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Community Partners Success Stories
Region 13
Ireland Home Based Services helped a mother handle her child's threat of suicide through the Community Partners for Child Safety program. The mother appeared to be at a loss for what to do, but she knew had to do something. Our social worker was able to resource for a mental health service that would accept the child that evening. The child now receives biweekly treatment for depression and was placed on medication that appears to be working. The daughter appeared to be bullied at school and began to retaliate. Our social worker was able to get the mother and child talking and sharing daily about what happened at school. The child met 3 times a week at school with a bullying group to share stories. The child's grades began to rise, apologized to some classmates for personal actions, and became involved in a church group. The mother was praised for her quick action and involvement. The child has been praised for making major progress. Mental illness runs in this family and now the mother realizes she is not in this alone.
IHBS assisted a family that consisted of two adults, four children and nine nieces and nephews. The family came to the Community Partners for Child Safety program seeking assistance with a utility bill close to $2,000. The adults in the family were overwhelmed by the daily routine, financial responsibilities and scheduled appointments. The mother in the home contracted a serious infection after recently delivering a baby. She was required to stay in bed to recover, putting more responsibility on the father in the home. Our social worker was able to help them arrange a ride solution through a medicab service when needed. The mother and father in the home were very cooperative and completed any task our social worker asked them to prior to the next session. The family's situation was difficult; they were down to one working vehicle, a huge unpaid utility bill, no one was working, and no extra money was coming in to help resolve these problems. Working through a list of food pantries, churches and with the help of the local Trustee, our social worker was able to take care of the entire utility bill. The momentum from that event carried over, and the family was able to fix the second vehicle and secure daycare. The mother in the home obtained a full-time job and the father in the home was able to return to work full time. The family was very grateful and willing to step up and do what had to be done to meet the goals established through the Community Partners for Child Safety program.
Region 17
Upon meeting a new family taking part in the Community Partners for Child Safety program our IHBS social worker observed the 10-year-old child living in the home did not have a bed to sleep in. Our social worker was able to secure a bed frame, mattress, a set of new sheets, and a pillow for the child. The family and the child were very grateful. Our office received a handwritten note from the child stating that he had the best night's sleep of his entire life in his new bed! Our social worker continued to work with the family and reported the family was able to see significant change in the child's behavior and self-esteem.
IHBS helped a newly single father with supervision issues of young child through the Community Partners for Child Safety program. The child was very active and had gotten hurt in the past due to climbing and getting into things. Our social worker helped the father to understand proper supervision, child proofing, and behavior modification. They worked together to develop a chore chart and a reward system for the child. The father was compliant and followed through with the system that was put into place, allowing a successful outcome for the family.
An IHBS therapist was able to help a family having a lot of communication issues through the Community Partners for Child Safety program. The very young child in the family had a lot of health problems. The mother had mental health issues (major depressive disorder). The case was successful in accomplishing the goals of improving communication skills between the mother and father, getting the child ongoing health care for his medical needs, and linking the mother with an ongoing therapist, medication and psychiatrist. Once the mother began taking her medication for her depression regularly, many of the other issues resolved quickly.
A family counselor at IHBS worked with a family of five to improve their living conditions through the Community Partners for Child Safety program. The family consisted of a mother and four children. Our counselor quickly came to see that they all were sleeping on the cold hard floor of their apartment. The only furniture the family had was a TV and a broken-down sofa. Our family counselor resourced through a couple of local churches and families and, with the help of a small amount of funds from Community Partners, found the mother a full bed with mattress and box springs, two sofas with a matching chair, and ottoman, as well as a dining room table with five chairs. Later the counselor was able to find four single beds with box springs and mattresses for all the children. When services closed, everyone was up off the floor and the apartment was full of furniture.
An IHBS therapist was able to help a young person through the Community Partners for Child Safety program after being discharged from an inpatient mental health unit for suicidal ideation. The teen was discharged with diagnoses of major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder. Our therapist worked with this young person to develop healthy coping skills and encouraged her to write down situations in her journal where she felt very emotional so they could be discussed during sessions. Our therapist provided education to the teen's mother on borderline personality disorder. Throughout services the teen continually ranked her depressive symptoms at a lower number. At the end of services, this young person was accepted at Indiana University and was no longer engaging in self-harm.
