Overcoming obstacles that seemed impossible, John, a resident at LSI’s Bremwood Campus in Waverly, has a bright future ahead of him.
As a young child growing up in Tanzania, John’s life was like most other kids. He loved soccer, played with his siblings, and went to school. His parents taught him education was essential to living a successful life. So, when his grandfather decided to move to the United States, he asked to bring John with him to open up educational opportunities.
Shortly after arriving in the U.S., John’s grandfather passed away, resulting in John going into foster care and ultimately being placed in a home in Iowa.
“My foster care placement was a wonderful family with kids similar to my age, and they helped me enroll in school so I could continue my education,” said John. “However, I was not used to the family structure and wasn’t happy there, so I needed another placement. That’s how I ended up at Bremwood.”
At LSI’s Bremwood Center, we lift up Iowa youth with the quality mental health care they need to thrive. But we also ensure they are set up for success once they are ready to live independently. Through LSI’s Hartman Supervised Apartment Living (SAL) program, youth are empowered to live more independently while still receiving support and supervision. Individuals build skills like money management while attending school or working.
John came to the shelter at Bremwood in the fall of 2022. Although he had a tough time in school, specifically in math, his dream was to graduate high school and continue his education.
“I wanted to turn my goal of graduating high school into a reality,” said John. “Algebra was a tough subject for me, so the staff at Bremwood helped me get a tutor.”
Rameses, a Program Supervisor at Bremwood, worked closely with John and reminded him often that his past does not define his future, and because of that, anything is possible.
“John would stress to me that he just wants to be great and make the staff at Bremwood proud,” said Rameses. “I would tell him being great is about trying to be the best version of ourselves every day and that we need to strive to be better than we were the previous day.”
After working with his algebra tutor, John became a better student, ultimately graduating high school in May 2023.
“Despite his hardships, John applied to colleges such as Wartburg College and Iowa State University, and has accepted an offer to attend Wartburg College, where he will play football, opening up a bright future for him,” said Brian Imhoff, Director of Residential Services at LSI.