Alicia Ledford

Christy

Chrystal Osborn

Trudy

Alpha an Asset for Alicia

(The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Alpha House of Pinellas County from a former resident.)

Hi,

My name is Alicia Ledford (previously Walker), and I was at Alpha from September1999 through October 2001. I just wanted to update you on one of Alpha's "success stories." I was 16 when I came to Alpha and gave birth to my son, Brian in March 2000. I am now married for going on 6 years and have 3 beautiful children. Brian is now 7 1/2, and in addition he has a 4-year old sister and a 2-year old brother. I think that Angela Wilson had the biggest impact in my life; we even went through 2 of our pregnancies at the same time. She was always there to talk to me. I still try to keep in touch with her.

I am 24 [now] and hold a great job. I moved to North Carolina in 2004. When I was at Alpha, I achieved my degree as a computer specialist, and am now using it in all aspects of my job. One of the counselors got me a job with an oral surgeon, and I worked there until I was put on bed rest with the pregnancy of my daughter, afterwhich I was a mental health tech at PEMHS.

Thank you,

Alicia Ledford
Product Specialist/Senior Tech
Viewsonic Corp.
Raleigh, NC

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ASAP Provides the Right Help for Christy

(The following testimonial was received from ASAP Homeless Services, Inc.)

If it was not for ASAP Homeless Services I don’t know what I would have done. I felt lost, scared and confused. I was unemployed homeless with four children, no family in the area and no where to live. The day I walked through ASAP's doors and met Karen Butler (Director of ASAP), I felt I had another chance. Karen and the staff gave me the direction I needed to succeed. ASAP is not like many shelters that only give you a place to sleep. ASAP actually cares about you! The staff helped me realize why I [was] in the situation I [was] in, and helped me deal with it and ...find a way out. I am now gainfully employed. I am happy to say, after many long hours, Karen found me a three bedroom two bath house.

Christy S.

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Brookwood Inspires Isolated Teen to Become an Impassioned Teacher

(This article was published in Brookwood Florida's Brookwood Bridge - Spring 2008, and is reprinted here with permission.)

Thirty-year old Chrystal Osborn is a friendly, upbeat young woman with an engaging smile. To meet her today, you wouldn’t think she was once a sad and lonely foster teen. But years ago, at age 15, she moved to Brookwood Central after the collapse of an unstable home environment. She remained with us for two critically important years.

On a recent visit, Chrystal reminisced about her time in our program. She remembers it being rough at first, trying to adjust to so many rules and not feeling happy about living among so many other teens. But gradually she made friends, even a best friend, and developed a closeness to several staff members, especially to Tami Wiggins, which she said made things a whole lot easier.

Looking back on it today, Chrystal remembers her stay at Brookwood as being a lot of fun. She said if she could go back to any time in her life, next to college, it would be to her Brookwood days. What stands out in her memory is the caring staff, special outings, festive holiday celebrations and what she described as "beautiful birthday parties." Chrystal said that our Levels System (of increasing privileges) and our Life Skills packets -- focusing on independent living training -- helped her a great deal, especially as she lacked a stable family of her own. In fact, to her, Brookwood helped to foster the whole idea of family.

After leaving Brookwood, Chrystal -- who did well in school and knew since her senior year of high school that she wanted to become a teacher -- enrolled in college, choosing Math as her major. In 2000, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Math, and afterwards completed her Master’s at a college in Virginia. Before relocating back to Florida, Chrystal began a Ph.D. program in Mathematical Physics at Delaware State University. Since her real passion is teaching, she hopes to finish her doctorate at the University of South Florida with a focus on Mathematical Education.

Today, Chrystal is Chair of the Mathematics Department at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, where she teaches Advanced Placement Calculus, Honors Calculus and Statistics to 11th and 12th graders. This is in addition to raising her two adopted daughters: three-year old Heaven, and ten-year old Inaeja. And, as if she weren’t busy enough, this Spring she will find time to accompany 30 of her students for a 10-day perspective trip to Greece.

Over the years, Chrystal has remained close to Brookwood staff member (and surrogate mom) Tami Wiggins, and she visits as any grown daughter might, in between a busy and fulfilling life. We are all very proud of Chrystal, and proud of the fact that she remembers her Brookwood home in such a fond and positive way.

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CASA Makes Dream Come True for Trudy

(The following is a letter sent to CASA staff from a recent resident; for privacy and security reasons, a pseudonym is used in place of her real name.)

To CASA, all of your staff and volunteers, and whomever else it may concern,

Please take note of how very much that the CASA program has meant to my family and me. I would like to take the time to thank all the staff, volunteers, residents, friends and family of the CASA Shelter program who have been so kind as to donate their time, money and prayers. Their hearts and hands have yielded so much goodness to me and so many other families that I know. I have been so very blessed and could never say enough nice things about this wonderful program.

Thank you so much from the very bottom of my heart CASA and all your staff and everyone who offers the support, which makes your program possible so that you can help needy families like mine. I am so very grateful. I can hardly put into words the immense gratitude, which I feel towards you.

I can only remind you that when you met my four young children and me, we were in a domestic violence situation. We had no clothes except for the ones on our backs. We had no personal possessions. We were not even sure if we would have a place to sleep, food to eat or the hope of a being able to take a hot bath. We had only recently moved to Florida a few hours earlier; before that we were homeless, living in our family vehicle (a pick-up truck that didn't even have all the windows). Life was day-to-day, rainy and gloomy; our spirits were dampened. I was getting very tired and life had definitely taken its toll on my faith and me.

Then I met you. You helped me get in and stay in the shelter. You introduced me to so many helpful and caring people, and offered me so much useful information. You were ready and willing to offer any assistance that I may have needed at any time. You gave me so many resources and referrals, and you literally walked me through the hardest thing that I have ever had to overcome in my life thus far. For all of this, I THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!

You cleaned us up, dressed us up, stood us on our feet, gave us the tools, and inspired me to get back out there -- back into the world, standing up strong, working hard, and taking care of my family. Thanks to you we are doing so well. I am actively searching for work and I am confident that I will be working full-time for a great company that allows me to provide bountifully in the near future. You helped me find an apartment, pay my rent and deposit, and move in. You even helped me to get furniture, dishes, and food. I have a nicely furnished, clean apartment where my kids and I are all able to sleep safely together every night, take a shower everyday, and prepare hearty and delicious family meals together. We are living a good, strong healthy life, with hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future.

We have come so far and it is hard to believe that it has only been 5 weeks since you came into our lives. I am doing great. Wow! Can you imagine? A home, we have a home again, where my children can ride their bikes on a sidewalk and climb a tree.

You have truly been a blessing to me and my children. You and all the other people and resources were of [great] assistance to the kids and me. You helped me enroll my kids in school and get them all new clothes so they could go to school looking and feeling good about them. You helped me to obtain some after-school care and helped me as I looked for work. My son is on the school football team, just enrolled back into Boy Scouts, and looks forward to going to church every Sunday. He is learning to read sheet music and loves playing the violin in the school orchestra. He seems so happy. My daughter is cheerleading, trying out for the part of Ariel in the children's musical “The Little Mermaid" at the children's performing arts theater. She is also learning to play the violin, loving her new school and looks forward to making new friends. My little ones are in our church choir and have a big presentation coming up. I am so happy to see them all happy, healthy and smiling. No one would ever know that we were homeless and all alone just a few weeks ago.

This is so much more than a happy ending for me. This is a dream come true. We owe it all to you. You were always there no matter what I needed. You listened and you genuinely cared. You were always there for me. You never gave up on us and always remembered us. I too will always remember you. Thanks CASA staff; you are our angel. Thank you so much CASA! We love you.

Sincerely,

Trudy

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