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Whitney is a mom of four who moved into the Life House residential maternity program in the fall. She has a 14-year-old daughter, a 12-year-old daughter, and a 10-year-old son. All her older children currently reside with their father while Whitney works through the program. Thankfully, Whitney has maintained a connection with her children and visits with them on weekends. All three of her kids are excited to be gaining another sibling, a baby boy, who is expected in early 2023. Whitney\u2019s daughter, Emilia, and son, Solomon, play football, while her other daughter, Victoria, helps their father coach the team. As a family, they all enjoy spending time together going apple picking and doing arts and crafts.<\/span><\/p>\n Whitney\u2019s children are a huge part of her life, so she is dedicated to bettering herself so she can be the best version of herself for her kids. She is focusing on all aspects of her personal growth to keep herself stable and in a position to get ahead. She is focused on taking care of herself physically as she nears the end of her pregnancy. Since she has a history of preeclampsia, she recognizes the importance of taking care of her health for herself and her baby. Along with focusing on her physical health, Whitney is also focusing on her mental health and maintaining her sobriety.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She is focused on building and maintaining her support network; she regularly works with her peer mentor, intense case manager, counselor, and Life House staff. Whitney is actively working and putting money aside to secure housing for her family. Some other goals she is working towards are enrolling in school and career exploration. She is considering returning to school for business and hopes that by returning, she will be able to secure a long-term career that will afford her the life she wants for herself and her family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How has CGLH made an impact on you and your family?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThey impacted me and my family by being a great support system. They are some of the most caring people and staff I have ever met and are always there to help you or reach out to.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is one thing you would like our community supporters to know about the Life House?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cThey are always there for you and help keep you goal-oriented in a positive way.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whitney is a mom of four who moved into the Life House residential maternity program in the fall. She has a 14-year-old daughter, a 12-year-old daughter, and a 10-year-old son. All her older children currently reside with their father while Whitney works through the program. Thankfully, Whitney has maintained a connection with her children and visits with them on weekends. All three of her kids are excited to be gaining another sibling, a baby boy, who is expected in early 2023. Whitney\u2019s daughter, Emilia, and son, Solomon, play football, while her other daughter, Victoria, helps their father coach the team. As a family, they all enjoy spending time together going apple picking and doing arts and crafts. Whitney\u2019s children are a huge part of her life, so she is dedicated to bettering herself so she can be the best version of herself for her kids. She is focusing on all aspects of her personal growth to keep herself stable and in a position to get ahead. She is focused on taking care of herself physically as she nears the end of her pregnancy. Since she has a history of preeclampsia, she recognizes the importance of taking care of her health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/caygalgonlifehouse.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Melissa-and-Son-copy-1024x659.jpg\")
\r\n\r\nMelissa reached out to CGLH in 2020, looking for housing services late into the pregnancy of her third child. Earlier in the year, she got COVID while pregnant and was severely symptomatic, causing her to miss a significant amount of time from work. She was living paycheck-to-paycheck and her time out of work cost her the apartment she was living in with her two teenage children. After getting COVID, losing wages, and being forced to move out of her apartment, she had no choice other than to send her two teenagers to live with family and live out of her car. CGLH made plans to move her into the maternity shelter as she would have nowhere to go with Baby Boy after giving birth; returning to her car with her baby was not an option. Melissa went into labor sooner than expected. Fortunately, there were no complications, baby and mom were healthy, and both adjusted quickly to life at CGLH's transitional maternity program. During Melissa\u2019s maternity leave, she Secured a new job, acquired Daycare, and got Baby Boy a spot at a facility nearby. Only eight weeks postpartum, she returned to work. Over the course of the next few months, Melissa enrolled in an LPN to RN educational program through a local community college. She also started to apply for different housing programs in the area, hoping one would ultimately lead to a successful transition out of CGLH and into a space of her own for herself and her family. In the nine months Melissa spent at CGLH, she saved a significant amount of money and secured a four-bedroom unit through Bethlehem Housing Authority's Public Housing Program. For Melissa, this means affordable, long-term housing and the chance to raise her three children under the same roof. She continues to work towards her RN degree. She was hired as a technical partner in the cardiac arrest ICU at a local hospital, affording her higher wages. The future looks much brighter for her and her family. Although working, raising children, and going to school is a mammoth task in itself, doing it without a support system and as a single mother seems monumental. Melissa knows that we will continue to support her. We encourage her and all our graduates to keep in contact and reach out for help, even if that means we just listen and encourage.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n