Spring Giving
Your support today puts tomorrow's goals within reach.
Angela* grew up in a home without any love. Instead of growing up learning what healthy relationships and parenthood could look like, the years of abuse and neglect taught Angela fear and distrust.
When she became pregnant, she worried she would not know how to parent with love and kindness. Her concerns only grew when her partner left her early in pregnancy, knowing she was going to raise her child on her own.
"I wasn’t sure if the way I loved my baby was the right way, because I didn’t ever get that love.” - Angela
One thing Angela knew for sure: she wanted to raise her baby differently than the model she grew up with, determined her child would never have to endure what she had.
She also knew she would need support to make that happen. Angela contacted 211, who connected her to LifeWorks NW’s Healthy Families program. Based in Washington County, Healthy Families supports positive parent-child relationships and helps families access resources for critical basic needs.
When Angela’s son, Oscar, was born, her love for him was immediate. With the help of a LifeWorks NW Family Support Specialist, Angela learned how to foster healthy attachment, navigate health care for infants, and help Oscar build confidence to feel safe exploring the world. The weekly visits with her Family Support Specialist gave Angela the opportunity to parent the way she had always hoped to by learning the foundations of healthy parenting.
Your support today can help break the cycle for families like Angela's
At LifeWorks NW, we provide services across the lifespan, and some of our most critical work happens early in a person’s life. This can take many forms, including:
- Child abuse prevention services that work with children recovering from unimaginable trauma and provide parents the skills and tools they need to give their kids the healthiest start possible;
- Mental health services that help children, youth, and their families with counseling, skills training, and medication and case management;
- Early assessment and intervention for youth experiencing their first symptoms of psychosis to help them understand what is happening and how to manage their symptoms.
These are just a few examples of the many ways that LifeWorks NW works with children and families, building a solid foundation from the start.
Angela is thrilled to share that today, she and her son are thriving. Oscar has met or exceeded all of his milestones and is walking ahead of the curve! Angela is there for him every step of the way, having grown in confidence as the loving mother she has always wanted to be.
"I feel like raising [Oscar] is the most important thing I have ever done in my life. People will be impacted by him. All I can hope is that it is in a positive way; that’s how I will know I’ve done a good job." - Angela
When you invest in LifeWorks NW, you not only invest in the health of our whole community, you invest in our collective future.
Donate now to help give kids and their families the best start - and healthiest tomorrow - possible.
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