Children and families look to Casa de Esperanza to help break the cycle of child abuse and neglect. Through programs that provide safety, resources, relationships and hope, families are restored, and children have a chance at a better life.
Over the next few months, you'll read about one such family, Lanie and her daughter, Tara, who arrived at Casa de Esperanza in crisis and received residential, case management, and aftercare services.
Lanie and Tara came to Casa de Esperanza through a referral from another Houston program that works with mothers and children. At 18, Lanie aged out of foster care from a residential treatment setting. For years immediately following, she struggled to survive in the world by finding food and shelter wherever she could. Her mental health needs were an ongoing challenge, and she discovered she was pregnant almost immediately after being discharged from the foster care system. Eventually she made her way to the program for mothers and children.
When Lanie and Tara were referred to Casa de Esperanza, Lanie was no longer functioning well within the program. She struggled with the rules and structure of the program because it reminded her too much of the restrictions she had growing up in foster care and residential treatment facilities. Lanie’s interactions with other women in the program were becoming more confrontational, and Lanie was asked to leave. If Casa de Esperanza couldn’t help, they would have to call Children’s Protective Services. Casa de Esperanza took 21-month-old Tara into care that same day.
Stay tuned next month for Tara’s story of transformation during her stay in the Casa de Esperanza residential neighborhood.