Together We Shine

On a March morning in Linda Boldon's Waterloo apartment, laughter and sunlight radiate a new kind of hope. Her six-week-old baby Neal is all sleepy happiness, as Linda talks with staff from LSI's HOPES early childhood program about how far her family has come and the extraordinary strength it took to get them here.

In 2005, Linda had hit bottom. The wrong kind of friends and some unhealthy choices had led her to two years in prison. DHS awarded temporary custody of her son Louis, now 9, to an aunt. She knew her life had to change.

When Linda finished her sentence, she took steps to get clean and get her son back. She distanced herself from past friends, got involved with community programs and supports, and early on in her pregnancy with Neal, she signed up for HOPES, a program she had used before with Louis.

Linda and her LSI caseworker Megan started meeting weekly to discuss everything from parenting skills to financial paperwork to Linda's anxiety during a tough pregnancy. When a fire damaged Linda's apartment, it was Megan who helped her find emergency food and shelter assistance.

"I never had anyone to support me like this," she said. "Usually, people told me 'forget it, give up.' Not Megan."

That support has helped Linda put past troubles behind her and put her two sons first.

"Linda's whole attitude and the way she's embraced this program - that's what we're all about," said Tamika, LSI program supervisor. "We educate families and help support them in parenting, teaching them that parents are their child's first teacher."

In February, Linda watched Louis stand on stage for his school play and give speeches by George Washington Carver and Martin Luther King Jr.

"You should have seen me crying," she said. "I kept saying 'That's my son.' I was so happy."

A third-grade boy in his time to shine. A mom with new tears to cry, not from troubles, but from pride.

Ask Morganne Gent about her favorite music, and her smile is pure sunshine. The 19-year-old loves to sing, dancing and laughing at the lyrics. This January, Morganne embraced a new rhythm in her life - living on her own for the first time.

"A few years ago when I would say anything to Morganne about how one day she would move out and have her own home, her consistent response was no, that she would live with us forever," said Joani, Morganne's mom.

But Morganne, who has a close bond with her sister Ada and brother Jeb, changed her mind after staying in a university dorm with a friend last year. Soon after, she was pointing out silverware, dishes, purple towels and all the things she wanted for a new home.

It's a step she was ready for with help from LSI's continuum of care. Since childhood, LSI has been a part of Morganne's life, first through LSI's supported community living for people with disabilities and then home health care.

"She wouldn't be so comfortable with people in general without that," said Joani. "She's grown to be confident in community settings, riding the bus and interacting with the public."

For years, LSI home health aide Lindsay and Morganne started each morning together. The two formed a close bond, using humor and challenges to teach Morganne the skills she would need for her new independence.

"It started Morganne's days in such a positive way, and she learned so many self-care skills," Joani said. "What made Lindsay great is that she got to know Morganne and offered her sincere respect for who she was. One of Morganne's strongest abilities is her sense of the intent and sincerity of people around her, and she trusted and loved Lindsay."

Morganne is now doing those skills on her own. Last year her dad Steve got her name on a waiting list for a local group home, and in January Morganne moved in.

Today she's happily independent, and like the purple and pink flowers her friend Elaine and Ada painted on her new walls, she is blossoming - into adulthood.

In a small apartment in Des Moines new paintings by Iraqi artist Amer Saleh al-Obaidi hang brightly on the walls. Six years ago he would have been showing these paintings at galleries and festivals in cities all over the world.

Then the war in Iraq changed everything. Amer, his wife Sawsan and daughter Bedor lived through it, until death threats aimed at Amer and other Iraqi professionals caused them to flee in 2006. They gave their house keys to a neighbor and headed to Syria. After nearly two years in Damascus, the U.N. told them they would be resettled to Iowa by LSI.

"I lost everything in Iraq," said Amer, once a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts and director of a national museum in Baghdad.

Everything including their son Bader, who was killed when a car bomb exploded during a family shopping trip.

They arrived in Des Moines last August. Today their life is safe, but still strained. They have concerns about Sawsan's health; a shrapnel wound took one of her legs and affected her eyesight. They miss their friends and the lovely house and garden they had in Baghdad.

Amer wants to renew his art career, a difficult task when the dealers eagerly requesting his paintings are half a world away. He gave the money from his first art sale in Iowa to a charity that helps Iraqi children injured in the war.

The bright spots are their new American friends, some who they met through LSI, and the new possibilities for Bedor, a gracious 19-year-old who speaks perfect English and wants to attend an Iowa university.

"We hope to live very safe here, to see our daughter grow up, marry and graduate from university," Amer said. "This is our wishes."

For now, a new painting on the wall expresses their hopes. Refugee in Iowa shows a past painted in black and a future in vibrant pinks, yellows and greens. A future, they hope, with the colors of peace.

Their friendship started in an unusual way - cleaning deer hides to make drums for the spiritual life program at LSI's Bremwood Residential Treatment Center.

"TJ was helping with a deer hide, and she was really interested," said Carla, an LSI grant writer and mentor. "We were working away on the deer hide, and she just looked at me and said 'Would you be my mentor?"

It's not surprising that making drums, a blend of craft and music, would interest TJ. The 18-year-old plays the bass clarinet for marching band and loves to draw, including a sketch of an angel printed on an LSI Christmas ornament.

And now with support from LSI's transitional living and mentoring programs, TJ is making a bright future for herself. Since coming to Bremwood three years ago, TJ has learned new social skills and how to manage her emotions, along with how to pay bills, plan meals and get a job.

In LSI's supervised apartment living program, TJ lives in her own apartment while finishing school and working at the local Pizza Ranch.

"I feel a lot more independent," TJ said. "I'm paying my bills and rent. I'm not scared anymore. I got enough practice here, and it's time to learn how to walk on my own, not crawl."

Taking those strides of independence is made easier with a mentor cheering her on.

"It's nice just to know someone cares and wants to hang out. It's like having a grandma," she said teasingly to Carla.

TJ will graduate this year and plans to study graphic communication at a community college. She hopes to study abroad in Germany, she said, and be inspired by a landscape of ancient castles.

It's a future with the freedom to be anything she wants to be - making her own music, marching to the beat of her own drum.

On an August night Brandy Boczkowski tucked her baby girl Miah into bed in their apartment and went to visit a neighbor in a connecting building, taking the baby monitor with her. While talking and drinking some beers, it got a little loud, she said. After a complaint, police arrived, and upon learning Miah was alone, they were required as mandatory reporters to report neglect.

A DHS caseworker explained to Brandy that monitors weren't a reliable source of supervision, something the young mom hadn't known at the time. He referred her to LSI for permanency services, designed to keep families safe and stable, and she began meeting with LSI caseworker Latrisha.

"I totally loved her," said Brandy. "She would let me talk, ask questions and give the answer to the best of her ability. I developed a good relationship with her."

Latrisha helped guide Brandy in supervision, decision-making, parenting skills and child care, focusing on Brandy's strengths to build her confidence.

"She pointed out a lot of positive things," Brandy said. "She told me how healthy my relationship is with my daughter and how Miah's met or exceeded many milestones."

Latrisha also helped Brandy eliminate a major source of stress - stacks of bills and paperwork piled up in the apartment. The two sat on the living room floor, spread everything out and organized it all into folders.

"They helped me with so much more than just being a mom," said Brandy. "It was a wake-up call for me."

Last December, long after LSI closed her case, Brandy asked Latrisha for a letter of recommendation for nursing school.

"When she called me, I just thought, 'This is why we do our jobs," Latrisha said. "The Brandy I knew then would have wanted to do that, but might have never followed through. She's taking everything she learned and putting it into practice."

Today Brandy is earning her LPN degree. Miah is a happy, bubbly two-year-old. A mom and daughter with all the skills they need to shine.

For Kyla Alba, watching her daughter Victoria win homecoming queen at the senior dance last fall was a magical moment.

"I am still on cloud nine," said Kyla. "The students were so accepting of her and wanted this honor for her. They will forever hold a special place in my heart."

Victoria, who has Down syndrome, gasped in surprise when it was announced her classmates at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs had voted her queen. She then shared a slow dance with the homecoming king.

"I was very excited and honored," Victoria said about that night.

A teen with a bouncy laugh, Victoria has an extraordinary happiness about her. Over the past four years, LSI has helped her build independence through supported community living services, respite services and a summer day camp.

With LSI, Victoria has learned about cooking, budgeting money, exercise and social skills. This year will bring a new adventure-learning to ride the city bus-which will help Victoria meet her future goals of living in an apartment with friends and having a job.

Two years ago Kyla, a single mother, decided to bring her own skills to LSI. As a respite provider, she now gives other parents a break while taking children to fun places like the zoo, parks and baseball games, or playing at the Alba home.

"I feel it's an opportunity for me to give back because of the wonderful, positive experiences I've had with Victoria receiving services through LSI," Kyla said. "I appreciate the LSI programs offered here in southwest Iowa. LSI is a fabulous organization, and I recommend it to other families I meet."

This May Victoria will walk across the graduation stage with her peers where, once again, she'll show her classmates and her community what it means to shine.

The summer before senior year of high school should be filled with friends, road trips and as much fun as you can pack into it. For 17-year-old Laura Tirado, this vision of summer was washed away by floodwaters.

Like the mud-soaked furniture strewn throughout the first floor of the Tirados' Cedar Rapids home, life was turned upside down.

"There was a boat actually going down my street when I drove by," said Laura. "That day I saw water in my house, on my porch and still on my street, and it was probably the hardest day of my life."

Laura's mom Diane is a single mother who works full time and goes to college all while battling Sarcoidosis, a life-threatening auto immune disease. She lost almost everything in the home where she raised her daughters. But with the help of friends, community and LSI disaster response case advocate Emily, the light of recovery gets brighter every day.

"I think Emily and everyone at the Linn County Area Recovery Coalition are a wealth of knowledge," said Laura. "They know everything. They know everyone's numbers, they know where to go and what to get."

Laura and Diane still have their dark days, but their spirit is persevering - something Laura attributes to her mother.

"The willpower of my mom is unbelievable," said Laura. "She is a warrior and doesn't let anything stop her."

Soon, the once uninhabitable house will become a home again, hopefully in time for Laura's graduation party.

"If I do have my party at our house, I'm going to make it the biggest party on the block," said Laura.

A party well-deserved for this college-bound daughter and inspiring mother who have weathered the storm to see the sun shine again.