Perhaps most of us would define our family as the group of people we grew up with, usually ancestral. For our youth who have aged out of foster care, the concept of family as we know it may not apply. Jane Doolan The 18-24-year-olds in our Independent Living Services (ILS) Program often do not have the luxury of maintaining long-term … Continue
This past fall, our Independent Living Services team hosted another round of Parents Interacting With Infants (PIWI) sessions. For those of you who have been following us since PIWI’s inception, this was our third class in the series. The sequential experience of facilitating the six-segment series has contributed to our expertise, and this most recent session was our most gratifying … Continue
As the supervisor of SaintA’s Independent Living Services programming, I’ve often been asked, “Are you crazy?” The question arises following my explanation of what ILS is all about. I ponder the inquiry and respond, “a little bit crazy, yep.” I smile as I say this, acknowledging the sense of humor one must have to do this job. Those inquiring parents … Continue
“There is no substitute for hard work” —Thomas Edison Remember your first day on the job? Likely you experienced this milestone in your teen years, maybe as a young adult. Likely you started with an entry level job: fast food, service sector, retail. We all started somewhere. Chances are you received some coaching/direction from the adult caregivers in your life: … Continue
This is a story of Shanay finally finding a home …within herself. Shanay entered SaintA’s Independent Living Services program when she was 18; that was four years ago. Shanay’s birth family has extensive history within the child welfare system. As one of many siblings in the foster care system, Shanay learned early on that trust was non-existent, and the best … Continue
