Diamond's Story
Diamond didn’t ask Safe Families to care for her baby last year because she wanted to. She did it because her only other option was to turn him over to the state.
“My ex-boyfriend filed a DCFS report against me that was totally untrue,” says Diamond, age 22. “I had to give up my baby while the investigation was going on, and my relatives wouldn’t take him unless they got paid for it. I knew if Nathaniel became a ward of the state it could be months before I saw him again.
”Diamond says she was frustrated, confused, scared, and upset the day she brought Nathaniel to LYDIA and gave him to Safe Families volunteer Sandy Gillespie. Over time, though, she realized that these very stressful circumstances would have life-changing effects.
“God turned a negative into a big positive,” she says today.
Nathaniel stayed with the Gillespie family for about three weeks. During that time, Diamond called twice a day to see how he was doing. She cooperated with the DCFS investigation and, on the Friday before Mothers Day 2011, brought Nathaniel home with her.
Diamond’s encounter with Safe Families would prove to be a turning point. Despite having very little in the way of resources or support, she now had a dream: to become a licensed social worker.
“After the way Safe Families helped me, I realized I want to help other people,” she says. “I am taking online college courses, and if all goes well I should graduate in February 2015.”
Sandy and her family continue to support Diamond and Nathaniel (now 16 months old) in many ways. They babysit when Diamond needs to go on a job interview or take a few days to study. Sandy offers advice when Diamond asks, and her family showered Diamond and Nathaniel with Christmas gifts. “They’ve been a blessing to my life,” says Diamond. “I will always be grateful.”
This story is a great example of how Safe Families can turn lives around. The program is growing both in Chicago and nationwide, thanks in large part to the support of donors like you—and volunteers like the Gillespies, who give so generously of their time and energy.
We are hoping that in 2012, Safe Families and other programs, such as our alternative high schools in Chicago and Rockford, grow significantly. It’s going to take prayer and sacrifice and, as always, financial support. But together, we can make it happen!
When you give to LYDIA, you make it possible for us to pay our dedicated team of caseworkers, teachers, administrators, and counselors, as well as provide resources…everything from textbooks for LYDIA Urban Academy to “extras” for the kids who live at our Residential Treatment Center.
I hope you will help LYDIA start the year strong with a gift of $75, $100, $250, or even more. We will use it wisely to strengthen our many programs for children and adults in crisis who count on us for support. Sometimes that support is physical, sometimes emotional – and, quite often, spiritual.
That’s definitely been the case for Diamond, who says she has learned to depend more fully on God. “I have grown a lot in the last year,” she says. “And I’ve stopped trying to fix the past. I am moving forward.”
With your help, LYDIA will continue to move forward in 2012 as well — we’re hoping this will be our most productive, fruitful year of ministry yet!
Sincerely,
Dr. David Anderson
Executive Director
