Tom came to our Family Preservation Services (FPS) program as a broken man who lost his 7-year-old daughter Amber due to his chronic drug use. He was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel until meeting a case worker in parenting class who reminded him that even though he was at the lowest point in his life and had lost his daughter, it did not make him a bad person or father.
Parenting classes helped Tom think about how he was raised as a child and how he wanted to raise his own children, in a way that set them up for success as they grow. To work toward the ultimate goal of reunification, Tom and Amber began with supervised visits, then gradually moved on to unsupervised, extended visits to improve communication. They opened up about their feelings toward each other and Amber’s mother, who she misses so much but is still battling her own addiction.
The family proudly completed Family Preservation Services in September and once Tom obtained stable housing, he was happily reunified with Amber. They look forward to growing together as a family and continuing to communicate their emotions to one another in a healthy, productive way.
Tom shared, “When I lost my daughter it felt like the end of the world. With the care and love and much needed help from everyone at Oaks, I can thankfully say I have custody of my daughter and can raise her, teach her and love her with the wisdom I received.”
For more information about services call our Access Center: 1-800-963-3377.
