, the CFL staff and her aunt were in constant communication and they quickly put an end to that. As Denise began to adjust to the structure and way of life at CFL, she began to open up and allowed the staff to take her under their wings. She blossomed. Gone was the angry, moody Denise, and here to stay was a bright, funny, sweet young lady whose emergence shocked everyone.
By the end of the school year, Denise’s grades improved drastically and, although she would occasionally get angry, she was, for the first time in her life, in control of her temper. Upon seeing this tremendous change in Denise and the great potential for success that she possessed, Denise was not only promoted to the tenth grade, but she will no longer be enrolled in Exceptional Education classes – another first for this remarkable young woman.
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