#Teen success story how to#

The police and social services who intervened brought Melissa to Casa Youth Shelter until safe and stable housing could be secured. She once again became a victim of sexual abuse. It wasn’t long before Melissa found herself a victim of abuse and took refuge in the home of a friend. Staying with family members in a new country and unable to speak English, Melissa was vulnerable and soon began working to help support the family she was living with. Melissa and her family had recently migrated to the United States from El Salvador. She continued with aftercare counseling, and we connected her with a drug treatment center. Before she left, our staff helped Jane work with the police to file a report about her experience, and at her request sat with her through the police interview for support. Ultimately, Jane and her family got to a point where they agreed that Jane could return home – that it would be difficult, but manageable with the skills they learned. It was difficult at first, but as the sessions progressed Jane and her family developed communication skills to help them work through difficult conversations. When she was ready, Jane and her family talked through her experience in family sessions, and explored their feelings around the situation. In individual sessions, we helped Jane identify coping skills that could help her deal with conflict in her family. Jane felt a lot of resentment toward her mother for not protecting her more, her sister for blaming her for their family dynamics, and her step-father who she felt looked down on her. Through individual and family sessions, our counselor talked with her about risky behavior, and how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are connected. When she was using drugs, Jane would sell herself to get drugs and she was afraid how her mother would react when she find out. In group sessions, Janes shared the depth of her drug addiction. The longer she stayed with us, the more Jane shared about the root of what brought her to us. In group sessions, she said she felt that her family blamed her for every conflict that happened, and the blaming language her family used really bothered her. She shared that being at Casa Youth Shelter gave her time to sleep well and rest, and was “way better than being at home”. While Jane was with us, she was very engaged in group and individual counseling. This culminated in her attempt to run away, and her family called the police to help de-escalate the situation. When the family begins to fight, Jane would leave the room or go take a nap. Jane had been struggling – using drugs, always angry, misbehaving, fighting with her family, engaging in self-harm, and hanging out with “the wrong crowd” which resulted in her mother transferring Jane to a different school. Sarah returned home and the family continues to work in Aftercare counseling services at Casa Youth Shelter.

#Teen success story how to#

Sarah and her family worked in family therapy to have open and honest conversations about past hurts and how to strengthen the relationship between Sarah and her parents as they work through conflict better and meet everyone’s needs in the family. She developed a better understanding of the role drugs were playing in her life, and she chose to develop healthier coping skills to handle conflicts, stress, and painful feelings. While at Casa, Sarah engaged in individual, group, and family therapy. Sarah found Casa Youth Shelter and on her own came to get the help she needed, the help that she was unable to get in her current living situation.

Sarah, knew she needed a safe environment that would give her support as she confronted the conflicts at home, thoughts of hurting herself, and the fear of relapsing back into drug use. Unfortunately, lacking effective coping skills or someone to talk to, and with a family history of substance abuse she turned to marijuana to disconnect from her problems, the world, and from herself.

She began to overwhelmed with these thoughts and emotions. Sarah was especially angry about the abuse and neglect she experienced within her family as a child and as a teenager. Sarah had difficulty with her emotions and coping with the difficult feelings many teens experience. She was repeatedly being kicked out of her parent’s house due to violent outbursts and substance use. For several years in her early teens, Sarah struggled with homelessness.