When Yasmine and her mother came to the United States, her father and siblings were not able to accompany them. To support the family, Yasmine’s mom works long hours, making it challenging to spend time with a teenage daughter and leaving less time at home to parent....
Sharon had a tenuous beginning while staying at the Heartland Family Service Heartland Housing Sanctuary, Sanctuary House, violating the confidentiality rule of the shelter. She also had picked up a new addiction – problem gambling. During the time that she was...
When Cassandra came to Sanctuary House, she felt safe and relieved for the first time in years. She wanted to get her children back, so she began to work with case managers and advocates to improve herself. In her journey to better her situation, she participated in...
A fighter her whole life, Desta’s initial response to the Family Works program was to fight back and preserve herself and the only life she knew. She questioned the expectations and motivations of the staff who were trying to help her. Because of this paranoia...
Without the benefit of legal counsel, Hannah sought a sexual assault protection order against her father, which was granted. Because of the statutory limitations of this type of protection order, her father could not be ordered to keep away from her university campus,...
When she first heard about Heartland Homes Jalisa said, “I felt like it was the place I was meant to be. Because I was in a very bad situation, it meant I had to move away from all of that and everyone so I could be able to just focus on myself, and my kids, and start...