| This week, as a part of the Flourish Project, you get the opportunity to read the story of a young woman who was guided to safety, encouraged to achieve her goals, and had her dignity restored through The Coffee Oasis case management in Tacoma.
We will call her Lily*.
Like a beautiful flower planted in dry, rocky soil, Lily had a rough start in life. In highschool, Lily struggled with dyslexia and unstable housing. Without the support or encouragement she needed, eventually, she ended up dropping out of school. With no education, rental history, or employment, Lily’s life was headed in a dangerous direction.
Yet because of support from community partners like you, Lily has been nurtured through case management and is beginning to bloom.
Moving from Rocky Ground: Connecting Lily with Safe Housing
For Lily to thrive, her case manager knew she needed a soft place to land. Since Lily was too old to stay at The Coffee Oasis’ underage youth shelter in Tacoma—the Serra House, Lily’s case manager connected her with a subsidized housing program which provided her with one year of subsidized housing. She finally had a safe place in which to rest, learn, and grow.
Nurturing Growth: Encouraging Lily to Achieve her Goals
Lily’s case manager encouraged her each week and helped her understand the value of being organized and goal setting. And Lily began to sprout as she put this knowledge into practice and started keeping a calendar. Her case manager came alongside her and supported her through the process to obtain her birth certificate, her official WA State identification card, and a EBT card. While obtaining these documents and items contributed towards her growth, even more significant was the relationships she developed with caring adults who acknowledged and celebrated her achievements.
Lily is Beginning to Bloom
Now, with the nurturing care of her case manager and community partners like you, Lily is beginning to bloom. She is living in her very first apartment in her own name. She is participating in mental health counseling. She is working towards obtaining her GED. She is studying for her driver’s license. She is participating in the Career Pathways program with REACH. She is beginning to emerge—stronger and more confident than ever before.
Restoring Dignity
During a visit to her apartment by her case manager, Lily delighted in showing the finished product of an old dresser she’d recently repurposed. Not new, but new to her, Lily took pride in showing how she’d carefully taken something once discarded and created it into something not only practical, but beautiful. Her wide grin and beaming eyes said all she needed to say. Just as she restored this dresser, her dignity was beginning to be restored.
That is what you can offer youth like Lily through The Coffee Oasis: Dignity.
You can help youth like Lily bloom.
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