Accomplishing a goal is often not a sprint, but a marathon. Such is the case for Katie* who found the LSI HOPES Home Visiting program in 2017 when she was pregnant and living in a homeless shelter.  

Jaime*, Katie’s LSI home visitor, started working with her, meeting twice a week. Jaime helped Katie create a plan for reaching her two ultimate goals: maintain sobriety and regain custody of her two older children, whom she lost because of her struggles with alcoholism.  

With Katie’s goals in mind, the LSI home visitor helped her set small, tangible goals to set her up on her path to success. For starters, Katie wanted to maintain a healthy pregnancy and to be able to support her newborn baby. Jaime provided education and training during their weekly sessions. Once she reached this goal, Katie’s next step was to find adequate housing for herself and her baby. 

Due to her inability to read, Katie’s home visitor helped her navigate rental websites, read housing applications and understand lease agreements. This support allowed Katie to find a safe home for her and her baby, with the hopes of regaining custody of her other two children. 

Next, Katie wanted to get her driver’s license. Since she was unable to read, Jaime scheduled time out of her own work week to read and audio record the driver’s manual so Katie could successfully prepare for the exam, the test and obtain her driver’s license.  

After four years of participating in the program and achieving all the goals she and Jaime set for her, Katie was able to accomplish her ultimate goal of maintaining her sobriety and regaining custody of her children. The family now lives together in a safe, happy home. 

Katie’s LSI’s home visitor says she learned so much from working with this family and walking alongside them on their journey. “I learned to support Katie’s independence and to empower her by encouraging her to try and to only provide support where it was needed,” she explains. 

LSI’s HOPES program provides support to parents of children pre-birth through age five. The program focuses on supporting families with infant care, parenting, child development, links to community resources and many other aspects of parenting. LSI’s HOPES program offers services in 29 counties all across Iowa.  

*Names have been changed to protect the client’s privacy. 

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