We were a welcoming family, and we really didn’t want that journey to stop.
Many of Cheryl’s favorite memories involve raising her two children, watching them thrive, and counting the shoes in the doorway each night to see how many of her children’s friends she would be making dinner for. But as her children grew up and began leaving home, Cheryl thought about the many more Iowa children who...
Brittany wanted to create a warm, happy home for her new family. She and her boyfriend, Dustin, were ready to welcome their first child. But shortly after her son, Easton, was born, he began experiencing health issues. When Brittany and Dustin took him to the hospital, they learned Easton had severe asthma. He would need...
All her life, Kristie has known she wants to help kids. That’s why she decided six years ago to become a respite caregiver for LSI’s Services for People with Disabilities. Throughout the week, Kristie cares for children in her area on a part-time basis, giving their families a break for a few hours that day....
When his little sister was born, things started to change for Jaimee. His mom, Jaymee, noticed he began to act out more, and she was afraid he felt neglected while everyone focused on the new baby. He struggled to stay focused in school, he never wanted to get out of bed in the morning, and...
On a warm, sunny day in July, 10 young kids run up the hill at the Beloit Residential Treatment Center in Ames, eager to reach a large garden plot nearby. The plot is the Beloit Learning Garden, a space where each of the kids learn skills like planting and harvesting healthy foods throughout the growing...
Michelle felt like she had finally overcome her biggest challenge. She had found the support she needed to get back on her feet after years of suffering from domestic abuse and drug use. That’s when she learned she had severe osteoarthritis. The degenerative joint disease was causing intense pain in her back, and she could...
Chandra doesn’t remember much of her life in Bhutan. When she was young, the country was thrown into turmoil from what was described as a systematic “ethnic cleansing,” and Chandra’s family fled to Nepal. “We spent almost 20 years in a refugee camp in Nepal,” Chandra says. “There was no electricity, there was a struggle...
At home, Mark was a happy little boy. But he struggled to cope with social anxiety the moment he stepped outside. Sarah, a first-time mom, was unsure how to handle her son’s shyness. Then Mark began acting out at home too. “When he wasn’t behaving well, I didn’t know how to make him behave without...
