Lindsey's Journey

     Lindsay, along with her four-year-old daughter CC, is coming to the end of her two year tenure at Faith House. She has graciously agreed to share her story with St. Ann’s family of supporters who have helped make a positive difference in her life and in her child’s.

     The youngest of three siblings, Lindsay has dealt with her mother’s mental illness for most of her life. It was this illness that caused her family to slip from a comfortable middle-class life into one of poverty and struggle. For Lindsay, it meant a childhood of uncertainty with frequent moves, several stays in homeless shelters and multiple school placements. Eventually, her family ended up in a residential program that allowed her mother to get consistent treatment and brought some much-needed stability to the family.

    While she maintains close ties with her mother and her siblings, Lindsay tends to be an introvert who likes to keep to herself. A hard worker, she held down two jobs in high school and still managed to graduate with a 3.5 average. At 21, she gave birth to CC, but like her own father, her daughter’s father left the family. Eventually, Lindsay aged-out of the program where she had lived with her mom for seven years and she had to leave. That’s when she and CC came to Faith House.

    Lindsay readily admits that transitioning to the structured program in which she shares a kitchen, laundry and living room with other single mothers was difficult at first. But her quiet manner belies a strong determination to succeed. She adapted, and learned to be responsible for her assigned chores, to budget her money and to set goals for herself. Meanwhile, CC, who is as outgoing as Lindsay is quiet, thrived at St. Ann’s Child Care Center.

    Initially, since she had no clear inclination toward a particular career path, Lindsay tried a number of jobs. She discovered, while temporarily employed as a house cleaner, that she really enjoys an occupation which requires a moderate to high level of physical activity and the opportunity to work with her hands. But to become self-supporting, Lindsay recognized that she would need to do more. With the help of our social workers, she applied to a program offered by S.O.M.E., one of St. Ann’s community partners. She enrolled in the agency’s Center for Employment Training where she is preparing to become a building maintenance service technician. She has already taken several classes and has had hands-on training in carpentry, plumbing, and appliance maintenance. She loves the work and is excited to be learning more each day. Upon completion of the program, she will be placed in a job that pays a living wage. Additionally, Lindsay’s exposure to the building maintenance field has inspired her to achieve a higher goal, that of entering a plumber’s apprenticeship.

    Lindsay’s S.O.M.E. externship will continue after she and her daughter move into their own apartment, having successfully transitioned from Faith House. CC, always bubbling with enthusiasm, “graduated” from St. Ann’s Child Care program this spring and has just started kinder- garten. She was so proud and excited to share with all of us her experience of riding the big bus to and from her new school.

     While other transitions await them both, their two years at Faith House have allowed them to develop many skills that will help them succeed. As for the determination to do so, it seems to have come naturally to both Lindsay and her daughter.