At Genesis Home, we work with families who are willing to do what it takes to become self-sufficient. Although there are not many miracle stories of our graduates becoming CEOs of large companies, we frequently have the pleasure of seeing people grow personally as they learn lifes lessons and become stronger families. Denises story is a real world example of what were doing to help families reach their goal of self-sufficiency.

Denise was 42 when she came to Genesis Home in October of 1998. She had been using drugs and/or alcohol for 20 years, and had only been off them for 30 days. Due to her history of substance abuse, Denise only had custody of two of her children, Sarah (age 7) and Joel (age 2). Vince (age 4) and Owen (age 3) were in custody of the State of Georgia and were staying three hours away from Genesis Home with her sister.

Denise often says she moved into Genesis Home because she needed structure. While she stopped using drugs and/or alcohol during her pregnancies, she always started again after giving birth. Denises first goal was to stay off drugs and remain sober. She worked on a treatment plan with the Family Care Program at Duke University, which included two Narcotics Anonymous meetings each week. During her two years at Genesis Home, Denise overcame many obstacles to her recovery. It was a bumpy road. There was an alcohol relapse, a period of depression, and many outbursts of anger. In time, with the staffs help, Denise began to look honestly at herself and designed a treatment plan that worked for her. She has been off drugs and alcohol ever since. Along the way, Denise admitted to graduating from high school without being able to read. She began going to Durham Literacy Council computer classes and started reading to her case manager. Denise eventually began to work with a reading tutor, whom she still sees today. It is still a struggle for Denise to read documents and she often asks others to do it for her. Staff take this opportunity for her to practice reading and give her feedback.

The next step was for Denise to work on her family relationships. Soon after she enrolled in parenting classes, she learned that the State of Georgia was about to take Vince and Owen away from her permanently. Initially discouraged, she soon became determined to reunite her family. She worked hard within the constraints of the social welfare and court systems to advocate for her childrens return. It was a grand celebration for everyone when Denise was awarded custody of Vince and Owen, and they moved into Genesis Home in May of 1999.

After a honeymoon period, the reality of raising four kids hit home. There were many times when staff would model parenting skills for Denise. Once the kids were enrolled in school and child care, Denises life began to stabilize. Staff worked with her to improve her family interactions. She began by establishing a stable bath/bedtime routine for her children and trying to take the family on weekly outings. Over time, Denise has become very aware of and willing to address her childrens needs. Now she is more aware of how her behavior and words affect her children. These days, she works hard to get herself and her kids to therapy, appointments with Big Brother and Big Sister, and to be home in time to greet them when they return from school.

Although their lives are still not perfect, Denise and her kids have accomplished a lot and are much stronger as a family. Sarah, Vince, and Owen are all in elementary school and come back to Genesis Home for tutoring twice a week. Joel is enrolled in KidSpace and works with a speech pathologist to address some of his special needs.

For the first time in many years, Denise has a job, no longer receives welfare assistance, has custody of all her children, and is renting her own apartment. She continues to be more involved with her children, meeting with their teachers regularly. Genesis Home staff keep working with her. They see that Denise is more confident than ever and hopeful about her family's future.

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