Author: Jeannie Norris

 It was only 6:51 a.m. but already a small hand was rattling the door. When Julie Glasgow opened it, there stood Malachi.

It was the first day at the Barbara H. Curtis Center and he couldn’t wait another minute. He was ready.

Sunrise that morning was at 6:49. 

Malachi is 3 and he was the first student to be enrolled at the Curtis Center. He now also holds the distinction of the first to arrive. Every. Day. Last. Week. 

We naturally love his enthusiasm – it embodies everything we hoped the Curtis Center would be. So we wanted to share a snapshot from our opening day.

In addition to Malachi, the Curtis Center welcomed more than 40 other enthusiastic students. Parents dropped off, then teachers met and welcomed the children who immediately began the very serious work of playing together and learning. 

All of this is possible thanks to you – dear friends, donors, and our partner DHIC, Inc. Thank you for sharing the vision and making it happen, redefining childcare and preschool opportunities in Raleigh’s Washington Terrace community.

Sarah is one of our family preservation specialists

“The connections we make are so powerful and positive. I remember this little boy I worked with last year.

“He was a first grader and he was classified as nonverbal. But even though he couldn’t have a conversation with us he was so intelligent. He had some delays, both physically and cognitively, but if you gave him a phone or a tablet, he could type out what he wanted to say and he could express his emotions so well.

“His family was in the reunification process, so he was living with a relative. And when I would take him to visit his mom, it was so neat – he would get so excited. You know, his mom was always the best part of his day. The family is back together now. I ran into his mom last week and she gave me a big hug and said, ‘Oh! We have to get you back together with the little boy. He can’t wait to see you and we’re all so happy now.’ “

See posts like this on Instagram @MHC_family

When John came to us, he was 14 years old and hadn’t been in a classroom for years. In fact, we searched and never found middle school records for him. Testing revealed he was working barely above an elementary grade level.

John was angry and discouraged when we met, and it made sense. His mother had died when he was 4 and his father, remarried, was in and out of his life, serving time in prison or traveling to construction jobs. John was living unparented in a home without regular meals or clothes for school. He needed a lot of help academically – but before that could happen, John needed to know somebody believed in him.

That’s where Ms. Mary begins her work. She’s the full-time teacher in his group home, and she understands how kids like John are resigned to failure, afraid to try. “We all told him you can do this,” Mary says. “You can do this. Every day we said, we are going to make sure that you have food to eat, you have clothes to wear, you have a shower, you are going to school – and you are going to do what you need to do.”

Mary started by giving John work she knew he could handle. “When he realized he could do it, he got that success experience. He lost a little bit of that fear and he tried something else. And we started moving up, gradually building that success and giving him that belief in himself.”

John is in high school now, with plans to go to culinary school – and we are delighted to see him working toward a dream.

Keesha is one of our family success coaches

“I worked with him for 6 months and I really saw a completely different kid by the end of it. He was originally referred to us last year – he was suspended over 10 times in a school period for different things: fighting on the bus, talking back to teachers, things like that. He grew up with his dad. His mom is on drugs and not in the picture and he doesn’t have a great relationship with his stepmom – he would be disrespectful to her, curse her out, and things like that. And so he really needed a positive female role model, and to learn how to appreciate, and speak to, and interact with women in a more positive way.

“The first card says, ‘Tell me about your favorite snack’ and then the questions get progressively more intense. Soon you’re asking, ‘Tell me the time you got mad at dad and how did that make you feel.’

“When we first started playing the ‘ungame,’ he wasn’t interested. He would just say, ‘I don’t know,’ to everything. Whereas the last time I saw him, his dad played along and they were asking for more cards. And he really liked it because it opened up communication with him and his dad.

“But he’s made a huge change since last year. He did teen court and really liked being a juror and is now interested in maybe going to school for law. He’s been connected with a few different mentor programs, similar to a Big Brother, Big Sister. His grades are up; he was failing everything and now he has a B average and he just has a completely different attitude than when I first met him.

“I love this job but it has its challenges, definitely. Sometimes, the families can be a bit challenging, just with seeing mom or dad’s lack of participation or unwillingness to look at their own issues. They usually just want to focus on the child’s issues and not see that the family dynamic as a whole is what creates the issues for the kiddo.”

See posts like this on Instagram @MHC_family

His family shut him out but he is forging ahead

When he was 15 Quinn was a smart, well-liked 10th grader – active in his school’s athletics and clubs. That changed in an instant when he did something irrational and impulsive. No amount of regret could undo it and Quinn ended up in court.

A week later, Quinn was sent to one of our crisis & assessment centers and 30 days after that, he was accepted into our transitional living program. And this is where Quinn’s story turns.

Cast off by his parents, Quinn took control of his life. He accepted responsibility for what he did, made amends as best he could, and decided to move forward.

Now, barely 17, Quinn has graduated from high school and started college. He works full time at a restaurant, but he’s struggling. When he realized how difficult it would be to work, make ends meet, and succeed in college, he enlisted in the Army. There he plans to continue his education and train for a career in cyber security.

Everyone has a back story, everyone makes mistakes. But Quinn has learned he can rise above his worst moment and create a life worth living – and worth sharing.

What is transitional living?

     A residential program that prepares court-involved teens for their transition into adulthood by teaching them to live independently