I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends

Amy has been a client of the Waypoint Permanency Solutions Program (ISO) for almost six months. She comes from a very large family but has little to no support system beyond her brother, who is homeless. Amy has been an LNA for 26 years serving as a caregiver to many. When she recently lost her father, she began to struggle emotionally and a past substance abuse issue threatened to sidetrack her. Then her mother, who lived in Maine, became ill and Amy decided to pack up her children and go take care of her mother. She had been struggling financially and was behind on her apartment rent. She put all her possessions in a storage unit and headed to Maine.

Returning to the area, Amy was unable to get state assistance due to having no driver’s license or documentation, all of which was lost when, unable to pay for the storage unit, the contents were auctioned. Six months ago, while she and her boys were homeless, living with a friend in Londonderry, she became a Waypoint client. Generally, families are referred to ISO when there is a danger that family problems are leading toward out of home placement for the children. The Waypoint caseworker works intensively with the family, sometimes on a daily basis, to prevent placement. Amy was assigned an ISO caseworker, Brooke, who observed, “Getting to know Amy over the past six months, I can totally see her dropping everything and lovingly taking care of her mother. She has such a big heart and a passion for LNA care.”

Brooke first assisted the family by getting them a food basket while they were staying with a friend in Londonderry and right away saw the potential of this family to overcome their problems. “I had worked with a gentleman at the food pantry who had assisted me several times for other clients. When I was filling out the forms and told him who the basket was for, his eyes welled with tears and he said, 'She took care of my wife.' He packed my SUV full of food for Amy and the boys. “

Brooke sees enormous potential in Amy. “She is always my first phone call or text in the morning. “ I am doing this today,” she will tell me or “I got this done.” Together they got all her documentation back and state services in place. She was accepted into the Families in Transition program and had stable housing for her and her boys. Brooke got her oldest son into Job Corps. Brooke noted that both boys are “amazing, funny, smart and KIND.”

According to Brooke, this is the type of case that plays out the way it is supposed to with several community agencies working together to get this struggling family back on its feet. Manchester City Welfare, Families in Transition and Waypoint worked in tandem to secure the resources Amy and her boys needed. Several weeks ago, Brooke helped Amy move into their new apartment. Amy recently had a great job interview and will be working again soon. The boys are now attending school every day, on time. Amy is a loving and supportive mom who is on her way to transitioning smoothly into independence.

Brooke is wistful about this case coming to a close. “It saddens my heart that I will not see this family daily… which is a dream for an ISO caseworker. This family soon will no longer need my services. “

Waypoint met Amy at a low point in her life and has, with the help of a caring, supportive community, helped her move forward. This definitely has been a plan that has come together to benefit a family in crisis. If Amy had a favorite song lyric it might easily be, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

– Fall 2018