How do we show love? We can show it through acts of kindness, or we can demonstrate it through quality time spent together. Love is a choice, and it is always paired with positive actions to show one cares. The Torres and Medina family experienced the love our donors and community members have for families like theirs that have nowhere else to turn. Two of the four Torres and Medina children were referred to our Care Coordination Services due to much-needed help to address their traumatic pasts. One of the children, Anaya, had trauma that stemmed from losing her parents before she was even a teenager. As an adolescent, Anaya bounced from family to family. She had a lack of stability and emotional support until the Torres and Medina family opened their home, but that was only the beginning of her healing process. The other child, Iriana, has gone through multiple surgeries related to her diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type II, a medical condition that causes tumors to grow in the body and has resulted in multiple medical complications. In such a short lifespan, she has experienced many challenges and traumatic events, from living through various medical difficulties to emotional turmoil to losing friends to suicide.
Over the course of time, the family struggled with other issues, including being evicted and living from hotel to hotel without means of their own transportation. In addition, the family has had numerous medical bills with the mother and daughter suffering from the same medical condition. The family was in dire need…but the love and action from our caring community gave them hope and a chance for a better future. Go here to listen to Iriana talk about how your generous hearts and support impacted her family:
Care Coordination Services provide a lifeline for children suffering from mental health issues by connecting them with programs or resources that can offer the best care. Parents who want to help their children cope with trauma and/or behavior concerns at home and at school receive intensive home-based care coordination from a Family Consultant, who partners with other professionals from school and fellow agencies to advocate and provide support for the child. Our Care Coordination Services are mostly funded in Palm Beach County by South Florida Behavioral Health Network, the Palm Beach County Community Services Department and individual donors; and in Broward County they are funded by The Jim Moran Foundation and Broward County.